A large container ship loaded with colorful cargo containers is sailing on a foggy sea, with a small boat in the foreground.

Uncertainty for 20,000 seafarers stuck in the Persian Gulf

Full Episode
50:09

A container ship sits at anchor as a small motorboat passes in the foreground in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 2, 2026.

Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP

The UN is warning that there’s an “unprecedented” crisis in the Persian Gulf with 20,000 sailors trapped there since the beginning of the Iran war in March. Also, eight people are now suspected to have been infected by hantavirus, a rare but severe disease onboard a cruise ship currently moored off the West African island nation of Cape Verde. And, US military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Pacific Ocean are intensifying, but the public is short on details about the operation. Plus, Scottish fans have come up with a creative way to bypass public transportation gridlock and save some cash during the World Cup by hiring a fleet of school buses.

In This Episode

‘You’re basically in a floating prison’: Uncertainty for 20,000 seafarers stuck in Persian Gulf
7:46
A large group of people in kilts and Scotland soccer jerseys gather outside a grand building with columns.
Scottish soccer fans aim to skirt World Cup train costs by hiring a fleet of school buses
Special Coverage
4:34
Working from home just got a new meaning
1:00
‘We have absolutely no eyeballs’ on targeted drug smuggling boats
6:46
Joy comes to the band Ireke
1:41
Hantavirus cruises toward Spanish islands
6:19
What to know about hantavirus
5:14
Mexico City’s sonidero parties break social barriers
5:34
Inside a ferry, two rows of benches face large windows offering a view of a calm sea and distant coastline.
Tale of a Turkish ferry: A day working on Istanbul’s 175-year-old transport system
Special Coverage
5:36
A town in Taiwan that moves at a snail’s pace
1:25