This week's Great Life might have become an Afrikaner Nationalist Prime Minister of apartheid South Africa, but instead became its most prominent white opponent. A formidable advocate, he led the defence of Nelson Mandela in the Rivonia Trial. It is no exaggeration to say Bram Fischer saved Mandela's life, and it is said Mandela would have made him his vice-president, had he lived to see Mandela's release. He's nominated by former English High Court Judge Sir Nick Stadlen along with Lord Joffe.

Presenter Matthew Parris.

Producer Perminder Khatkar.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.

Seven up-and-coming Ghanaian musicians perform for the BBC and tell Rita Ray what inspires them in Ghana and beyond.

(Photo: From left to right, Efya, Kyekyeku and Wiyaala, Ghana's rising musical talent)

The UN forecasts that the number of people living in Africa will double in the next 35 years. Nigeria, the fastest-growing nation, is expected to become the third largest country in the world by 2050. By the end of the century, almost 40% of the world’s population will live on this one continent. It raises questions about how countries – some of which are already facing big challenges – will cope with twice the number of inhabitants in just one generation. There are fears about the impact a demographic explosion will have on health, society and the environment. But others say Africa’s population boom could turn out to be a good news story. Ruth Alexander asks - how will a population boom change Africa?

(Photo: Onitsha-Asaba Highway. Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images)

Exploring the charisma of humility and service in Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Francine Stock attempts to pin down the alluring yet elusive quality of charisma.

So far, Francine has been fascinated to learn that charisma is an amoral quality - value-free, neither positive nor negative in itself, with the potential to do good or harm depending on those who harness it.

In the previous episode, she considered the appalling impact of Hitler's "dark charisma".

She now turns to two 21st century individuals who have used their charisma to serve their people: Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Francine talks with Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, who knew Nelson Mandela well and who anatomises his particularly powerful type of charisma.

She also hears from Jas Elsner, who has worked closely with the Dalai Lama, and who explains how his religious upbringing and belief underpin his charisma.

In an era in which the casual use of the term charisma has proliferated, Professor John Potts - who recently came across an advertisement for a "charismatic sandwich" (one in which the lettuce was particularly crisp) - discusses the importance of authenticity in the truly charismatic.

Producer: Beaty Rubens.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.

Kathryn Maitland is a doctor with a burning passion to transform clinical research across Africa, where she has spent most of her career. Determined to improve the outcomes for critically sick children in hospital, she spent over a decade of her life raising funds for and then carrying out, the first ever scientific trial for fluid bolus resuscitation in children with shock. Fluid replacement is a pillar of medicine but the evidence base for this particular issue is weak, even though it is standard practice for hospitals in high-income countries. The results were totally unexpected, creating a shockwave in the medical community that is yet to settle down. Kathryn believes the results could save tens of thousands of lives every year in Africa alone yet the experience very nearly ended her research career. She tells her life-changing story to Kevin Fong, himself a critical care doctor, who wonders if his own current practice of treating sick children should now change.

(Image: presenter Kevin Fong with Kathryn Maitland)

The luxury hotels in the beach resorts of Tunisia which were once packed with tourists now lie nearly empty. The slaughter on the beach at Sousse on June 26th has added Tunisia to a growing list of no-go areas for Western tourists. Tunisia is 99% Muslim but was considered an oasis of secularism in the Arab World. Its revolution in 2011 marked the beginning of The Arab Spring, bringing democratic government in place of a dictatorship. But all those hopes now appear to have turned to dust. Tunisia sends more fighters to Syria than any other Arab country, perhaps as many as 3000. Tunisia is now ruled by a coalition that includes an overtly Islamist party, called Ennahda. So what does the future hold for the country? Is it going down a radical route?

Ernie Rea is joined by Zoe Petkanas, working on a Ph.D on Gender, Law and Social Change in North Africa at Cambridge University; Dr Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Centre of the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington D.C.; and Berny Sebe, Senior Lecturer in colonial and post colonial studies at Birmingham University.

Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.

Why are so many young people leaving Algeria? Unlike Syria or Libya, Algeria is supposedly a beacon of stability in a troubled region and it enjoys vast wealth from its oil and gas resources. Yet it remains a major source of illegal migrants to Europe and thousands continue to risk their lives crossing the sea to get there. They are known as ‘Harraga’ derived from the verb to burn in Arabic because they burn their identity documents. President Bouteflika’s right hand man, has called the harraga phenomenon “a national tragedy”. Lucy Ash meets some of those heading for Europe’s Eldorado and those bereaved friends and families of harragas who have disappeared in the Mediterranean.

Produced by John Murphy.

(Photo: An Algerian policeman surveys the Mediterranean)

Why are so many young people leaving Algeria? Unlike Syria or Libya, Algeria is supposedly a beacon of stability in a troubled region and it enjoys vast wealth from its oil and gas resources. Yet it remains a major source of illegal migrants to Europe and thousands continue to risk their lives crossing the sea to get there. They are known as 'Harraga', derived from the verb to burn in Arabic because they burn their identity documents. President Bouteflika's right hand man has called the harraga phenomenon "a national tragedy". Lucy Ash meets some of those heading for Europe's Eldorado and those bereaved friends and families of harragas who have disappeared in the Mediterranean. John Murphy producing.

In one of the largest operations of its kind, thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were pulled off cramped, unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean in June. Gabriel Gatehouse has had rare access to the operation. He follows two young men as they try to find a new home in Europe, from the moment they board a privately-funded search and rescue ship, to their attempts to evade the Italian police.

(Photo: Habtum Mengs from Eritrea)

South Africa produces about half of all Africa’s electricity. But it is now having to endure rolling blackouts on an almost daily basis, and few people expect the situation to improve anytime soon. Known as load shedding, the programme of scheduled power cuts is not only a profound inconvenience, but is leading to violent protests and bitter resentment of the ANC government, even among its supposedly invincible power base in the black townships. In this programme, Neal Razzell travels to South Africa to find out why this crisis has arisen and how it is affecting life in the once optimistic Rainbow Nation.

Planning errors, labour disputes, and poor maintenance all play their part in the problem. Yet so too does the need to extend power to numerous poor black areas, once denied electricity. Meanwhile, others living in township areas believe they should have a right to energy, free of charge, and some of these routinely steal electricity, adding to the challenges faced by the debt-ridden national generator, Eskom.

(Photo: South Africa’s electricity pylons)

South Africa is in crisis as the national electricity generator, Eskom, struggles to provide an adequate power supply and rolling blackouts hit the country on a regular basis. As Neal Razzell reports, there's now concern that jobs and growth are at risk from the power cuts, and the ruling ANC - which blames the problem on inheriting an apartheid-era network designed only for the white population - stands accused of complacency and incompetence.

Michael Gallagher producing.

World War One ravaged Tanzania. East Africans were recruited as carriers and fighters, and many more were affected by the destruction of crops by retreating forces. As many as a million died from starvation and sickness as well as from their wounds, yet the war is barely remembered there now. Oswald Masebo, Professor of History at the University of Dar es Salaam, explores the conundrum with an audience at the auditorium of the British Council in Tanzania.

A special episode of the historical sketch show about the great Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, starring Kathryn Drysdale. We meet Cleo as she clashes with her brother, seizes power and hooks up with great Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Meanwhile, across the world, we catch up with the thoughts of famous Chinese philosopher Confucius and encounter the less-glamorous side of life in Rome. With, of course, our host Rattus to guide the way!

It has been nearly four years since the Somali militant group al-Shabab was forced out of the capital Mogadishu. Since then, parts of the city have started to come back to life but the security situation remains dangerous. Africa correspondent Andrew Harding returns to Mogadishu to talk to security officials charged with keeping the country safe, and to speak to al-Shabab defectors who are part of the government’s new amnesty scheme. Is Somalia turning the tide against the extremists of al-Shabab?

(Photo: Zakariya Ismail Hersi, al-Shabab defector. BBC copyright)

The violent riots on the streets of South Africa in recent weeks have seen foreigners killed, their shops looted and 5,000 left homeless. They are accused of taking jobs from locals in a country where high unemployment is a big concern - and an example of the gaping chasm that remains between rich and poor. So 21 years after Nelson Mandela pledged to liberate all South Africans from the continuing bondage of poverty and deprivation, why is South Africa one of the most unequal societies on the planet?

(Photo: South African man waves a stick in the air, while demonstrators are chanting. Credit: Stefan Heunis/Getty Images)

In 2000 the world committed to reduce child mortality rates by 2015. At the time, there were on average 90 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births globally. Now there are 46. The UN says that means 17,000 fewer children are dying every day. Unicef has described the improvement as “one of the most significant achievements in human history”. But progress has been uneven. We look at one of the unexpected stars of the race to tackle child mortality – Rwanda – which, between 2000 and 2015, achieved the highest average annual reduction in the under-five mortality rate in the world. How did Rwanda do it? And could other nations follow its example?

(Photo: Children Smiling Credit: Wlablack / Shutterstock)

In northern Tanzania there is a tradition of FGM – female genital mutilation. The 'cutting season' lasts for six weeks. Afterwards, the adolescent victims are often expected to marry. But girls in Serengeti District are saying 'no' to FGM. And dozens of them have fled to a new safe house in the town of Mugumu to escape this bloody, life-threatening rite of passage. For Assignment, Linda Pressly travels to Mugumu to meet the girls - and the woman who has given them refuge, Rhobi Samwelly. She listens in as Rhobi engages in delicate and often emotional negotiations with parents intent on mutilating their daughters. Will the girls ever feel safe enough to return home?

(Photo: Rhobi Samwelly, founder of the FGM safe house in Mugumu. BBC Copyright)

In northern Tanzania there is a tradition of FGM - female genital mutilation. The 'cutting season' lasts for six weeks. Afterwards, the adolescent victims are often expected to marry. But girls in Serengeti District are saying 'no' to FGM. And dozens of them have fled to a new safe house in the town of Mugumu to escape this bloody, life-threatening rite of passage. For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly travels to Mugumu to meet the girls - and the woman who has given them refuge, Rhobi Samwelly. She listens in as Rhobi engages in delicate and often emotional negotiations with parents intent on mutilating their daughters. Will the girls ever feel safe enough to return home?

The crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between rivals Rwanda and Uganda. A match that had it all - amazing saves, ‘witchcraft’, a mass brawl and a goal that made history. Rob Walker reports.

(Photo: Rwanda's forward Sinzey Sinda fights for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2004. Credit: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)

Love, Money and HIV in Kenya. Laurie Taylor talks to Sanyu Mojola, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, and author of a study exploring how modern women in developing countries experience sexuality and love. Drawing on a rich variety of interview, ethnographic and survey data from her native country of Kenya, she examines how young African women, who suffer disproportionate rates of HIV infection compared to young African men, navigate their relationships, schooling, employment and financial access in the context of a devastating HIV epidemic and economic inequality.

Also, Thomas Thurnell-Read, Lecturer in Sociology at Coventry University, discusses his study of microbreweries and the revival of traditional beer in the UK.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.