5 Minutes On BBC Podcasts

Four out of 10 under-30s are spending more than 30% of their income on rent - an amount deemed "unaffordable" by housing experts. Figures collected by the property market consultancy, Dataloft - and analysed by the BBC - show that's a five year high. What's more, while are increasing, wages are stagnant.

For 5 Minutes On, the BBC's Consumer Affairs correspondent, Colletta Smith, talks to a gym instructor from Salford who's taken on a second job to cope - and a couple from London who've had to come up with a creative solution. They've become property guardians - they pay a management company a monthly fee to live in an otherwise unused building. It's much cheaper than renting. "It means that we can save", they say, "and it allows us to live a bit more".

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It's that time of year again! Exam halls seem like a distant memory and now students up and down the country are opening their exam results. For the first time since the pandemic began pupils are being awarded grades based on their end-of-year tests, after cancellations in 2020 and 2021 meant scores were based on teacher predictions.

A-Level and GCSE grades are expected to be lower than in the last two years, and exam boards have been criticised for mistakes on some papers. But grade boundaries are more lenient this year. So if you're collecting results, whether it be A-levels, GCSEs, BTecs, or for the first time, T-Levels, what are some of the things you need to consider after you've opened that all important envelope?

For 5 Minutes On, Summer, Ben, Grace, & Ishaq get answers on further study, transferrable qualifications, and next year's exams - from BBC Education Correspondent Hazel Shearing.

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By the end of her life Dame Deborah James had become a household name. Diagnosed with bowel cancer aged just 35, she spent the next 5 years campaigning for better treatment and raising awareness. In her last few weeks, she also wrote a book which has now been published – and started the bowel babe fund, raising millions of pounds for cancer charities - something that earned her a Damehood from Prince William.

But Debs, in the words of her mother Heather, was also "full of life", and an amazing wife, sister, mother, and daughter.

Two months on from her daughter's death at the age of 40, Heather James sits down with BBC Reporter Graham Satchell to chat about Deborah's life and legacy.

Image Credit:@bowelbabe via Instagram

On the 16th of August 2002, the BBC launched a brand new radio station dedicated to contemporary black music and culture. It was unlike any other station there’d ever been. Radio 1Xtra was born. It was raw, it was real, it was authentic.

And it went on to help catapult the careers of countless artists, from Stormzy and Ed Sheeran, to Jorja Smith and Little Simz. It’s helped bring genres like Grime, Afrobeat and Drill into mainstream music, and given UK rap a major platform. It’s given its listeners a voice, reflecting their lives and the big cultural issues that matter to them, like BLM.

This is the story of 20 years of 1Xtra, told by two of its presenters… Remi Burgz and DJ Target.

Photo credit: Sarah Jeynes/BBC

TikTok and streaming services have re-defined the music industry and forced artists to find new ways of standing out. As a result, songs appear to be getting shorter with fast hooks and quick choruses.

The days of huge number ones like Oasis’ All Around The World - clocking in at more than 9 minutes - are long gone, and pop stars now need to make an impact instantly. More and more songs are charting at under three minutes.

For 5 Minutes On, music journalist Steve Holden discusses the demand for bitesize pop with Carl Smith, editor at the Official Charts.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Public swimming pools are closing across the UK, leaving many towns without a place that’s safe to swim. They’re not just a place of leisure. They offer a crucial service as a space where children can learn to swim and lifeguards can receive their training. They also provide a safe space for vulnerable people to exercise.

BBC News has contacted councils across the UK. One in six said that at least one swimming pool in their area has closed since 2019. Energy costs, chlorine shortages and a lack of staff are among the reasons given.

In our latest episode of our podcast 5 Minutes On, BBC reporter Emily Unia travels to Cornwall to find out what happens when the only pool in town closes - and how some communities are pulling together to ensure their precious facilities stay open.

Photo credit: Julian Stratenschulte via Getty Images