The Documentary Podcast

World Wide Waves '24

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Radio can be a lifeline for women: a place to speak out in safety; a place to find their voices. We hear from women taking to the air and making waves...

Bonus: The Global Jigsaw - Does Russia’s election matter?

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Putin’s re-election is certain, but there is still a lot at stake for the Kremlin. We look into the efforts aimed at achieving unequivocal victory i...

BBC OS Conversations: The earthquake in Turkey and Syria – one year on

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When we first reported on the earthquake in February 2023, the scale was overwhelming. We heard from families who had escaped as buildings around them...

Bonus: HARDtalk - Alexey Navalny: The interview

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in ...

Heart and Soul: The killer's counsel

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctor Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist working with the UK’s most violent offenders, many of them serving life sentences at Broadmoor Prison...

Assignment: Tempting fate - Istanbul's earthquake dilemma

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of residents living in Istanbul face the dilemma of whether or not to find out if the buildings where they live are resilient to earthquakes....

Trending: The Mexican mayor and a deepfake scandal

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When an audio recording alleged to be from the Mayor of one of the world's largest cities started circulating online, reality was called into question...

Reporting Greece

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Greece is the birthplace of democracy. But how free is Greece’s media? Nikos Papanikolaou travels to his home town, Athens, to speak to journalists ...

In the Studio: Jon Foreman

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Foreman is a land artist. He creates work in natural spaces using natural materials like stones, sand, leaves and driftwood. Known for his mesmeri...

Bonus: The Global Story

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Could Taylor Swift swing the US election?The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, maki...

Bonus: Sportshour at the Super Bowl Las Vegas edition

10 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some claim that the romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has been manufactured by the NFL for political gain, and whilst that is clearly nons...

BBC OS Conversations: Deepfake attacks

10 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After explicit faked photos of Taylor Swift went around the world, US politicians have called for new laws to criminalise the creation of deepfake ima...

Heart and Soul: Religion in the 21st century - Buddhism (episode 3)

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a Buddhist today? For this last programme in a special series on religion in the 21st century, Heart and Soul on the BBC World...

Assignment: Is Ireland’s reputation for tolerance under threat?

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland is known as the land of a hundred thousand welcomes. But the government says the country has run out of accommodation to house all new eligibl...

Bonus: Killer drug: Fentanyl in Mexico and the US

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fentanyl is deadly. Thousands of Americans die every year from a drug overdose – the majority of them after using a synthetic opioid like fentanyl. ...

Trending: Serbia’s real life ‘bots’

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the summer, a mysterious Twitter persona published details of over 14,500 social media accounts - all of them controlled by real-life Serbian cit...

Cairo in comics

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Modern Cairo is a crowded metropolis. The city’s ‘thousand minarets’ are now dwarfed by a new skyline of slick tower blocks. Modern highways fly...

In the Studio: Awais Khan - Overcoming writer’s block

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Pakistani author, Awais Khan, is working on his latest thriller, His Sister’s Secret, a look into the dark side of dating and family life. But A...

Bonus: The Global Story

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Elon Musk says Chinese electric vehicles could destroy competition. The Global Story brings you one big...

BBC OS Conversations: Leaving Gaza

03 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC revealed this week that more than half the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its retaliation fo...

Heart and Soul: Religion in the 21st Century - Hindus (episode 2 of 3)

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a young Hindu in 2024? The world's Hindu population is projected to rise by 34%, by 2050 to nearly 1.4 billion. So how does on...

Assignment: Spain, the kiss and the culture war

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso after her team’s world cup victory last summer, it set a match to Spanish gender relat...

Trending: Power

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Crude fakes in Uganda A BBC investigation has uncovered a network of fake social media accounts seemingly working together to promote the Ugandan gove...

The Israeli hostages

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages, including children and babies, women, and elde...

In the Studio: Shoeshine Caddie

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The search is on to find new ways to document the lives of the homeless – nowhere is this more true than in America, with increasing numbers of peop...

Understand: The US election

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Caucuses, primaries and Super Tuesday. Justin Webb, former BBC US correspondent, unpicks some of the terminology associated with the US election.

BBC OS Conversations: Life in Yemen

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With concerns around further instability in the Middle East – as well as international trade – Yemen is the focus for many around the world. The R...

Heart and Soul: Religion in the 21st Century: Islam

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a young Muslim in the world today? In the first of three discussion programmes looking at religion in the 21st century, a pane...

Assignment: American mercenaries - killing in Yemen

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While recent attention has focused on the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen, BBC correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi investigates a different, hidden aspect o...

Solutions Journalism: Reducing risks in a risky world

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since the devastating 2011 tsunami, Japan has been piloting risk reduction solutions in areas prone to severe damage from earthquakes and tsunamis. Be...

Solutions Journalism: Ending homelessness the Finnish way

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens if you give a homeless person a house, with no strings attached?In 2007 Finland decided to switch to a radical new approach to homelessne...

In the Studio: Maria Djurkovic

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Another chance to hear from production designer Maria Djurkovic, as she takes us behind the scenes of Harry Styles' movie, My Policeman, which was mad...

Paris: Football’s greatest talent factory

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the France World Cup squad, 11 were from Paris and there were also players born in the city's suburbs representing Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Qatar...

BBC OS Conversations: Surviving sepsis

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The inspiring story of nurse and mother Cindy Mullins from Kentucky in the United States has captured a lot of attention online and has raised awarene...

Heart and Soul: Russia’s Africa crusade

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When the Russian Orthodox Church set up its own outpost in Africa in late 2021, just months before the invasion of Ukraine, it was considered a blatan...

Assignment: Bulgaria - the people smugglers

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Migration is high on the political agenda in countries across Europe, as the number of asylum seekers rises once more. As well as those who risk life ...

Our House: Stories of the Holocaust

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jo Glanville meets Berliners who have researched the stories of the Jewish families who once lived in their homes. Marie, Hugh, Anke and Matthias all ...

In the Studio: Thelma Schoonmaker

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thelma Schoonmaker is arguably the world’s most famous film editor, winning three Oscars in her 40-year career. Ever since Raging Bull, she has work...

BBC OS Conversations on graduate unemployment

13 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic, an economic downturn and the cost of living crisis have all taken their toll on the global job market. In China, millions of young peopl...

Heart and Soul: Facing death in Kenya

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Kenya, palliative care - which involves end of life care for terminally ill patients - is often treated with suspicion. There's a deep taboo around...

Assignment: The struggle for Barbuda's future

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Campaigners on the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda are locked in a battle over its development by foreign investors who are building exclusive resort...

Building a future for cyclone-hit Mozambique

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Five years after reporting on one of Mozambique’s worst cyclones, the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko returns to the city of Beira to meet the people on the fr...

The Return

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first recorded enslaved Africans in Virginia, America, in 2019 Ghana launched the ‘Year o...

In the Studio: Poet Fred D’Aguiar

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The poet, novelist and playwright Fred D’Aguiar was born in Britain, grew up in Guyana and now lives in Los Angeles. There he came across the story ...

BBC OS Conversations: Covid-19 four years later

06 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is four years since we reported the first cases of an outbreak of a mysterious viral pneumonia in the city of Wuhan in China. Within months, what b...

Assignment: Bones that speak

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016, the Philippines’ newly elected president, Rodrigo Duterte declared there was one, common enemy: the drugs trade. What followed was a bloodb...

An octopus's garden

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The octopus is prized as the most intelligent of all marine species – immortalised in stories, poems and songs worldwide. In Madagascar it is also a...

The Approach

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Adriana Brownlee is a mountaineering pioneer. The British woman became the youngest female to summit K2 - the second-highest mountain on Earth - in 20...

In the Studio: Manal AlDowayan

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Internationally renowned Saudi artist Manal AlDowayan is midway through an ambitious public installation that will be shown in the Valley of Arts, in ...

HARDtalk: Past notes

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023. All of them left an indelible mark on public life and all, in their different w...

BBC OS Conversation: Adventurers

30 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have spent the last year here on BBC OS Conversations covering some of the World’s major news stories. As the year draws to a close, however, we ...

Assignment: Bolivia’s giant fish intruder

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Some people said it was created by Peruvian scientists, that it gorged on the blood of farm animals, that it was a monster. Many myths have grown up i...

HARDtalk: 2023 in review

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Sackur looks back at some of HARDtalk’s most impactful and thought-provoking interviews of 2023.

In the Studio: Andrea Hernández

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Photographer Andrea Hernández has been travelling around her native Venezuela documenting people and nature for her ongoing project called Mango Seas...

Football and faith

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mani Djazmi presents a special programme as Crystal Palace defender Joel Ward and the former Portsmouth player Linvoy Primus discuss their Christian f...

BBC OS Conversations: The Taylor Swift phenomenon

23 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no doubt this has been Taylor Swift’s year. Just 34 years old, the American singer songwriter has been in the music industry for more than...

Heart and Soul: Irish myths and fairy tales

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many mythological creatures and traditions we know, love, and more importantly fear, owe their origins to Celtic folklore. Borrowed to create epic fra...

Assignment: Ukraine - building back better

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rebuilding Ukraine after the destruction inflicted by Russia will be a gigantic task. Foreign donors have pledged billions of dollars. But they want r...

Rewilding the orphaned elephants

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a remote corner of Northern Kenya, former Samburu warriors continue to rescue orphaned and abandoned baby elephants, even as drought has put on hol...

In the Studio: Ivan Hove

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ivo van Hove is the most sought-after theatre director in the world. We join him in Paris, London and Amsterdam, where he works on productions that ar...

BBC OS Conversations: Ukrainians and hope

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knows that if he has any hope of victory in the war in his country he needs his international friends to keep b...

Heart and Soul: Queer and Christian in Kenya

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a gay Christian in a country where many Church leaders say your sexuality is wicked and even demonic? In 2013, a group of LGBT...

Assignment: Ukraine - fighting for openness

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers defend their country against Russia, many patriotic civilians are engaged in a struggle that's less ris...

Stories from the New Silk Road: Iceland

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013 Iceland made history by becoming the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China. It was aimed at increasing exports from...

In the Studio: Kengo Kuma

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kengo Kuma has a philosophy: to enrich the connection between buildings and nature, “almost tuning-in” to the materials. His architecture is inspi...

Taiwan's balancing act

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Former BBC Taiwan correspondent Cindy Sui meets two young Taiwanese voters, Shirley Lin and Dennis, who have very different views about the island, it...

BBC OS Conversations: Climate change and the young

09 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

World leaders are currently meeting in Dubai for the United Nations’ COP23 climate summit to discuss how to cope with a changing global climate. At ...

Heart and Soul: The Sarajevo Haggadah

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sarajevo’s most famous artefact, a 700 year-old Jewish prayer book called the Haggadah, captures the story the city wants to tell about itself. But ...

Assignment: Cyprus and the battle over songbird slaughter

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cyprus is one of the main resting stops for songbirds as they migrate between Europe, Africa and the Middle East. For centuries, Cypriots trapped and ...

The Children of Paradise: Without hope you're dead

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three decades after the momentous transition from Apartheid to a democratic South Africa, Fergal Keane returns to see what happened to the hopes and p...

The Children of Paradise: A deadly mixture

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three decades after the momentous transition from Apartheid to a democratic South Africa, Fergal Keane returns to see what happened to the hopes and p...

The Children of Paradise: The future must change

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three decades after the momentous transition from Apartheid to a democratic South Africa, Fergal Keane returns to see what happened to the hopes and p...

Stories from the New Silk Road: Norway

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Norwegian town of Kirkenes set on the coast and inside the Arctic Circle, is on the edge of what the Chinese refer to as the Polar Silk Road. The ...

Filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk: Animating Ukraine’s War

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Iryna Tsilyk is one of Ukraine’s best known young documentary makers. She made her name following the lives of soldiers, female paramedics and famil...

Introducing Amazing Sport Stories

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sport but not as you know it. A brand new sports storytelling podcast.Imagine being stranded in the “death zone” on one of the world’s highest m...

Kissinger’s Legacy

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Henry Kissinger was one of the most important diplomatic figures of the last 50 years. James Naughtie looks back at his global influence, as he reflec...

BBC OS Conversations: Israel and Gaza - securing freedom

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A week without war meant that the temporary pause in fighting was replaced by the emotions of family reunions. Before the air strikes resumed on Frida...

Heart and Soul: Follow God, not the people

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Brought up in a devout Catholic family in the suburbs of Kampala, Frank Mugisha knew that something was different about him even as a small boy. He wa...

Kissinger

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Few people can claim as much influence over the shape of the modern world as Henry Kissinger. The former US Secretary of State and Nobel Peace laureat...

Assignment: Poland's forest frontier

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Polish government has built a steel border wall 186km long and 5m high along its eastern frontier. It is meant to stop global migrants from Asia a...

Gaza diaries

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

English teacher Farida and Khalid, a medical supplier, document through intimate voice messages their struggle to survive the war in Gaza. They tell a...

Sweden: Living with guns and gangs

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sweden has become a European hotspot for deadly shootings, rocking its reputation as a safe and peaceful nation. Last year, a record 62 people were ki...

In the Studio: Danny Boyle

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Danny Boyle, the visionary behind the 2012 London Olympic opening ceremony and the Oscar-winning director of films like Slumdog Millionaire, Yesterday...

The Cultural Frontline: K-drama

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Korean drama, or K-drama, is enjoying phenomenal worldwide success. South Korea is now one of the largest content providers in the world. Actress Min-...

BBC OS Conversations: Hostages, prisoners and peace

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After seven weeks of war between Hamas and Israel, there was a deal for a pause in the fighting. On Friday morning the rockets and gunfire fell silent...

The Trial of Oscar Pistorius

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014 Audrey Brown told the dramatic story of the trial of the athlete Oscar Pistorius After becoming a Paralympics champion, Oscar Pistorius rose t...

Heart and Soul: Wolves in sheep's clothing

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Kenyan-born nurse Margaret Ruto chanced upon an internet story about an American Christian missionary accused of sexually abusing children in a K...

Florida's political refugees

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are escaping states they no longer feel comfortable in. They are calling themselves ‘political ref...

We the people are Barbados

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In September 2020, Barbados announced its decision to become a republic, removing the British monarchy as head of state. November 30th, 2021 marked no...

In The Studio: Damon Galgut - Adapting The Promise for the stage

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Damon Galgut’s 2021 Booker Prize-winning novel, The Promise, chronicles the slow decline of a white family on a farm outside Pretoria, South Africa,...

The Debate: Israel Gaza - What happens when the war ends?

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC’s Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests to discuss what happens when the Israel Gaza war ends. On the panel are Jeremy Bowen, BBC Int...

BBC OS Conversations: Hate against Jews and Muslims

18 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The war in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel continues to cost many lives. It is also increasing tensions and anger around the world.Hundreds o...

Heart and Soul: Israel – Gaza: Can interfaith work prevail?

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The recent violence between Israel and Hamas threatens the survival of the hundreds of small-scale projects which aim to bring Jews and Palestinians t...

The mighty Mekong’s last hope

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tens of millions of lives depend on the Mekong river for fishing and farming as it travels through China and South East Asia. But there are increasing...

Tanni's lifetime road to disabled equality

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Multiple gold medal-winning Paralympic wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson examines 50 years of changing attitudes to disability around the world. ...

A man without bees

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why are all the bees dying? Simon Mitambo, an expert from Kenya's so-called 'Land of Bees', travels from his own affected community to huge industrial...

In The Studio: Jenn Lee: Taiwan fashion designer

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Taipei based fashion designer Jenn Lee is preparing her Spring Summer 2024 collection for London and Taipei Fashion Weeks. Inspired by the recycled ma...

BBC OS Conversations: Israeli losses

11 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, thousands of lives have been lost in the war. While rolling news and live updates give us minute by mi...

Heart and Soul: Queerly beloved: Same-sex love and the Synod

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Church of England prohibits same-sex relations. Even so, the debate on this position – in the UK and the worldwide Anglican Communion - continue...

The Jews and Arabs coexisting in crisis

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just over 20% of Israel’s population are Palestinian - or Israeli Arabs - making them the largest minority in the country. They are distinct from th...