Our modern lives are wired for productivity, speed and constant stimulation. Boredom? No time! Yet boredom can fire up our creativity and help teach us to manage our emotions.

Neele Buchholz has spent years dancing, acting, and building a career on her own terms. As an actress and dancer with Down syndrome, she continues to face barriers in an industry that often moves quickly and offers too little support. Yet she is determined to remain independent and refuses to let others define what is possible. She dreams of starting her own company.

The Los Angeles housing crisis remains a major challenge, with an estimated 73,040 people experiencing homelessness across Los Angeles County.

Curtice James knows that struggle firsthand. After experiencing homelessness himself and battling addiction, he now dedicates his time to helping others. Once a week, he offers free haircuts, hot meals, and groceries to people in need.

Prince William has told the BBC that awarding Sir Kevin Sinfield his knighthood was "probably the easiest decision that anyone's ever had to make".

The Prince of Wales leads the tributes to the inspirational former Rugby League player who has raised £13 millions of pounds over seven years for motor neurone disease (MND) charities.

In 2020, Sinfield went for a run after his friend and teammate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

He aimed to raise £77,777 for Rob and his family, a sum set to recognise Burrow’s number seven shirt. But just a week later, he had raised more than £2 million. It was the first of seven astonishing challenges over the next six years, which included seven ultramarathons in seven days and 101 miles in 24 hours.

What if you could delete your most embarrassing photos from the internet, even the ones other people posted? 

This week on The Interface, Tom and Jess discuss a new California law amendment that lets children featured in family vlogs demand that content of them be taken down when they turn 18, and parents and platforms have to comply. Could this be the future for everyone?

Later, they dive into how amid reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian data centres, many social media users claimed the internet had suddenly gone quiet, with no more malicious bots. But was that really true?

Magic mushrooms temporarily change how different parts of your brain communicate, loosening the filters that construct your everyday reality. The result can be profound, strange, and sometimes dangerous. But in medical settings with controlled doses, psilocybin is being trialed to help those suffering from depression or PTSD.

There’s an essay called  “The Decline of Deviance” by the psychologist Adam Mastroianni.

In it, he argues a bunch of random ways that life has changed recently are actually all part of one bigger shift. 

He thinks society takes fewer risks than it used to, and he sees that in everything from how movie studios keep making sequels, to how teenagers today engage in far fewer risky activities than previous generations did. 

For people who are blind or visually impaired, and for workers in trades such as construction, smart glasses can offer hands-free help by describing surroundings and identifying objects.

But the glasses have faced serious criticism for being used by some to secretly film.

Tech Now's Zoe Kleinman tests out the latest smart glasses and asks if new designs can help to shake off their "creepy" reputation.

Muslim pilgrims headed to Mecca for Umrah are facing travel disruptions as Houthi attacks hit Saudi Arabia. Five Saudi airports have been targeted in recent days, while flight cancellations have forced some travellers to reroute through neighbouring Gulf countries.

A young Palestinian entrepreneur says he wants to launch the first global brand born in Gaza.
Inspired by those choosing to boycott products linked to Israel's occupation, Mohammed Al Inshasi wants to join businesses providing alternative products.
He's designed shirts and sweaters carrying his logo - Get Up Gaza - a message that he hopes reaches supporters around the world.
This is his story in his own words.

Is Gen Z the dumbest generation? We're looking into the Reverse Flynn Effect and the claims that for the first time ever, younger generations are stupider.

The latest generation of AI is infiltrating the most intimate parts of our lives. This documentary explores the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence in psychotherapy. Can chatbots really help when it comes to our mental health?

The Palestine Comedy Club uses laughter as everyday resilience. Collecting stories, they perform their show on tour in the Palestinian territories and in Israel. From cramped basements to the Freedom Theatre and on to London, the stand-up comedy troupe searches for humor in everyday life and attempts to forge connection through laughter.

Africa's future is being built today.

From the continent's largest refinery to AI-ready data centres and renewable energy projects, the BBC's Nancy Kacungira meets the entrepreneurs and business leaders turning ambition into action across Africa.

A UK doctor who raised concerns about the treatment of children questioning their gender has told the BBC she was accused of transphobia, bullied and harassed out of her child protection job in the NHS.

Dr Sarah Redvers, who was a named safeguarding GP, said she faced a brutal investigation after she passed on complaints brought to her by other doctors.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Redvers said she felt she was "silenced" for doing her job after questioning whether another GP was appropriately assessing the needs of young people who were distressed about their gender identity.

Bakeries across Gaza are struggling to find flour to make bread for people desperate for food. As families queue for dwindling supplies, aid agencies are unable to provide the basics due to a lack of funds. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has warned famine is a real risk.

What we eat, wear, drive and do at home can all shape our carbon footprint. Discover five choices you can incorporate into everyday life to help us move towards a greener, healthier and more affordable future.

Fixing the Planet is a digital series, sponsored by Speed & Scale, that spotlights everyday choices and cutting-edge innovations that can help us preserve our planet for generations to come. 

From shadowboxing Parisians to chihuahuas fronting rap videos, the acceleration in generative AI capability is now impossible to miss on our feeds.

This week, Matt and Marianna explain how new software allows users to 'reskin' video content to make anyone say or do literally anything they like.

They discuss the resulting shift from realism to absurdism online, the existential threat to any type of IP ownership, and why independent creators inevitably suffer the most.

What role should work play in our lives?

In this episode of @DohaDebates host Mohamed Hassan is joined by Federico Campagna, Hoda Alkhzaimi, Yanis Varoufakis, and Robert Wolcott to debate what meaning we can expect from work in our lives.

As technology transforms entire industries around the world, how will our relationships with work change, and who might get left behind?

Videos show schoolchildren protesting outside schools and boycotting classes after reports that a new ‘secular’ dress code recently introduced by the Azerbaijani government has led to hijab-wearing pupils and teachers being barred from school.

Are we making the most of our lives? Social media constantly tells us we could be richer, healthier, more attractive, better parents, better connected, even better at switching off. And increasingly, there is something to buy to help us get there. In this episode, Al Jazeera Reels explores seven ways the internet is reshaping how we see ourselves and the lives we think we should be living. From looksmaxxing and get-rich-quick culture to body tracking, loneliness and dopamine detoxes, one question runs through them all: is all this optimisation helping us live better, or simply giving us more ways to feel we are not enough?