The Documentary Podcast

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...

My Forgotten War

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Turkey hosts the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in the world. These include around 3.6 million Syrians, who fled there during the w...

In The Studio: Carol Morley

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carol Morley is known for films like The Falling, Dreams Of A Life, and her most recent work, Typist Artist Pirate King.Her next movie is an adaptatio...

BBC OS Conversations: Palestinian losses

04 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The fighting and funerals in the Israel and Hamas war are constant. Thousands have been killed.The number of fatalities don’t tell the real stories ...

Heart and Soul: Finding Falun Gong

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been more than two decades since the Chinese government launched a crackdown on Falun Gong. The spiritual group claims practitioners face mass ...

Assignment: Taught to fear - corporal punishment in the classroom

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Kenya, corporal punishment in schools has been banned for over twenty years, yet young students are being beaten by their teachers on a daily basis...

The Raspberry Visa

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The ‘Raspberry Visa’ is the colloquial name given to the Portuguese passport that workers picking berries in Western Portugal can apply for after ...

In the Studio: Kieran Stanley - Designing a Zoo

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Zoo designer Kieran Stanley has created some of the world's most impressive spaces to care for animals ranging from the Indian rhinoceros to the giant...

BBC OS Conversations: Jewish-Palestinian couples

28 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Observing the suffering on both sides of the Israel and Gaza war, are couples and families around the world in which individuals with Jewish and Pales...

Heart and Soul: The New York Supreme Court's first female Hasidic judge

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Freier was 30 when she started her training to be an attorney, and many people told her she was making a mistake. Growing up in an ultra-orthod...

Assignment: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Russian Theatre

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tatiana Frolova wasn’t born to be a theatre director. She grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s in a cut-off part of a closed country, the Soviet Far East...

Africa's urban future: What next?

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Faced with the ever-quickening pace of urbanisation, what is the future for Africa's swelling cities? Experts predict that Africa could be home to for...

In the Studio: PAC NYC

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

September 2023 sees the opening of PAC NYC – the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York. It’s the final building in the new piazza, situated ...

Other people's children

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mothers from all over the world leave their families in search of economic opportunities elsewhere – and they often end up working as nannies, which...

BBC OS Conversations: Teenagers in Gaza and Israel

21 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent days, there have been warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza amid continual bombardment. In Israel, the discovery of bodies continue...

Understand: Israel and the Palestinians

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A guide to the history and context of the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Katya Adler and guests explain the key players an...

Heart and Soul: My journey beyond death

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Following a dramatic train accident, David Ditchfield was dragged under a speeding train in Cambridgeshire and nearly lost his life. As he lay in hosp...

Assignment: The village versus the mine

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A village in northern Portugal is fighting to prevent what could be the first large scale battery grade lithium mine in Europe from going into operati...

Africa’s Urban Future: South Africa

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Apartheid may now be long buried politically but in and around South Africa’s main cities it has left a visible legacy. Those entrenched historical ...

In the Studio: Mohsen Makhmalbaf

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf takes us behind the scenes of the making of Kandahar, his film about life in Afghanistan that captured the world's ...

Special: My Indian Life

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“I’m in love with the mountains.” A special episode from Kalki Presents: My Indian Life. Savita Kanswal was an inspirational climber, who had sc...

BBC OS Conversations: Israel and Gaza

14 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is an historical conflict with decades of bloodshed but the unprecedented violence of the past week has thrown the crisis into unknown territory....

The Cultural Frontline: How Disney redefined animation

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It has been 100 years since a young animator sold his first film series, called Alice Comedies, to a distributor. Without knowing, he was starting wha...

Assignment: America’s hidden histories

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s more than 150 years since the end of the American Civil War. But the replacement of a monument dedicated to the Confederate Commander Robert E ...

Africa's urban future: Tanzania

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Wooldridge and Tanzanian development worker Mary Ndaro report on the opportunities and challenges for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial centre...

In the Studio: Anton Skrypets

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Stay Online is the first film about the full-scale war in Ukraine. Young producer Anton Skrypets tells Antonia Quirke about the dangers and challenges...

BBC OS Conversations: Fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh

07 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is at the centre of one of the world’s longest running disputes that goes back more than 100 years. The latest con...

Heart and Soul: Young Catholics on the Francis revolution

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Pope Francis has launched the biggest consultation in the history of the Catholic church. Since the process started three years ago, millions of Catho...

Gabon’s dark football secret

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gabon is football crazy and it’s the dream of most young footballers to play internationally. But, in 2022 a long serving coach for youth national t...

Africa's urban future: Ghana

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is the future for Africa's rapidly swelling cities? The stretch of nearly 1,000 km between Abidjan and Lagos, is by 2100 projected to be the larg...

Will the unicorns of the sea fall silent?

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The term “narwhal” derives from the old Nordic for “nár + hvalr”, meaning corpse + whale, which, for these animals, is quickly becoming proph...

In the Studio: The visitors

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After its award winning premier in 2020, a new production of The Visitors by Indigenous playwright Jane Harrison sees us on the eve of colonisation. T...

October 1973: The war that changed everything

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It is a war with many names - The Yom Kippur War, the Ramadan War, the October War. What is clear 50 years after it was fought is that it was a confli...

BBC OS Conversations: War and fatigue in Ukraine

30 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Winter is approaching once again in the war and, for all the combat in the summer, the situation remains largely unchanged for both Ukrainian and Russ...

Heart and Soul: The Hare Krishna MC

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jake Emlyn’s musical talents were once hailed by international pop star Robbie Williams, who mentored the young English rapper. It lead him to featu...

Germany: Jail for fare-dodging

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Germany you can go to prison for travelling on public transport without a ticket. It’s estimated that 7,000 people are serving a jail sentence fo...

Donor babies: A question of identity

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For many people around the world, donation of sperm or an egg can be the difference between becoming parents and not. But while this donation can make...

In the Studio: Ken Loach: The Sequel

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The shooting starts on The Old Oak and Sharuna Sagar is there to witness Ken Loach's unique style of directing. Throughout his career from Kes to The ...

BBC OS Conversations: The floods in Libya

23 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Storm Daniel delivered 300 times more rain than expected onto the north-east coast of Libya, causing two dams to burst and water up to 30 meters high ...

Heart and Soul: Poland's nuns lifting the veil

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when a Catholic nun in Poland chooses to leave her religious community? Nuns are rejecting their orders after experiencing what they now ...

How a war has changed a Norwegian town

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kirkenes, in the far north-east of Norway, once thrived on its close ties with neighbouring Russia. All that changed after the invasion of Ukraine. No...

Cricket and the maidens

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2023, the first season of the Women’s India Premier League, the world’s second most valuable cricketing league, behind only the men’s I...

In the Studio: Vhils

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandre Farto aka Vhils is a Portuguese artist, known for his striking huge murals that have appeared on city walls from Brazil and the US, to Seneg...

Bonus: The Explanation

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is a war crime? How is it different to a crime against humanity and genocide? And who holds those responsible to account? Find out in this bonus ...

Remembering Buthelezi

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC's Audrey Brown looks back at the life of South Africa's Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who died earlier in September aged 95. He played a v...

BBC OS Conversations: The earthquake in Morocco

16 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The earthquake struck in a region of the High Atlas Mountains. Its force destroyed entire villages and could be felt across the country, and even in n...