BBC World Service launching Asia Specific podcast
October 27, 2025
BBC World Service English is launching a new visualised podcast, which will deliver analysis and expertise on stories from across Asia-Pacific. Launching on November 19th, Asia Specific will bring Asian perspectives on the biggest global news stories, original journalism, and big picture insights on the political, social and economic trends shaping the region.
Airing twice weekly, Mariko Oi will present the podcast from BBC News’ Singapore bureau. She will be joined by correspondents and reporters from the BBC’s newsgathering and language service teams, with regular guests including South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head and China correspondent Laura Bicker.
Asia Specific brings together a team of journalists from across Asia-Pacific, led by Bill Birtles, who joins the BBC after a decade of reporting from the region as ABC’s China correspondent in Beijing and Taipei, and more recently as Indonesia bureau chief in Jakarta.Birtles is joined by Derek Cai, who has worked in Asia and beyond, and Rachel Lee, a seasoned reporter and producer from the BBC’s Korean Service.
Oi (pictured) commented: “I am thrilled to be presenting Asia Specific. I have always been passionate about telling Asian stories to our global audiences and have covered some of the biggest stories in the region including the 2011 Japan earthquake, Trump-Kim summits, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the Tokyo Olympics. Asia is incredibly vast and diverse but there are themes and stories that bind us together. Our team reflects that diversity, and we’ll be working in a truly multicultural newsroom in Singapore, representing almost every country in the region. This gives me confidence that we will be able to cover stories that are important to our audiences in Asia and across the globe.”
Jon Zilkha, Controller, BBC World Service English, added: “We are pleased to be announcing Asia Specific, a new English language podcast for our audiences in the Asia-Pacific region. We’ll be drawing expertise from across the BBC’s news teams, bringing trusted, in-depth reporting directly to our audiences. It’s an important addition to the BBC’s global storytelling, bringing original analysis on the stories shaping Asia – and the world.”
Episodes will land twice weekly, on YouTube first. Episodes will then be available on BBC Sounds in the UK and outside the UK on the BBC website, the BBC app, and wherever listeners get their BBC podcasts.
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