Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 - The News Quiz- 12th July

Episode Date: July 19, 2024

Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.

This is the BBC. This podcast is supported by advertising outside the UK. I'm Adam Chowdhury and today on What In The World we're asking, how do I become an Olympian? I speak to two young athletes. They explain the sacrifices they've made to make it to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris and what it means for them to compete on the biggest stage in sport. What in the World is the daily podcast that helps you make sense of the world in under 15 minutes, no prior knowledge required. Find us wherever you get your radio podcasts.

Hello I'm Andy Zoltzman. Welcome to the news quiz as the countdown to the 2029 general election begins in earnest. Our teams this week in honour of England's equaliser in Wednesday's Euro Semi-Final and what the French electorate have just chosen to do, we have Team Dodgy Pen against Team Dodgela Pen. On Team Dodgy, we have Angela Barnes and Zoe Lyons. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE And on Team Dodge, Ian Smith and the, political journalist and author Marie Leconte. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

First question in this week's News Christmas and go to Angela and Zoe. Who has spent the week basking in the aftermath of an astonishing personal triumph that many people had thought was beyond him? Well, I know this, Andy, because I was there, actually, as it all unfolded. Of course, you're referring to Lewis Hamilton winning his ninth

British Grand Prix at Silverstone. No, that's not the answer I've got written down, I'm afraid. No, let's pass this over to Ian and Marie. Who spent the week basking in the aftermath of an astonishing personal triumph that many people have thought was beyond him? Well, if it's part Gareth Southgate. No, can we try and focus? We'll have one final go. Who has spent the week

basking in the aftermath of an astonishing personal triumph that many people have thought was beyond him? Must be Mr Star. Correct, Zoe, finally. Yes, let's have some focus, please. This is a new question. Correct. Two points. And how has the week treated you all? It's been very windy this week. I think it's just everybody breathing out. LAUGHTER It is comedically difficult. LAUGHTER Give them time in. LAUGHTER I think something will go wrong soon.

I'm really hoping that Starmer gets pressured by a small minority of the Labour Party to hold a referendum on whether we get rid of the moon. LAUGHTER Something like that, just to get it going. Are you a keeper or...? I'm completely against the moon. Right.

I haven't thought of the reasons why at the minute. That's what we do with referendums. Oh, he's got a dark side. LAUGHTER Oh, we've got that day to look. LAUGHTER I don't like tides. LAUGHTER Let's look at Labour's first week and that rather mountainous intraday. I don't like tides. LAUGHTER

Let's look at Labour's first week in that rather mountainous entree. Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, complained this week that she has inherited the worst what? I think she's complaining about the general circumstances. Yes, correct. That she's inherited an absolute mess. I think she... I mean, maybe quite rightly at first, but it does look like she could use this as an excuse for not doing anything for quite a long time, if you kind of set that up.

It feels a little bit like, you know, when you go into a cubicle and you're like, oh, this is terrible, and you go to go out of the cubicle to pick a new one, but someone's already waiting outside that cubicle, and you've got to look at them and go I didn't do any of that. That's nothing to do with it, I inherited that from the previous. So it seems like she's in that situation but instead of a toilet cubicle it's the the entirety of Britain. Well particularly the economy. Yes. Right. And to be fair, you know, none of us really know what the true state of the economy is. She's going to do a review and they'll be, you know, try and work it all out.

But they could say anything. Because I think to most of us, when we hear about the economy, it's a little bit like a drunk girl crying outside a nightclub. Like, you know that something's wrong, but you'll never make out what it is. Yes, the worst set of economic circumstances since the Second World War she claims. Is that fair Marie as a political journalist? I have not seen the figures although I did really enjoy it I can't remember who it was but said oh well you know when the Conservatives came in in

2010 that there was that note from Labour saying oh sorry there's no money left so clearly this is not a new problem and I think it was Darren Jones who's another Chief Secretary to the Treasury who who said, they couldn't even afford paper this time round. And our next question takes the form of a misleading headline. Obviously headlines don't always tell us the full story, but there is a genuine story behind this misleading headline that I've got here. Angela and Zoe, you can have this one.

Government to bury Milton Keynes under two layers of housing. government to bury Milton Keynes under two layers of housing. This is about the housing policy of the new government and it's quite exciting for someone like me because I'm quite into urban planning as a you've got quickie I've got urban planning which one of us which one of us is going to be most useful come the apocalypse that's all but what I think I think it's a good thing this gray belt plan because basically it's a people think the green belt that's all I'm saying. But what I think, I think it's a good thing, this Grey Belt Plan, because basically it's like, people think the Green Belt is all, you know, animals are farthing wood and beautiful green,

but a lot of it is just, you know, derelict buildings and rubbish that, like, badgers have built, old petrol stations or something, I don't know. But a lot of it is land that's known as, so why not? A badger's built a petrol station. I didn't think you'd notice I'd said that, but no, I think that's what people think that Greenbelt is you know this beautiful idyllic place but it isn't a lot of its brownfield so let's snatch some of that back and the

only thing I ask is that if we are going to build on Greenbelt land can we please make some of it affordable housing but the most important thing is that when they do build it can they please just build it where Jacob Rees-Mogg can see it out of his window? LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Tarmac, the Lake District. LAUGHTER So you're working on that one, Ian?

Yeah, well, that's an idea I've been pitching. OK. Tarmac, the Lake District. LAUGHTER TTLD, for short. The Lake Districts T-T-L-D for short. The Lake Districts, I mean, other than Kendall Mint Cake, I don't mind if it's completely Tarmac. Keep the wet bits, I think that's what

the geographical term for them is. I am quite confused about how they decide the difference there between gray belt and green belt. Is it literally the idea of sending someone to different bits of the green belt going, lovely, or going, ehh? And then... Grey belt is usually bits that have been built on, so like brownfield sites and things, where there's been stuff built on it.

Yeah. I don't know what colour bin to take out on which day, so I don't know if I'm qualified for colour code in the entire country. I don't think anyone's asking you to. Well, I'm willing to step up to the plate. TTLD, Tarmac, the Lake District. Education. Now, Labour has confirmed plans to acquire thousands of new watts for Britain's schools.

Anyone? Is it perhaps teachers? It is. What's the thinking behind that when we have the internet and there's no point children learning anything because we are just dust in the winds of history? It has been quite interesting actually I think this past week the Labour government because they've just been doing stuff so you know they came in they were like well we're lacking teachers so we're going to hire teachers. And so they didn't think of that the last lot. They've got a target of 6,500 teachers,

which if they don't meet it, of course, it'll be their own time they're wasting. They're going to fund it by the VAT, aren't they, on private schools, and a lot of parents of private school kids are very lacrosse about that. I had some good teachers. I had a teacher called Mr. Harris who if kids were talking he would just point at the window and say someone's gonna get flying lessons. So he would just threaten to kill a child. And I've changed Mr.

Harris is a fake name because I'm aware that you're probably not allowed to say that to children and I don't want Mr Ross to get in any trouble Another question now what according to Keir Starmer is quotes much worse than he had thought being Prime Minister Cats reign of terror This is the prison crisis. Yes. Right, because we already knew the NHS was under stress, and this week it's been revealed that prisons are under stress as well, and they can't cope.

And I just think, God, if we can't rely on our hospitals and our prisons, where are people like me supposed to find love? Also, how are the prisons full if we've just taken all the post office workers out of them? Let's look now at the make-up of the new cabinet and the new parliament. Labour has appointed a cabinet containing a record number of WOTs. People who are not my Hancock. LAUGHTER We've certainly improved on certain recent cabinets for that.

Women, perhaps? Correct, yes. I think I should probably take the lead on the Starrick. LAUGHTER If I can get a word in edgewares, please. LAUGHTER There's also more state school-educated... If I can get a word in edgewares, please. LAUGHTER There's also more state school-educated... Yes. ..people than there's ever been before, which I think can only be a good thing,

cos I don't think just cos you went to a private school, just cos you went to Eaton or whatever, means you're going to be the best leader just cos you can speak Latin. Well, I mean, I went to an all-boys private school. I studied Latin and Greek, very much like Boris Johnson, also like Boris Johnson and many other members of the former cabinet.

I never held down a proper job. Where I diverged from them is that I am fully aware that this makes me completely unsuitable for top level politics. I was taught by nuns in Ireland in the 70s and I turned out all right. taught by nuns in Ireland in the 70s and I turned out alright. So 335 new MPs as a result of the election amongst them is one who is the first ever Member of Parliament to have done what? Anyone? Is that be born in this century? Yes it is.

Correct. Sam Carlin. He's so cute. No that's the wrong thing to say and it's really patronising, but you're like, ooh! It is weird that there's an MP that I'm old enough to be their mum without even being a slag. LAUGHTER That's... APPLAUSE ..does show how disastrously our education system has collapsed

because, I mean, we could always rely on it previously to crush the confidence out of all children. Yeah! our education system has collapsed because, I mean, we could always rely on it previously to crush the confidence out of all children. We've let that slide. It means there's like a probably the biggest gap between the oldest and youngest. The oldest MP, Sir Roger Gale, is 80 years old and that means our oldest MP is still someone that Joe Biden would ruffle their hair and call him, come here you little scamp. Any other new MPs that caught your eye? Yeah, there's quite a few interesting ones.

So Labour's Rachel Taylor used to be a Wimbledon umpire. There's Ros Savage from the Lib Dems is the only woman to have rode solo across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. There's a couple that I've found that haven't made the news. Harold Winchester has the record for assembling a Mr Potato Head upside down. And that's as in he's upside down while he's doing the potato head. Caroline Horton was a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent for being able to wet herself on demand. Caroline Horton was a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent for being able to wet herself on demand. There's a guy called Michael Wright, he... you're not going to believe it, he hatched from an egg and no one really knows why.

And then Pauline Wellers who's got the record for assembling a Mr Potato Head upside down, but in this case the potato head is upside down and she's normal. Stammer's made various ministerial appointments from outside his parliamentary cohort of MPs. For our next question, our panellists have to match the expert to their ministerial position. Okay, so the three experts and three ministerial positions, you have to tell me which expert has got which position. So the experts are a scientist, an expert on prisons and a high-ranking lawyer. And the ministerial posts are science minister, prisons minister and attorney general, the government's chief legal advisor. Now, if you're a long-term politics follower, this is a bit of a trick question.

Anyone match them up? Zoe, Angela? I think, Andy, it's the scientist is the science minister, the prisons expert is going to be a prisons minister, and the lawyer is going to be attorney general. Correct. Three out of three. I do really like, though, that James Timpson has a key-cutting business. Like, it is a proper movie for kids about crime, cos he's now the prisons minister.

LAUGHTER Yeah, cos he does a really good thing where like Timsons employ a lot of like former convicts at their workplace and I cannot stress how much I think that is a brilliant thing but yeah what I will say is key cutting. Someone's just come out of prison like what were you in for? Oh I robbed a load of houses. Do you want to learn how to make all the key? LAUGHTER It's a mad system, right?

Yeah, you can even do key cutting. We've got a balaclava factory, if anyone wants to work there. LAUGHTER And can anyone tell me what will have to happen to these experts before they can become government ministers? They'll have to be ennobled, is that what they call it? Yes. They'll have to become lords because they're not MPs. So they've got to sit in the House of Lords, that's... Yeah. So they...

Well that's easy, isn't it? You've just got to turn up, fall asleep, get 305 quid, it's the opposite of going to the opera. But you still get to dress up in your nice furs. Yeah, exactly. Very nice. Maria's a... somebody who's moved to this country and writes about our politics. Can you explain the House of Lords after the 15 years of living here? Do I have to? Well, I think it is not necessarily about this. And again, it feels very novel to just bring people

in the House of Lords because they're going to do jobs as a general kind of pat on the back, which is what it'd become, I think. And especially the fact that I think Chris Grayling, nickname failing Grayling you may remember, will now also be joining the House of Lords thanks to the outgoing Conservative government and it's a bit like oh oh yes I suppose we could have just this entire time just put good interesting people in the House of Lords and then give them jobs instead of going well you seem pleasant and off you go have money for the rest of your life. Yes it's been a difficult week as the nation adjusts to

a period of change and transition. No more Jimmy Anderson, no more Andy Murray at Wimbledon, how will we cope? Incoming Chancellor Rachel Reeve said Labour has inherited the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War and we've all had disappointing inheritances and unwanted VARs, a politically incorrect sideboard with a weird engraving of Mozart and a wildebeest, Auntie Muriel's collection of contraband Victorian taxidermy badges, those haunting eyes, those sad, sad tales, granddad's generational blood feud with the Sicilian mafia, just me on that one, or the Zoltzman paternal family hairline. One of the purposes of the new National Wealth Fund Labour has announced

is to invest money in new technologies that might not otherwise attract investment, such as decarbonisation, green hydrogen, or my latest invention, plastic-free invisible gas Lego. Don't tell anyone, it's just air, but it's all about the branding. I'm Adam Chowdhury and today on What In The World, we're asking, how do I become an Olympian? I speak to two young athletes. They explain the sacrifices they've made to make it to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, and what it means for them to compete on the biggest stage in sport.

What in the World is the daily podcast that helps you make sense of the world in under 15 minutes, no prior knowledge required. Find us wherever you get your BBC podcasts. podcast. At the end of that round, the scores are 11 to Angela and Zoe and 8 to Ian and Marie. Let's look now to box the around the world. Marie and Ian, you can have this question. Which prominent European nation has decided it would be wrong to go right? France. Correct. Yes. Yeah. Oh no, I'm meant to talk about it now. Oh yes, yeah. If you insist. Don't worry, I've got this one covered.

Well no, so in a nutshell, we had European elections a few weeks ago. They went quite poorly, by which I mean the far-right Rment National was the biggest party at which point Macron was like well not quite I quit but just ugh and so decided to call some snap legislative elections so that's the bit where you vote for the National Assembly sort of MPs Macron was not going anywhere I know some British people got confused about that but and so yes that happened the first round was again I would describe it as unfun probably in that the Rassemblement National came first again. But in the meantime, so all the left parties had managed to form a coalition together, which I think was generally brilliant to see because there's nothing the left hates more than the left.

For them to actually manage to create this kind of front from the far left to the center left with the kind of greens in between was really well done. And so yes, we had a second round which was very stressful and actually the far right came third. So we had the Left coalition first and then the second was Macron's party the centrist and then the far right and now there is no government. Utopia! I was going to say is that a bad thing? What happens now then? That's exactly how I'd put it. No well essentially again so all three won just under a third each and they just do not want to work with each other and that's kind of where we're at and I generally wish I could tell you more and you know in the sort of oh you know if you're really an

expert and you understand what's going on there's lots of subtleties there's not. There was a lot of there was something that didn't really vet their candidates very well the far right didn't they. I saw one candidate promised if people voted for her she said I will stop making racist jokes if you vote for me and you're like is that so? Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy y know what was quite nice of that she lost so she can just keep being racist I took a gamble, it paid off and it backfired. The duck without a beak is like a sofa in a peddling pool. LAUGHTER Macron attempted to clear the muddying waters of French politics

by lobbing a hippopotamus into them, and it sort of worked. The only problem is now there is a hippopotamus. LAUGHTER Things turned ugly on the streets. One report said that two members of a Parisian string quartet hit a baker with their Stradivarius. The baker retaliated by whacking the musicians with two sticks of French bread and the musicians then clunked the baker once again with their instruments,

which goes to show violins baguettes violins. Oh dear. You look so pleased with yourself. LAUGHTER Highlighted my year, to be honest. Right, let's move across the Atlantic. Who said he is not going anywhere? Me immediately after I've had a roast dinner.

You say it's me and Zoe, because we both live in Brighton, we're on a southern rail line, so we live here now. It's Joe Biden. It is. It's Joe Biden who is... Oh, dear. I mean, I've got a 17-year-old Jack Russell and he doesn't know where he is either. He's not in charge of the world's most powerful country, so I'm less bothered about that.

But he clearly isn't up to the job at the moment. He really, really isn't. And the only person that's going to take him out of that position, apparently, is the Lord Almighty. Yes. Which sounds quite dramatic. But the thing about it is he's only three years older than Trump. But Trump has done that incredible thing of being both alive and mummified at the same time.

I think Trump is like one of those fast food burgers that if you put it in a cupboard it just won't decompose. If you dog him up they'll be like, that's Trump, yeah, he's just made up of highly preserved burger meat and Dorito dust. That's him. And he'll probably still be riding quite high in the polls at that point. He'll probably be doing well. People were originally behind him after the debate. There was a lot of sort of democratic support for him, sort of going, you know. But then this week, George Clooney, one of the biggest democratic fundraisers,

has come out and gone, he's not up to the job. And he should know because he was an ER doctor for a very long time. It's his family, really, though, isn't it? It's Jill Biden. And we all know why. People hate it when their spouses retire. I mean, I think the problem is, you mentioned how Trump is also old, but the difficulty for Biden is that people won't vote for Biden

because they think he might be mad and detached from reality. Whereas for Trump, people want to vote for him because he is mad and detached from reality. Because he's basically said, only God can stop me, which immediately he's already forgotten about natural causes. But I think your best chances is to get a staffer to dress up as God and convince him he's having a vision. Right. Yes amongst the possible candidates who

have been rumored to be being lined up to step in to replace Biden include Vice President Kamala Harris, anyone who can talk coherently for more than 12 seconds, Big Bird from Sesame Street, Andy Murray and the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So, watch this space. Keir Starmer saw Joe Biden this week, reportedly was going to give him what? Is it a head start in the world leaders' 100m? LAUGHTER It was an Arsenal shirt. Correct.

Presumably with his name on the back so we can remember it. LAUGHTER Yeah, he said Biden was on really good form. Correct. Presumably with his name on the back so he can remember it. LAUGHTER Yeah, he said Biden was on really good form. Yeah, but that's what... But you shouldn't have to say that! That is what you say after visiting somebody in the care home, isn't it? LAUGHTER Yeah, all his dinner. Very happy today. LAUGHTER

Right, the score's at the end of our World Democracy Round. It's now 15 to Angela and Zoe and 12 to Ian and Marie. Right, the air scores at the end of our World Democracy round. It's now 15 to Angela and Zoe and 12 to Ian and Marie. We will finish off now with some more misleading headlines on other news stories from the week. Ian and Marie, since you're behind, you can have this question. The headline is, Japan to make news quiz compulsory. Can you explain the truth behind that headline? Well, laughter, I think.

Or puns about baguettes and string instruments. Yeah, they're saying that everyone, like almost want to make it a law, that everyone should laugh at least once a day. And that's annoyed a few people who are saying, it's our constitutional right not to laugh. And a few people have been exercising that tonight. I've spotted you. So it has caused controversy of basically enforced fun.

Apparently laughing once a day reduces the risk of heart attack and I just got every it's always something isn't it with red wine reduces dark chocolate one day I'm just waiting for the headline of having a heart attack once a day reduces the risk of having a heart attack. Yes the Yamagata prefecture in Japan has passed a law requiring residents to laugh at least once a day. Business operators are being asked to develop, quote, a workplace environment that is filled with laughter. That has to be the right kind of workplace laughter though, nervous awkward laughter, well history shows that that can result in you being turfed out as Prime Minister after 49 days.

A laughter-filled environment is fine in for example a comedy club, less appropriate in a funeral parour or even a cockpit. We're going to land safe. We're going to land safe. Not reassuring. This can go to Ian and Marie. The headline is, disastrous July gets even worse for Scottish nationalists.

What's the story behind that? Well, I guess it's probably either got to be football or Nicola Sturgeon's house has been raided again. It's football yeah. What a glorious game, another 90 minutes of utter tedium followed by one inspired moment at the end. It's given me my favourite moment of the Euros which was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank, who's part of the England staff, celebrating wildly and then remembering that he is Dutch. He goes like, get in! What a sad day for my country. My partner's Dutch, so it was quite exciting, but she only got to show her knickers with the words GOL written on the back once.

But she only got to show her knickers with the words goal written on the back once. So... I do feel I'm desperate for Gareth Southgate. Even more than England want Gareth Southgate to win, because I feel like he's got all these demons from missing the penalty. I think if England win, he's going to open his mouth in a scream and just loads of black smoke will come out. And then he'll just be free. He won't even know where he is or what he's been doing. LAUGHTER

Just sort of like, oh, what, have we won? But what if he opens his mouth and white smoke comes out? I think that means the Pope has to become England manager. LAUGHTER I know I'm a bit ignorant, because I don't know much about football, but I don't really understand how a manager can make that much difference to how a team plays. It's like, what, they don't have a manager, what, they just sit on a pitch and make daisy chains? Don't know what to do.

And every man I've ever met thinks he would be the best England football manager. Let's just make it like jury service. That's a good idea. You get a couple of weeks a year. Yeah. I like, I'm writing that down, Angela. I do love an England game. Like, you've got to love an England game, because for that glorious, like, 90 minutes, or usually more, of an England game,

all the knobheads are contained. Do you know what I mean? Like, they're all in their pubs and their houses. You can go into a Lidl, it's like a Waitrose in there. If you think putting a firework up your arse makes you a knobhead, then shame on you. I just like them winning because I live next door to a pub and it makes it less likely that my car will be set on fire. Yes, well, another great triumph for Labour Party. 14 years of Tory government and the

England men's football team won only one tournament semi-final. Labour's going at a rate of one a week at the moment. Whether they can keep that going remains to be seen. Spain await in Sunday's final, no doubt bricking themselves at the auspicious 1966 coincidences that point the way to an inevitable England win. Labour election victory. Tick. England winning their semi-final 2-1. Tick. Rolling stones still going strong. Tick. Joe Biden a bit past his best. Tick. Russian government clamps down on dissent. Wars going on around the world. Middle East a bit tense. Tick, tick, tick. It's all building up. Charles Dickens being dead. Tick. Glasgow being further north than Melbourne, tick. Zebra eaten by lion on a Monday in June, tick.

It's written in the stars, people! LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE Well, that brings us to the end of this week's news quiz, and our winners are Angela and Zoe by 15 points to 14 over Ian and Marie. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you very much for listening. Until next week, goodbye. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Taking part in the news quiz were Angela Barnes, Marie Leconte, Ian Smith and Zoe Lyons. In the chair was me, Andy Zoltzman, and additional material was written by Alice Fraser, Cody Darla, Katie Sayre and Peter Toulouse, the producer was Pete Strauss, and it was a BBC Studios audio production for Radio 4. How would a world heavyweight boxing champion cope if they were left alone on a desert island?

When you're preparing for a fight, a big part of it is isolation, dispreparation, to get ready for battle and to be victorious. Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne, presenter of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4, and I'm here to tell you about a very special castaway, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Anthony Joshua. When you look at a lion and their showing affection, you think, oh, they're so amazing, I'd love to give one of those a cuddle. Then you put a gazelle in front of it like, and you see its pupil widen.

I feel we all have that nature, right? When it's time to eat, I love to hunt. That's just in my nature. Anthony Joshua on Desert Island Discs. Listen on BBC Sounds. I'm Adam Chowdhury and today on What's in The World we're asking, how do I become an Olympian? I speak to two young athletes. They explain the sacrifices they've made to make it to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris and what it means for them to compete on the biggest stage

in sport. What In The World is the daily podcast that helps you make sense of the world in under 15 minutes, no prior knowledge required. Find us wherever you get your BBC podcasts.