Asya Fouks

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Presenting highlights:

I outgrew a cult and became a professor. It’s New Year’s Eve 1972. 8-year-old Jerald Walker peeks anxiously into the dark, convinced the world’s about to end. When it doesn't, he's desperate for something to believe in.

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Latest productions:

In 2015 Putin’s number one public enemy, Boris Nemtsov, was shot and killed in front of the Kremlin.His daughter, journalist Zhanna Nemtsova, and co-host Ben Rhodes, tell his story and what it says about Russia today.

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I'm Asya. An award-winning radio journalist, presenter, and producer. I currently host Outlook on the BBC World Service and its sister podcast Lives Less Ordinary, where I tell human-focused, character-driven stories that bring people closer together.Over the past decade, I’ve produced work for the BBC, Crooked Media, iHeartRadio, and The Times, creating narratives that make sense of both world-shaking events and everyday lives. I helped launch The Story, The Times’ flagship narrative news podcast, where I reported on stories like the police killing of a young Black man in Wales and produced Diary of a Funeral Director, capturing the quiet heroism of life during the pandemic.I’ve also brought international stories to life through series like Another Russia and The Last Soviet — ambitious, deeply reported podcasts exploring power, resistance, and memory.In 2021, I won Bronze for Best News Producer at the British Podcast Awards and was nominated again the following year.I grew up between California and the forests of Karelia, Russia — a dual perspective that shapes my reporting. I speak fluent Russian, which has opened doors to stories often left untold.When I’m not behind a mic or in the edit, you’ll likely find me training Muay Thai (a long-time obsession) or supporting women as a doula in training — a role I’m passionate about for its power to centre and empower women in moments of major transformation.

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