Navigating the urban maze

Having difficulty reading this email? View it online       How often do you get lost amid a city's streets? Today's top story unravels the maths of urban design to explain why some environments are harder to navigate than others - and why that's not always a bad thing. We also find out what happened when China let capitalism in, discover ways to keep your nerves in check in job interviews, and investigate how Ireland's 'soft border' could change when the UK leaves the EU. For analysis of the day's news, you can download the Global News podcast here and listen to us live here.         Navigating the urban maze             How often do you find yourself getting lost when you walk around cities? More or Less visits London's Barbican complex, one of the world's most famous brutalist housing estates, to explain why the design of environments can make them harder to navigate - and why that isn't always a bad thing. 'A huge maze of tower blocks and upmarket restaurants' Download the More or Less podcast         Is Mexico a warzone?             Please note this clip contains graphic descriptions of lethal violence Last year, more than 20,000 people were killed in Mexico in violence linked to the country's powerful drug cartels - making it the second most lethal conflict in the world, behind only Syria's civil war. Author Ioan Grillo discusses how the situation has reached such extremes. 'There are examples you might associate with war crimes' Download the Global News podcast         When China let capitalism in             In 1980, China designated four cities as 'special economic zones', where capitalist activity was allowed for the first time since the Communist revolution. Lucy Burns tells the story of the most successful, Shenzhen, and discovers how creating a city out of nowhere caused some distinctive problems. 'We got sent here: we didn't choose to come' Download the Witness podcast         Don't miss...         Mistakes not to make in interviews Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a survey by a recruitment firm said they had missed out on jobs because their nerves got the better of them in interviews. So how can you keep your cool? 'Smiling is huge - it humanises you' Download the World Business Report podcast             On the Brexit border Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in last year's Brexit referendum, but will now be leaving along with the rest of the UK. But what does that mean for its relationship, and 'soft border', with the Republic of Ireland? 'They have to support agriculture' Download the Business Daily podcast             The 78-day round trip Athletes from the South Atlantic island of St Helena want to compete at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Barbados in July - but face an arduous journey to get there. '78 days for a four-day event is a lot of time' Download the Sportshour podcast           Find us online         Follow us on Twitter       Join us on Facebook           Listen to World Service programmes       Download World Service podcasts             Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can also forward it to your friends so they can enjoy it too! Sign up here, and you can send us any feedback here. We'll be back tomorrow with more of the best stories from the BBC World Service. Will The BBC World Service Newsletter team     Terms of use | Privacy and Cookies | Unsubscribe