Unemployment one year after the credit crunch

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In September 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, sending the already unstable markets into a serious tailspin. One year later unemployment levels across the globe are high: in Europe the number of jobless in the eurozone hit a 10-year high in July, while the Federal Reserve warned that U.S. unemployment could rise above 10%. On Labor Day we’re taking a closer look at the job markets around the world. (photo: AP) Download MP3

• The year that shook the world
• BBC Aftershock series

The fate of corporate art

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the financial services firm was the proud owner of a multi-million dollar art collection. Part of this collection will now be auctioned off by Freeman Auctioneers of Philadelphia. The BBC’s Lawrence Pollard took a look at the impact of the financial downturn on the fine arts. Download MP3

• Freeman’s press release

Papua New Guinea’s new creatures

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You could be forgiven if you’re skeptical about the claims of an expedition team that just got back from Papua New Guinea. They include the discovery of a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog, and a fish that makes grunting noises. But leave your skepticism at the door. We speak with Professor George McGavin of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Download MP3

• BBC Pictures: Weird crater creatures
• Video of the giant rat
• BBC Earth News

Entire program – September 7, 2009

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Today on The World: Unrest continues in Western China as protesters demand official resignations; Also, a persecuted religious group in Egypt makes gains towards acceptance; And filming the discovery of some new species in Papua New Guinea, including a fanged frog and a really big rat.

Unemployment around the world

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
On this Labor Day, we take a pulse on jobless numbers in Britain, Spain and Lebanon. The World’s Laura Lynch is in London, Gerry Hadden reports from Spain and Aaron Schachter is in Lebanon.

State of the recession

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Anchor Marco Werman checks in with Time Magazine economics columnist Justin Fox on the state of the global recession.

Lehman Brothers’ art

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
The global recession hit the art market especially hard. And now, the company that helped spark the financial crisis is selling off its art. The BBC’s Lawrence Pollard reports from London.

Verdict in would-be bombers case

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Three British men were found guilty today of conspiring to commit mass murder by blowing up airplanes. Their arrest in 2006 led to the airplane restrictions on liquids. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Rob Watson in London, where the trial took place.

Unrest continues in western China

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
There was more unrest in the city of Urumqi in western China over the weekend. Protesters demanded the resignation of regional leader. He retained his job, but his second-in-command was forced to resign. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Beijing correspondent Mary Kay Magistad for an update.

New West Bank settlements approved

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Israel today approved hundreds of new housing units in Jewish West Bank settlements. The move goes against President Obama’s call for a settlement freeze. The World’s Matthew Bell has more.

Religious freedom in Egypt

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
In Egypt, followers of the Bahai religion have often complain of persecution and even official discrimination. But they have recently made gains in the largely Muslim country. The World’s Aya Batrawy reports from Cairo.

Strange new species

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
An expedition team, just back from a trip to Papua New Guinea, has discovered some new species… including a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog, and a fish that that makes grunting noises. The team filmed their expedition for a BBC-TV program called “Lost Land of the Volcano.” Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the team leader, George McGavin of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

• BBC Pictures: Weird crater creatures
• Video of the giant rat
• BBC Earth News

Geo Quiz and geo answer (4:30)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
The answer to today’s Geo Quiz is the distance (in nautical miles) between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Thirteen tall ships recently raced the 2,350 nautical miles across the North Atlantic for the finale of the Tall Ship Atlantic Challenge 2009. Mariana Schroeder sent us an audio postcard of the celebration in Belfast as the tall ships arrived.

Global Hit

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
A song by international pop star Chris de Burgh is an unlikely hit among separatists in Kashmir. The song was used in a video and posted on-line. It helped raise awareness of violence in region. We’ll hear an excerpt from a BBC documentary on the use of new media in Kashmir.

Chris de Burgh’s song “Revolution”

Music Heard on Air for September 7, 2009

A List of Music Featured Between our reports for September 7, 2009