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Pascale Harter introduces the human stories behind the headlines from China, Ukraine, the USA and Zimbabwe.

The recent protests against lockdown controls in more than a dozen Chinese cities astonished the outside world – but will they really change anything inside China? Celia Hatton messaged a dozen of her contacts in the country for their reaction to these startling scenes – and found they had plenty of opinions to share, despite online censorship and the fear of being singled out.

In the town of Adviivka, in Donetsk oblast, the war in Ukraine goes back much further than this year. It’s been on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces since the conflict initially ignited in 2014. What is it like for civilians trying to survive amid a town being slowly demolished around them by shelling and missile strikes? Abdujalil Abdurasulov spoke to residents making do in cramped basement shelters and bombed-out apartment blocks.

This week in Washington DC, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, Stewart Rhodes, was found guilty of 'seditious conspiracy' for the part he played in the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. During the trial, Mike Wendling spoke to Rhodes' son about his experience of growing up in Montana within a family dedicated to resisting the federal government.

And on a recent visit home to Zimbabwe, Kim Chakanetsa took a road trip – and saw many signs of the country’s continued economic distress. From the crumbling tarmac to the bribe-seeking traffic police, Zimbabwean motorists have plenty of obstacles to navigate.

Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Co-Ordinator: Iona Hammond