Crossing Continents Folgen

AI cameras. Drones. Facial recognition. Sound detection. Flock. The United States is monitored through a growing, high-tech, and increasingly interconnected surveillance network. The police say this is all for public safety - to prevent crime and assist investigations. Critics think it’s an invasion of privacy, open to misuse, and a sneaky tool aiding ICE in President Trump’s deportation drive.One company is bearing the brunt of the backlash: Flock Safety. Its network of AI-powered licence plate readers spans over 7000 communities, generating 20 billion vehicle scans a month. In some cities - like Houston, Texas - which has over 60 different law enforcement agencies, the full extent of the system is unclear. Many of these authorities won’t say publicly how many Flock devices they have.Vigilantes have been cutting down licence plate readers. Social media is full of tips on how to obstruct or disable the cameras. City halls across America are debating their Flock contracts. Meanwhile Flock employees are facing threats to their own safety. Ellie House is in Houston, Texas, investigating the surveillance network authorities want to keep quiet. She sees how Flock has been used by police to fight crime, and gets inside the anti-surveillance ‘techlash’. And she sits down with Flock CEO Garrett Langley in his Atlanta HQ. Presented and produced by Ellie House. Edited by Penny Murphy. Sound mix by Neil Churchill. The Production Coordinator was Gemma Ashman.

The figures are startling. 2.1 million Brazilians have a clinical addiction to betting. 7.5 million are problem gamblers. Women now comprise 40% of all gamblers, having been 25% just a decade ago. Online sports and casino betting have exploded in Brazil to make it one of the largest gambling markets in the world. The self-help group Gamblers Anonymous says it's receiving thousands of calls each month and millions of Brazilians are estimated be suffering financial, emotional or relationship problems as a result of betting. Camilla Mota talks to football fans in Sao Paulo on why they’re gambling on their team’s result. She also speaks to a man who gambled away $75, 000 on a corporate credit card over just one weekend and a businesswoman who locked herself in the toilet of her family home in order to bet in secret. Camilla also meets two psychiatrists offering treatment to addicts at a special clinic. What can be done to protect problem gamblers while at the same time avoid driving legal gambling underground? Produced by Bob Howard Studio mix: Neva Missirian Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy

What do the stolen love letters of John Keats have to do with homicide on the streets of New York?  Prosecuting both crimes falls under the remit of assistant district attorney Matthew Bogdanos.   A retired Marine colonel with both law and classics degrees, he has been the head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit since its creation in 2017. In his time on the job, the office has has seized more than six thousand pieces of stolen art and antiquities from various museums, art galleries and private homes in order to return them to their countries of origin. In this Crossing Continents, Sandra Kanthal travels to New York to learn more about this special unit of law enforcement and the reasons why one man thinks tracking down stolen treasures of the art world and reuniting them with their rightful owners is vitally important to our past and for our future. Presenter and Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Penny Murphy Studio Mix: James Beard Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman