The Documentary Podcast

Can Greenland go it alone?

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Until this year Greenland rarely made the international news and probably only the islanders themselves took much time to contemplate their future. Bu...

Marina Tabassum: Designing London's Serpentine Pavilion

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum won the commission to create the 25th Serpentine Pavilion – a temporary summer structure for London’s Kensin...

The shooting of India’s biggest hip hop star

26 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sidhu Moose Wala was one of the most famous Punjabi rappers in the world. A devout Sikh, he wore a turban and prided himself on his farming roots. But...

The hidden pain of fibroids

26 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Oscar winning film star Lupita Nyong'o revealed on Instagram her decade long struggle with uterine fibroids it attracted almost a million likes. ...

Rāgas and Redemption: Alam Khan’s Spiritual Legacy

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to inherit a sacred tradition? Alam Khan was born into one of the most revered lineages in Indian classical music - his father, Ali ...

The battle for Bangladesh: Eye Investigations

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July 2024 Bangladesh was rocked by protests. They were sparked by anger at widespread corruption, and the reinstatement of a quota system that rese...

Vancouver's mental health crisis

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 26 April 26, this year, 11 people were killed after a car was driven into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver. Dozens more were injured, maki...

Wynton Marsalis: The sound of democracy

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz trumpeter and bandleader Wynton Marsalis, one of America’s greatest l...

The mystery of the ‘tula boy’

19 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1953, a South Korean child was smuggled into Colombia in a duffle bag, or ‘tula’ in Spanish. He was adopted and re-named Carlos Arturo Gallón,...

Landmines

19 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hidden landmines and other devices left behind from wars are present in nearly 70 countries and territories, according to the military alliance Nato. ...

Escaping North Korea

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

North Korea is considered one of the most secretive countries in the world. It is officially an atheist state. The ruling party sees religion as a thr...

Returning Germany’s stolen skulls

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1900, German colonial officers executed 19 Tanzanian leaders, including Akida Kiwelu, and shipped their skulls to Berlin for scientific study. Thou...

Myanmar’s Scam Centres

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Observers are calling this possibly the biggest human trafficking event in modern times. Hundreds of thousands of people recruited – usually under f...

Anatomy of a scene

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For over 25 years Antonia Quirke has made programmes and written articles about film. After a chance comment during an interview, she was offered a sm...

Dying for a transplant

13 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, British-Nigerian comedian Emmanuel Sonubi suffered from a near-fatal heart failure whilst on a comedy tour of Dubai. He had a condition calle...

The Romanians choosing life in the hills

12 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A growing number of Romanians, including some celebrities and the country’s former prime minister Dacian Cioloș, are moving to the countryside. The...

Why it's good for men to talk

12 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Across the world, there’s often a stigma when it comes to men discussing their emotions. “We’re taught here as men that a man shouldn’t cry,”...

France’s new Christians

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The number of adults getting baptised in France has tripled in the last three years. Why are so many more adults joining the Church in France? We meet...

Ark of the dry lands

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers in Morocco are developing dry-land agriculture at ICARDA (the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas). It is home...

Bonus. World of Secrets: The Killing Call

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sidhu Moose Wala explodes onto the Canadian music scene. His sound is a fusion of two worlds - hip-hop with the poetic language of rural Punjab, where...

Re-homing France’s immigrant workers

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

France’s last foyers – housing for immigrant workers – are set for demolition. But some current residents are worried about what they’ll lose....

Max Kidruk: Imagining the future in a science fiction trilogy

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do you imagine the future if you are a science fiction writer living in the present with your country at war? That is the challenge and dilemma fo...

Is the Taliban’s war on drugs working?

05 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, the key ingredient for the drug heroin. When the Taliban took over, they banned poppy ...

Undocumented migrants in the USA

05 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump campaigned hard on illegal immigration ahead of the presidential election and promised voters a major crackdown if they backed him. Since...

Verses for women: Egypt’s Quran reciters

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Salma El-Wardany meets young women in Egypt using their voices to amplify their faith – drawing inspiration from the long tradition of female Quran ...

Diabetes in Pakistan: A nation's struggle

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

British-Pakistani pharmacist turned comedian Lubna Kerr hears from doctors, sufferers, and experts as she explores Pakistan’s growing diabetes crisi...

Arthur Ashe: More than a champion

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An inspiration, a politician, a pioneer on and off court - these just some of the words used to describe Arthur Ashe, who became the first African-Ame...

Sri Lanka: The X-Press Pearl disaster

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, a huge container ship, the X-Press Pearl caught fire and sank off the coast of Sri Lanka, releasing hazardous materials, toxic chemicals and ...

What next for Poland?

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why are Poland's young voters turning to the right? With his veto powers, Poland’s president-elect Karol Nawrocki could halt the pro-EU government o...

Who's Poland's new president?

28 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Poland’s president-elect, Karol Nawrocki, is a right-wing historian, an amateur boxer and a fan of Donald Trump. What will his presidency mean for t...

Iranians living in the USA

28 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the recent bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites by the United States, we talk to Iranians living in the US about their thoughts as they watch e...

Praise You: A forgotten love letter to black men

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DJ Fatboy Slim’s Praise You is a song you might have heard in a Hollywood movie or danced to in a club - to this day, it is still his biggest hit. B...

Inside the US trans military ban

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the first executive orders that President Donald Trump signed in his second term of office stated that being transgender is incompatible with t...

Pride month special

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service podcast Witness History, this is a special episode to mark June as Pride Month. We are looking back at some of the major mo...

One week in Gaza

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The daily realities and private thoughts of a young woman living through war. Every morning, Hanya Aljamal sees the same man from her balcony. “He...

Joachim Trier: The making of Sentimental Value

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We go behind the scenes with director Joachim Trier as he makes the follow-up to his international hit The Worst Person In The World. Producer Stephen...

Ukrainian life under Russian occupation

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Currently about a fifth of Ukraine is under Russian occupation. Olga Malchevska of the BBC News team has spoken to 3 people from different cities in t...

Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast 2025

21 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the 70th anniversary of this unique BBC radio programme aimed at just a few dozen listeners: The team of scientists and support staff isolated ...

Iranians and Israelis

21 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since Israel launched its attack on Iran, targeting the country’s nuclear capabilities, air strikes by both sides have killed and injured people in ...

Reworking a future: Buddhist revival in Mongolia

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cambridge anthropologist David Sneath is in Mongolia to find out how Buddhism continues to make a comeback after years of persecution under Communism....

The copper kingdom

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The world is electrifying, and central to our decarbonisation drive is copper. The red metal is second only to silver as the best conductor of electri...

What’s Iran’s IRGC?

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds force and the Basij militias are back in the news due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. What ar...

Could your colleague be a North Korean in disguise?

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recently several videos from recruiters on LinkedIn have gone viral. The videos appear to show recruiters conducting routine job interviews over a vid...

The Ketamine trail

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ketamine was designed as an anaesthetic but its use as a recreational drug is growing fast, particularly among young people. In the UK, it’s doubled...

Amoako Boafo: Creating space to celebrate Blackness

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo has attracted global fame for his bold and sensual portraits. He paints bodies and faces using his fingertips instead...

Australia's extinction crisis

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Roughly a third of all global mammal extinctions in the last 500 years are thought to have occurred in Australia. At least 34 species have gone extinc...

The TV drama that shocked the Arab world

14 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, the Egyptian TV drama Lam Shamseya aired across the Arab world. It tackled sensitive topics, including child sexual abuse, and spar...

Female influencers

14 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the fatal shooting in Pakistan of a teenage social media influencer, Sana Yousaf, we bring together female influencers around the world to share...

Pulpit to palace

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2022, the senior pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God - Jesus House Parish, Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, resigned from his position at a ...

The tyre scandal

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every year the UK produces around 50 million tyres for disposal. They are supposed to be sent for recycling. Instead, big money is being made by diver...

No, there isn’t a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 12 May, 59 Afrikaners arrived in Washington to receive “refugee” status. At a press conference, President Trump said he had acted because Afrik...

Balochistan - the women of the vanished

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the last two decades thousands of men have disappeared in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest region. Activists and some of their families accuse the...

Auntie Flo: Making plants dance

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brian D’Souza, aka Auntie Flo, is a Scottish musician, DJ and sound recordist who has played at some of the biggest festivals and clubs around the w...

Why does Moldova matter to Putin?

07 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Moldova is a country torn between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions. In September this year, Moldovans will vote for a new leadership, and pro-Euro...

How life is changing in Syria

07 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For well over a decade, civil war blighted the lives of Syrians, as rebel forces battled against former President Bashar al-Assad and his brutal regim...

The future of the Alawites

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the Assad regime’s fall in Syria, thousands of Alawites, a minority Shia sect historically linked to the former regime, have fled to ...

The Global Jigsaw: Netanyahu’s media squeeze

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Israeli government’s push to transform the media landscape has been described by critics as a “hostile takeover” that poses a threat to pres...

Russian informers: Hunting the enemy within

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Informers are playing a key role in helping the Russian government silence dissent, now one victim has turned detective to uncover their persecutor’...

Assignment: What future for Assad’s army?

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The former rebels who now rule Syria dismantled the old regime’s security forces as soon as they came to power last December. Overnight, half a mill...

In the Studio: Designing Conclave

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Production designer Suzie Davies reveals the secrets behind Conclave, and how she managed to build the Sistine Chapel in a film studio in Rome. And ex...

The three babies mystery

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On a cold night in January 2024 a dog walker finds a baby in a bag in east London, UK - a foundling. She is named Elsa, after the Frozen character. Re...

Russia's 'grey zone' war

31 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Grigor Atanesian from BBC Russian joins us to discuss the theories around 'grey zone' warfare techniques and if, why, and how Russia is deploying them...

BBC OS Conversations: Israelis discuss the war in Gaza

31 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas and recent warnings of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, have led to a ratcheting up of pressure on Israel, not just...

Heart and Soul: Portugal's Surf Church

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the coastal city of Porto, Portugal, a unique spiritual community is making waves, literally. The Surf Church, led by Brazilian-born pastor and avi...

The riddle of Iranian cinema

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Iranian-American film-maker Maryam Keshavarz explores a world of creativity under restriction, where film-makers find ways to speak despite censorship...

BBC Trending: Print and shoot - The spread of 3D-printed guns

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A growing number of incidents have highlighted the dangers of 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’, untraceable firearms that can be assembled at home with the...

Assignment: Spain - can an algorithm predict murder?

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Early on a Sunday morning in February in the Spanish seaside town of Benalmadena, Catalina, a 48-year-old mother of four, was killed at home – the b...

In the Studio: Mika Obanda

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mika Obanda is a Kenyan artist who creates vibrant and personal mosaics using egg shells sourced from local hotels. Cleaning, drying and colouring the...

America: The human plasma factory

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Kathleen McLaughlin investigates the multi-billion dollar global plasma industry. Kathleen needs $15,000-a-dose medication to treat her rar...

The Fifth Floor: The reality of reporting in Syria

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the last year of Bashar al-Assad’s rule of Syria, Reporters Without Borders ranked the country second to last in the World Press Freedom Inde...

BBC OS Conversations: Living with prostate cancer

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Prostate cancer has been called the silent killer and it is the second most common form of cancer among males in the world. Yet, despite the fact that...

Heart and Soul: Musambwa - Lake Victoria's sacred island

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Musambwa Island in Lake Victoria, Uganda, is a five-acre rocky outcrop of land five miles from the mainland and is the biggest breeding ground in the ...

People Fixing the World: Helping Chile's stolen children

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the 1970s and '80s, thousands of Chilean babies were illegally kidnapped, trafficked and adopted. The practice was widespread during the rule o...

BBC Trending: Brazilian farmers are (very) online

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Being a farmer in Brazil has never been cooler - at least, that is the impression you might get from social media. Music videos featuring cowboy hat w...

Assignment: Colombia's webcam women

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín, is booming and one of the biggest industries revolves around the city’s webcam studios which live strea...

In the Studio: Esben Holmboe Bang

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Originally from Denmark, the youngest ever three-starred Michelin chef Esben Holmboe Bang fell in love with his wife’s homeland Norway, as well as i...

The Global Jigsaw: The Trump effect on global media

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We assess the damage to independent journalism globally by cuts to USAGM and USAID, described as “the chainsaw approach” of the Trump administrati...

The Fifth Floor: Ukraine, the war and TikTok

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do Ukrainian soldiers eat on the frontline? And what's the latest meme trending on Ukrainians' TikTok channels? Zhenya Shidlovska from the BBC Uk...

BBC OS Conversations: Living in Kashmir

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like to grow up and live in one of the most disputed regions on Earth? After 26 tourists were killed by militants in Indian-administered Ka...

Heart and Soul: Malcolm X and his Letter from the Hajj

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Malcolm X is one of the most iconic and complex figures of the 20th Century. Known globally for his fiery speeches and radical advocacy for Black empo...

Autism, empathy and psychopaths

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Autistic people have been thought to all lack empathy by both science and society for decades. But after receiving an extremely low empathy score as p...

BBC Trending: Are we dating the same person?

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the start of 2025, a chat appeared on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. It was named Are We Dating The Same Girl? At first only a few hundred p...

Assignment: Syria - return to ruins

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thirteen million Syrians - half the population - left their homes during their country's 13-year civil war. Seven million were internally displaced. S...

In the Studio: Luke Black

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Luke Black is a Serbian singer-songwriter who represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023, the world’s largest live music event, ...

Women warriors

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the last few decades western militaries have been training more women for combat than ever, yet female recruitment and retention is stalling. But w...

The Fifth Floor: The Russian grandma who went to jail

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Natalya Filonova is a former kindergarten teacher, a mother, a grandmother. But she’s also an activist and in 2022 she was arrested during a demonst...

BBC OS Conversations: Inside Gaza

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After 19 months of war, Israel says it is preparing to expand its military campaign in Gaza. The aim is to defeat and dismantle Hamas, regarded as a t...

Heart and Soul: Praying for healing?

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout his life as a theologian, Christian minister and cosmologist, Prof David Wilkinson has been asking - what does God do when I pray? The ques...

Educating Nigeria

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every Nigerian child has the constitutional right to free and compulsory primary education, and free secondary education, yet there remains a huge gap...

BBC Trending: The TikTokers inside an election fire-storm

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the days before the presidential elections, influencers watched comments and content pour across TikTok in support of obscure far-right independent...

Conclave: How will the next Pope be chosen?

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How is a new Pope chosen? How long could the conclave last? In a special edition of the Global News Podcast, the BBC’s Religion Editor Aleem Maqbool...

Assignment: Russia's Church in Texas

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Not that long ago many church-going Americans saw Russia as a godless place, an “evil empire” in the words of Ronald Reagan. But in President Trum...

In the Studio: Bishwajit Goswami

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, artist Bishwajit Goswami creates a powerful new installation that captures the spirit of his homeland’s rivers, lifelines dark...

The Cultural Frontline: Taiwan

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Presenter Elaine Chong speaks to trailblazing Taiwanese artists about exploring history and politics through their work. She hears from the producer H...

The Fifth Floor: Education against the odds

03 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At least 30 million children are out of school in the Middle East and North Africa, with many displaced by conflict in Sudan and Gaza. Today we’ll h...

BBC OS Conversations: Protecting children from online harm

03 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

***Contains upsetting content about suicide*** Hundreds of parents who believe social media played a part in the death of their children gathered in ...

Heart and Soul: After Francis, what do Catholics want next?

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the death of Pope Francis, Catholics around the world look to Rome and the Vatican as the Church prepares to elect its next leader. But what...

BBC Trending: From a suspected smuggler’s TikTok to tragedy

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In January a boat carrying migrants across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe was miraculously rescued by a fishing trawler after two weeks lost at sea. At ...

Assignment: Leaving Israel for Cyprus

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Increasing numbers of Israeli people are moving to the nearby island of Cyprus. Sky high property prices, disillusion with domestic politics and secur...

In the Studio: Madeleine Thien

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, the Canadian writer Madeleine Thien was working on her next novel, the follow-up to her prize-winning 2016 book Do Not Say We Have Nothing. B...