The Documentary Podcast
Episodes
Killer drug: The Mexico connection
16 Mar 2023
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....
The boat smugglers
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The recent rise in migrant boat crossings between France and the UK is being fuelled, in part, by more sophisticated methods gangs are using to source...
Somebody is watching me
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2020, when the so-called Nth Room scandal revealed how women and children were lured and blackmailed to make explicit videos for distribution th...
Life after the earthquakes
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is a month since earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. Official figures suggest that more than 45,000 people were killed in Turkey; and more than 6,000...
Ireland’s Urban Horses
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ireland’s housing estates continue to ring to the sound of horses with patches of grass used for grazing and garages as stables. Horses used to be ...
The long haul of long Covid
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three years after the official declaration of a pandemic, 65 million people - one in 10 who had Covid-19 - still have symptoms. Some are so ill they a...
Migrants
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A wooden boat lies broken and wrecked off the coast of Italy after it hit rocks and sank. On board were around 200 people, mostly migrants from countr...
Nigeria's battle against bandits
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the last few years, powerful criminal gangs have terrorised a swathe of north west and central Nigeria. From camps in the forest, gangs of bandits ...
Flying Seagulls: Child's play
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Flying Seagull Project travels the world with a simple goal: to enable and empower children in warzones and refugee camps to play. Theirs is a rip...
No place like 'Nam
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
March 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American combat troops from Vietnam. Vietnamese journalist Nga Pham uncovers the su...
Women and the war in Ukraine
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to tens of thousands of deaths. And it’s estimated around 8 million Ukrainians left the cou...
The Parallel Universe of Russia’s War
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A year on from the invasion of Ukraine, many Russians now inhabit a parallel world that justifies the conflict. How have they been persuaded to suppor...
Fishrot: Clear waters, murky dealings
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two countries a world apart are linked by a multi-million dollar corruption scandal, and it is all about fish. At one end, the southern African nation...
Nigeria elections
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of the upcoming general election in Nigeria, Alan Kasujja hosts a special conversation from the commercial capital of Lagos. He sat down with ar...
On the frontline of Brexit
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
No part of the United Kingdom has felt the impact of Brexit more strongly than Northern Ireland. Home to the country's only land border with the Europ...
America's first black bank
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Freedman’s Bank was established in 1865 after the abolition of slavery and the Civil War. The Bank was designed to help newly freed African-Amer...
World Wide Waves '23: The sounds of community radio
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For World Radio Day, we celebrate four vibrant community radio stations on four continents. Northern Malawi’s Rumphi FM supports the Tumbuka tribe w...
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have been hearing from people in Turkey and Syria since the earthquake struck the region on Monday. Three survivors tell us about their escape from...
The great German sausage crisis
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Germany in 2002 there were some 19,000 small, neighbourhood butchers’ shops. They made and sold, among other things, that “great emblem of Germ...
The travelling speech therapist
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When speech disorders affect children, it is speech therapists who assist in helping them find their voice, but therapists are rare and it is thought ...
Living with power cuts
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Around the world, millions of people live with daily electricity blackouts. In recent days in South Africa, protesters – angry that the electricity ...
Uruguay’s Cash Cow
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cattle are part of Uruguay’s DNA. There are around 4 cows to every one of their tiny 3.5 million population of people and beef is their main export....
The Night Witches of World War Two
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Orna Merchant learns how, during World War Two, a desperate Soviet Union created three all-female aerial combat units. The most celebrated of these wa...
A short history of sadness
28 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do humans cope with sadness? Is it something to be avoided at all costs or part of the human condition? Should we dwell on our sadness, or flee fr...
Babies and families
28 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Several countries are experiencing a fall in the number of babies being born and this has potentially serious consequences. Japan’s Prime Minister, ...
Iran Protests: Tales from the frontline
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why did people take to the streets, risking arrest and a barrage of bullets? After protests turned violent and hundreds of people were killed, four Ir...
Sierra Leone's children of war
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2002 photojournalist Caroline Irby and former BBC reporter Tom McKinley arrived in Sierra Leone to cover the fallout from the country’s brutal co...
The Black Book
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union swept over vast areas of Ukraine and Belorussia from the summer of 1941, over three million Jews were deliber...
Yiddish glory: Jewish refugees in Central Asia
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During World War Two, approximately 1.6 million Soviet, Polish and Romanian Jews survived by escaping to Soviet Central Asia and Siberia, avoiding imm...
Afghan women
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since the Taliban returned to power some 18 months ago, women in Afghanistan have been removed from nearly all areas of public life. They are barred f...
A return to Paradise
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018 the town of Paradise in hills of northern California was wiped out by one of the worst wildfires in California's history. The disaster made he...
What do you think you are? Part two
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There’s growing scientific evidence that many animals are not only conscious but they possess a more profound sense of self. They can learn by exper...
The price of citizenship
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be a citizen? Is it about belonging, or about convenience? Katy Long examines two trends which offer stark alternatives: countrie...
Covid in China
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it came to tackling Covid, China has been among the strictest on the planet. There have been almost three years of travel restrictions, testing a...
Saving children from the mafia
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Southern Italy is home to some of Europe's most powerful criminal organisations; the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra in Naples and the Ndrangheta based in...
What do you think you are?: Part one
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is growing scientific evidence that many animals are not only conscious, but possess a more profound sense of self. They can learn by experience...
Farewell to Pelé
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or ‘Pelé’ as he became known, is thought by most to have been the greatest footballer to grace this planet. He died ...
Kids who care
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Oritsé Williams became a young carer aged 12, when his mother contracted multiple sclerosis and he had to take responsibility for looking after her a...
Women pro surfers: Battling the waves
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Patti Paniccia was a surfer back in the 1970s, determined to create a path to professional surfing for women, as well as men. Together with surf promo...
Hope for Alzheimers
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Three people caring for loved ones with Alzheimers share their experiences and challenges.
Escape from the Taliban: Point of no return
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sana Safi returns to the story of two Afghan women judges who have had to go into hiding after the Taliban takeover - and are now preparing to be evac...
Fighting 'fat-phobia' in Brazil
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As in many countries, obesity in Brazil is a major issue with one in four Brazilians now classified as obese and more than half the population overwei...
Ukrainians at Christmas
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ukrainians at home and abroad reflect on the turmoil of the past year as they prepare to mark Christmas.
Spain's flamenco on the edge
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To many, the passionate music and dance known as flamenco is an important marker of Spanish identity, and perhaps even synonymous with it. So much so,...
Sweden's green power struggle
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Sweden’s far north, indigenous Sami people say their traditional culture and way of life is being threatened by the country’s drive to develop ...
The World Service is 90
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For 90 years the BBC World Service has been broadcasting in dozens of languages to audiences so huge they are counted in the tens of millions all over...
First contact
17 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years we have gazed up at the stars and wondered: is anybody out there? The idea of meeting aliens has been the inspiration for count...
Striking workers
17 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The global economy is shrinking but our costs are rising, and as people around the world find things harder, many are deciding to go on strike for bet...
Hungary’s Power Dilemma
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Paks, a small Hungarian town on the bank of the River Danube has prospered from its nuclear power station, built by the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s....
Asylums of Japan: Makiko's story
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Makiko Segawa who had a terrifying experience when she was sent to a psychiatric hospital when she was a young woman meets other people who...
Living in space
10 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A long-held human ambition may soon become reality - human settlements on another planet, or in a floating space station. People could fulfil their ho...
Haiti
10 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and, in the last 15 years, the Caribbean nation has had outbreaks of cholera, a devastating eart...
California's cannabis reparations
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In California, cannabis is legal for recreational use and it’s created a multi-billion dollar industry. But who’s been reaping the rewards? For de...
India: Our trains, electric
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The railways are incredibly important to life in India and have connected the country since the first line opened in 1863. But now, nearly 160 years l...
Being LGBT
03 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apart from football, the men’s World Cup in Qatar has also led to analysis and discussion around the country’s human rights, including its treatme...
Cold-calling Siberia
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sasha Koltun volunteered to fight in Putin's war against Ukraine, though his mother Yelena begged him not to go. Four days later, he was dead, one of ...
Tribal justice
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The past few years have been the most politically turbulent for the State of Oklahoma and its Native American, or Indian, population in over a century...
The reluctant millionaires
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why would anyone want to pay more tax? Film-maker, activist and multi-millionaire Disney heiress Abigail Disney presents a very personal introduction ...
Power cuts in Ukraine
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of people in Ukraine are having to live with cuts to their electricity, water and heating, as official reports estimate that Russian missile ...
Trouble in Taiwan?
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
China’s President Xi Jinping says that Taiwan‘s reunification with the mainland “must and will be fulfilled.” The view from democratic Taiwan ...
Which country should I play for?
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the past couple of years, Fifa eased its rules on allowing players with mixed heritage the opportunity to represent a country, even if you have pre...
Qatar and the fall of Fifa
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Qatar was announced as the host of the men's World Cup in 2022, it sent shockwaves around the football world. The small, spectacularly wealthy co...
The health wagon
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The health wagon serves remote communities in the Appalachian mountains of south-west Virginia. It's the oldest mobile clinic in the USA, founded in 1...
Qatar World Cup
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 12 years since Qatar was announced as the host country for the men’s World Cup football tournament. Awarding the event to Qatar was a controv...
China's accidental activists
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A group of women are taking on China’s communist government after their husbands and fathers were jailed as dissidents. The women never wanted to be...
Black Roots: DeFord Bailey and country music in Nashville
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Musician Rhiannon Giddens explores the home of country music in Nashville to see how black people shaped this genre. How black is Nashville and its mu...
Colombia's life-saving pop song
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is 2010 and Colombian Colonel Jose Espejo has a problem. Not only is the Farc increasing its kidnapping activity, targeting police and military hos...
Living with climate change
12 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While world leaders meet in Egypt at the COP27 climate conference, we bring people together to share how the world around them is changing. Three peop...
Black Roots: Arnold Shultz and bluegrass in Kentucky
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens explores bluegrass music in Kentucky, the history of the banjo and the story of Arnold Shultz. For many listeners ...
The weather changers
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries we've made sacrifices, sent prayers to gods and summoned witches, in an attempt to bend the weather to our will. Science suggests now we...
Voting in the US
05 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Americans are preparing to vote in their midterm elections. The rising cost of living, abortion, immigration, crime and gun rights are all issues that...
America’s Dropbox Babies
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Until Roe vs Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June, sweeping away Americans’ constitutional right to abortion, no one gave much thought t...
Black Roots: Frank Johnson, Joe Thompson and the fiddle in North Carolina
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens returns to her home state of North Carolina to explore the lives of two black fiddlers: Joe Thompson and Frank Joh...
The crime that only women commit
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Society drives people, particularly women, in every way to look beautiful. We see it on television, in the movies, and in magazines. The social pressu...
The bleak reality behind the red light district
29 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amsterdam's red light district hides a secret world of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. People who know what really goes on share their stor...
The UK’s cost of living
29 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rishi Sunak begins his leadership in a time of crisis. He inherits an economy with inflation at more than 10 percent - its highest rate in 40 years - ...
Svalbard’s climate change fight
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Svalbard is the fastest warming place on earth. Deep inside the Arctic Circle, it is home to the world’s northernmost settlement, Longyearbyen, whic...
The scramble for rare earths, part 2
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Misha Glenny finds out whether the European Union can end its dependency on China for rare earths and critical raw materials and he discovers that Rus...
Recaptive number 11,407
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An astonishing series of documents in Sierra Leone named the Registers of Liberated Africans record details of Africans freed from slavery by the Brit...
Out of the shadows
22 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Assassination, sabotage, cyberattacks - the undeclared war between Israel and Iran is one of the longest running conflicts in the region. As attempts ...
Women in Iran
22 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sports climber Elnaz Rekabi has become the latest symbol of the anti-government protests, begun and led by women in Iran. She competed in the Asian Ch...
The Brain Drain
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Kenyon investigates the ‘brain drain’ of doctors from developing countries to work in the UK. The large scale recruitment of foreign doctors ...
The scramble for rare earths, part 1
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Misha Glenny explores the world of rare earth metals and other critical raw materials. They are vital for the future of technology and the green trans...
Ojousan power
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Japan the concept of yamato nadeshiko describes the classic ideal of Japanese women: a beautiful but modest female, dedicated to the wellbeing of h...
Who is Xi Jinping?
15 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just over a decade ago, President Xi Jinping was a virtual unknown. Few would say that now. In ten years, he’s reworked the Chinese Communist party,...
Russians going to war
15 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As missile strikes by Russia have intensified across Ukraine, we bring together Russians to hear their thoughts on the war. President Putin last month...
Bye-bye Baguette?
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The bakers and farmers trying to wean Senegal off imported wheat. Trotting along on a horse and cart, over the bumpy red dirt roads, through the lush ...
Father figures
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The fathers of Michael Brown and Terence Crutcher, as well as George Floyd's uncle, reflect on the moment that forever altered their families’ lives...
The bread line
08 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From the fields of Ukraine to a bakery in Beirut, we find out what it costs to produce a global staple - bread.
Indonesia stadium disaster
08 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Indonesia continues to search for answers and comfort after more than 130 fans died at a football match. There appears to have been a deadly combinati...
Leicester: Behind the Divide
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in England – often presented as a shining example multi-cultural Britain. But tensions between some fact...
Peace and justice: Sexual violence in the DRC
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More than a decade after the UN raised the alarm on the scale of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sexual violence remains a persis...
Protests in Iran
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world has witnessed extraordinary protests across Iran during the past fortnight. It followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was arrest...
Argentina: Life with hyperinflation
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Inflation in Argentina is racing towards 100%. In a country where prices are constantly on the move, it’s hard to navigate daily life as salaries sl...
Going for gold In Ghana
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ghana is Africa's leading producer of gold. The majority of Ghana's gold mining operation is legally undertaken by national and global mining corporat...
The future of hip-hop: Atlanta
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cakes Da Killa is in Atlanta, the epicentre of hip-hop and home of trap music. The success of southern queer artists like Lil Nas X and Saucy Santana ...
Money in Lebanon
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All banks in Lebanon have been shut indefinitely. They say it is for safety reasons following a string of raids by customers demanding access to their...
A ‘Me Too’ Moment for Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Jews?
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community is struggling to come to terms with high-profile sex abuse scandals. In the past year, two of its leading l...
Finding home in Uganda
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In August 1972, Idi Amin publicly condemned Ugandan Asians as ‘the enemy’, enforcing a brutal policy that ordered them to leave the country within...
The future of hip-hop: New York
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Homophobia and misogyny are ingrained in hip-hop. But a new generation of women and queer artists are determined to challenge the status quo. Cakes Da...