The Documentary Podcast

Heart and Soul: Violence, children and Cambodia’s monks

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

***This programme contains descriptions of genocide and violence against children*** Fifty years ago the fall of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, to...

The Cultural Frontline: South East Asian cinema - a love story

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In South East Asia, cinema attendances are growing, thanks to a renewed interest in local product. For instance, the Thai movie How to Make Millions B...

Assignment: Unidentified flying drones in Denmark

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When mysterious orb-like lights were recorded in the sky above Koge, a small port town in Denmark, the UFO scene took notice. But it wasn't just belie...

In the Studio: Anna Clyne and Jody Elff

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Contemporary classical music composer Anna Clyne is one of the most performed and in demand composers in the world.For her next commission, she is wor...

Donald Trump’s new world order

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump has upended the international order to promote his “America First” agenda. He has thrown countries and their leaders around the wo...

The Fifth Floor: India's 'godwoman'

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Delhi correspondent Divya Arya recently met a woman who claims to perform miracles. She’s called Radhe Maa and her devotees see her as a God. She’...

BBC OS Conversations: Adolescence

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The hit Netflix show, Adolescence, has prompted a global conversation on toxic masculinity. The series is based in the north of England and centres on...

Heart and Soul: I was shot at school and wouldn’t change a thing

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

School shootings in the USA continue to be a far too common tragedy. In January 2017, 16-year-old Logan Cole, who lives in a small town in the America...

The subsea war

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The 'accidental' severing of undersea cables or pipelines seem an almost daily occurrence these days but how reliant are we on this infrastructure, ho...

Living in a bubble: The headphone revolution

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Headphones and earbuds have experienced a phenomenal rise in popularity worldwide, transforming how people consume audio content and impacting on vari...

Assignment: Lebanon - Hezbollah in trouble

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hezbollah, the militia and political movement in Lebanon, has been battered by the war with Israel. Its leaders were assassinated, hundreds of fighter...

In the Studio: Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros is the most expensive single artwork commission in Australian history. A $14 million, three-tonne, 10-metre wide freestanding ...

The Covid generation revisited

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Five years on from the global lockdown we catch up with the "Covid Generation", the class of 2020 - school leavers and graduates from around the world...

The Fifth Floor: Tales from Tbilisi

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Faranak Amidi visits three places in Tbilisi, Georgia to find out more about its history and what's behind the current political turmoil in the countr...

BBC OS Conversations: Protests in Turkey

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Across Turkey, hundreds of thousands of people have been taking to the streets after the arrest of President Erdogan’s main political rival, the May...

Heart and Soul: Kai Höss - My grandfather the Commandant of Auschwitz

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a cinema in south-west Germany, an audience is gathered to watch an Oscar-winning film, The Zone of Interest, about the life of Rudolf Höss, comma...

The Cultural Frontline: The Los Angeles fires

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fires that devastated parts of Los Angeles in January this year killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Angelino Laura Hubber ...

Malawi: Life in your years

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Life expectancy in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, increased by 19 years (from 46 to 65) from 2000 to 2019 - mostly due to reductio...

Assignment: Who is Alice Guo?

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The global online scamming industry is said to be worth some $500 billion a year. It operates in secret, in complexes hidden behind high fences in cou...

Encore: Rejecting public education in Arizona

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The so-called ‘parents’ revolution’ is happening in America - and it’s a revolt against the public education system. School choice campaigns a...

In the Studio: The Line

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In our time of looming ecological disaster, radical minds are needed to rethink the way we live. In Saudi Arabia, NEOM are building a futuristic new c...

Do we need a new Nato?

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

European leaders have had cause to rethink their roles within Nato recently, in light of statements coming from the US Government. The Trump administr...

The Fifth Floor: Behind Georgia's political turmoil

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Georgia finds itself in political turmoil. For decades many Georgians have longed to be a part of the EU, feeling that their values align more closely...

BBC OS Conversations: Ukraine: What do Russians think about the war?

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in three years, there’s talk of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Negotiations are ongoing, but at the time of recording th...

Heart and Soul: The mosque for Bangladesh’s transgender women

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Bangladesh, hijras - once a revered community - have long lived on the margins. Also known as the third gender, hijras form a diverse group, includ...

What’s your poison: The methanol crisis

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November 2024, six people died after visiting a bar in Vang Vieng, Laos. Authorities in the country said it was a suspected mass poisoning - the cu...

Assignment: Georgia - keeping the protest alive

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Daily protests across the country have continued in Georgia since disputed elections in October, particularly since the ruling Georgian Dream party an...

In the Studio: Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artists Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser explore the complex weave of histories and myths around Britain’s imperial salt monopoly in India....

LOUD: Is noise an invisible killer?

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

BBC health correspondent James Gallagher investigates how our noisy world is damaging our health. He finds out why noise increases our risk of health ...

The Fifth Floor: The Kenyan women saying no to motherhood

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

According to Kenya’s Health Ministry, between 2020 and 2023, about 16,000 women in Kenya decided to undergo a sterilisation procedure known as tubal...

BBC OS Conversations: Cuts to US foreign aid funding

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On his first day in office, Donald Trump froze foreign aid funding, ordering an immediate review into USAID, the government agency which was running p...

Heart and Soul: Ayahuasca and the new spiritual tourism

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, ayahuasca has been a sacred plant for the Shipibo-Konibo peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. Part medicine, part spiritual ceremony, ayahua...

The village of sex offenders

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Set among endless sugar-cane fields in a remote part of southern Florida, Restoration Destination is a community made up of registered sex offenders. ...

Assignment: Guatemala’s ‘Indigenous Spring’

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Guatemala’s been going through huge political upheavals. Protestors brought the country to a standstill with roadblocks and national strikes which l...

In the Studio: Kwaku Bediako

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ghanaian fashion innovator Kwaku Bediako is redefining luxury with sustainability at its heart. We step inside his world as he transforms second-hand ...

Witness History: Women's History Month special

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Extraordinary stories from global women's history, as told by the people who were there. We hear about the Jewish feminists who demanded to pray as fr...

The Fifth Floor: Russia’s gymnastic drama

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The head of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation has recently fallen from glory. Irina Viner has been the most powerful person in the sport for ...

BBC OS Conversations: Three months after the fall of Assad

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After 13 years of civil war, a transitional government is now in charge in Syria, led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist...

Heart and Soul: The race to break the glass

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Amie Liebowitz interviews matchmaker and dating coach Aleeza Ben Shalom from the Netflix show Jewish Matchmaker. She then goes on her own quest to lea...

Boxing Sisters: Yazidi women boxing back to health

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Northern Iraq, Yazidi women and girls who have been the victims of brutal sexual enslavement and lost swathes of their family and community to gen...

What in the World: How have older reality tv shows aged?

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

America’s Next Top Model, the reality competition series hosted by Tyra Banks, continues to face criticism years after it stopped airing. And it is ...

Assignment: Russia’s new war elite

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Russians who sign up to fight in Ukraine earn big money in salaries and bonuses – and the Kremlin is even more generous to families of those killed ...

TikTok and the digital pimps: Eye Investigates

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With its dancing challenges and comedy sketches, it’s no surprise why Tiktok is popular with young Kenyans. It’s also a way for them to make money...

In the Studio: Marcin Dudek

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Burman follows artist Marcin Dudek as he works on his sound sculpture The Ground Harbours The Soul, which is made from the sounds of the crowd at...

The Fifth Floor: Are Korean beauty products too light?

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Korean skincare industry is booming around the world, but some brands faced backlash because of the lack of products for people with darker skin t...

BBC OS Conversations: Polyamorous relationships

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A video of American R&B singer Ne-Yo kissing three of his girlfriends backstage has had loads of attention and highlighted the practice of polyamo...

Heart and Soul: Becoming a Buddhist Bhikshuni in Bhutan

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022 the kingdom of Bhutan ordained 144 women in an unprecedented ceremony. Among them was Emma Slade, also known as Lopen Ani Pema Deki, from Kent...

Flight of the vulture

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With their fearsome talons, acid poo and a penchant for rotting carcasses, the vulture has long been shouldered with associations of death, and dishon...

BBC Trending: Can Community Notes clean up your feed?

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Meta has decided to abandon the use of independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram in the United States, citing concerns that fact-checkers ha...

Assignment: Road wars - cycling in Paris

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 15 Oct 2024, a 27-year-old cyclist was killed in a bike lane in Paris. His name was Paul Varry. He was run over by a car after an argument with a d...

In the Studio: Mohammad Barrangi

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Iranian-born artist and former Paralympian, Mohammad Barrangi, creates intricate, dreamlike worlds where myth and reality collide. His bold, layered w...

Life in occupied Ukraine

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of ...

The Fifth Floor: Syria after Assad

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In December 2024, rebel forces took control in Syria, and former President  Bashar al-Assad fled the country. What's happened since? Salma Khattab f...

BBC OS Conversations: Ukraine and three years of war

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The past week has seen talks between the United States and Russia – without Ukraine. This was followed by what seems to be a deepening rift between ...

Heart and Soul: The only thing certain in life

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, performer and writer Rochi Rampal found herself attending 10 funerals in one year. To contend with this, she embarked on her own “crash cou...

Witness History: US Black History Month special

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Extraordinary stories from African-American history, told by the people who were there. We hear tales of bravery and survival against all odds, from t...

BBC Trending: Quadrobic panic in Russia over craze to dress and walk on all fours like animals

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a moral panic in Russia and several former Soviet states about a craze in which teenagers and children dress up as animals and walk on all f...

Assignment: The village that came back from the dead

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Germany some 300 villages have been destroyed since the Second World War because of the coal that lay beneath them. Villagers have grown up in the ...

In the Studio: Jennifer Walshe

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dublin-born Jennifer Walshe is one of the world’s most bold and imaginative contemporary classical composers, and holds the prestigious post of prof...

Ukraine: The architects' plan

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, we explore how the country will be rebuilt, who is coming up with the redesign of...

The Fifth Floor: What the US left behind in Afghanistan

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the American troops withdrew from Afghanistan, they left behind $7bn of military supplies. Where are they now? Hafizullah Maroof from BBC Afghan ...

BBC OS Conversations: How AI is changing our lives

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of people from all around the world came to Paris this week to talk about the impact of artificial intelligence in society. The rapidly grow...

Heart and Soul: The caretaker of Bukhara

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Abram Iskhakov is the caretaker of the oldest synagogue in Bukhara, one of the sacred cities of Islam. He is keeper of a Torah inscribed on deer velum...

World Wide Waves '25: Whispers in the air

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Nuxalk people of Canada's Pacific north-west were almost wiped out by colonisation. Now a community radio station is reviving their language and c...

BBC Trending: Inside Nigeria’s hustle kingdoms

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There is growing concern about cybercrimes like romance scams and sextortion targeting victims around the world. Hiding behind fake or hacked accounts...

Saudi and trans: Eden’s final message

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2023, the "final message" from Eden Knight, a young Saudi transgender woman, went viral on Twitter. It was viewed more than 35 million times....

In the Studio: Bárbara Sánchez-Kane

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bárbara Sánchez-Kane is a Mexican fashion designer with eclectic influences - from quinceañera dresses to BDSM harnesses, Jesus's loincloth to luch...

Assignment: Ghana militants in the Sahel

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For years now, an Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region has been claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions of people. There are fears that...

Sportshour at Super Bowl LIX: New Orleans edition

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Smith is in New Orleans on the eve of Super Bowl LIX to bring you the atmosphere and the stories ahead of Philadelphia Eagles v Kansas City Chie...

The Fifth Floor: An Afghan love story

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aalia Farzan of BBC Afghan services left her life in Afghanistan after the Taliban retook the country in 2021 and came to London, and it was there she...

BBC OS Conversations: Donald Trump and the future of Gaza

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many countries have condemned President Trump in recent days for his proposal to “take over” the Gaza strip while “resettling” Palestinians in...

Heart and Soul: Feminism is my jihad

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Muslim feminist movement is growing in Turkey with young women becoming increasingly vocal about their rights and place in a traditionally patriar...

Germany: Rebellion on the Rhine

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After talks in Germany on government spending collapsed, chancellor Olaf Scholz was forced to dissolve his coalition and call for snap elections, to b...

BBC Trending: The dark side of music streaming

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In September last year, musician Michael Smith of North Carolina was charged with stealing millions from music streaming services. The US Department o...

Assignment: Spain - ‘liquid gold’ under pressure

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil. But successive, brutal droughts have led to plummeting production, whilst prices have reached re...

Encore: Border stories

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since President Trump was inaugurated in January, migrants – and especially the border the US shares with Mexico - have dominated the news. In this ...

Troublemakers: Drugged, framed and detained

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

BBC Eye investigates police abuse of psychiatric detention in China. In 2012, China introduced a law to curb the widespread abuse of psychiatric hospi...

The Fifth Floor: Inside an Iranian prison

01 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of women in Iran were arrested in 2022 after the Woman, Life, Freedom protests against the mandatory hijab. Many of them were sent to Evin, ...

BBC OS Conversations: Immigrants in America

01 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hours after his inauguration, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at America’s southern border with Mexico. He vowed that "all ille...

Heart and Soul: Spirituality in Sin City

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Spirituality in Sin City, presenter Rajeev Gupta takes listeners on an unexpected journey through the hidden spiritual side of Las Vegas—a city f...

Flamboyant funerals

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ghana has a reputation for staging some of the most eccentric funerals in the world – boasting extraordinary displays of colour, dancing, deep roote...

BBC Trending: Ukraine war - the cost of bearing witness

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three years since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, BBC Trending speaks to Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) analysts and fact checkers who ha...

Assignment: Reel revolution? The dramatic rise of Saudiwood

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Saudi Arabia is rolling out the red carpet to filmmakers and foreign companies as it sets out to establish itself as a major player in the entertainme...

Songs from Auschwitz

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Shirli Gilbert explores the story of Żywulska. Imprisoned in Auschwitz, Żywulska turned to poetry and music, creating some of the most re...

In the Studio: Behind the scenes with Ken Loach

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Old Oak will be Ken Loach's last feature film and Sharuna Sagar was granted exclusive access behind the scenes of this landmark movie. She joins t...

Bonus: Sportsworld: Julien Alfred - The Race of My Life

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A bonus episode from the Sportsworld podcast. Julien Alfred made history in 2024 when she won the women’s 100 metres gold medal in Paris becoming Sa...

The Fifth Floor: Russia's crackdown on gay clubs

25 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There have been at least 12 police raids on gay clubs in Russia since November 2023, when the country’s Supreme court banned what they call 'the glo...

BBC OS Conversations: The first days of the Gaza ceasefire

25 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We witness the first Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released following the signing of the ceasefire deal. More exchanges are expecte...

Heart and Soul: Glorifying God through wine

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Father Père Basile was 12 years of age, he started thinking of a religious life. But it never crossed his mind that he would someday be living...

Israel’s Unrwa ban

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unrwa, the UN agency that provides vital aid and essential services to millions of refugees in Gaza ...

BBC Trending: Passport bros

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dating in Medellín, Colombia is being promoted to foreign men on YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms. Lots of the videos, in English and...

Assignment: Death marches - uncovering the truth beneath the soil

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How a town in Poland – once in Germany - is discovering its troubling past.Eighty years ago Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest ...

In the Studio: Michael Visocchi

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In an old schoolroom in the Scottish Highlands, sculptor Michael Visocchi is working on Commensalis, a huge work that will be installed thousands of m...

The Coming Storm: Inauguration

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

America through the looking glass, a world where nothing is as it seems. Gabriel Gatehouse follows a cast of characters who have propelled Trump into ...

The Fifth Floor: IVF and me

18 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When BBC Mundo journalist Ana Maria Roura found out she couldn't get pregnant, she decided to turn the camera on herself and document her struggle to ...

BBC OS Conversations: Living through the Los Angeles fires

18 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Vast areas of Los Angeles have been destroyed since these fires began on 7 January. Thousands of homes and businesses have been lost, and tens of thou...

Heart and Soul: Kaddish - why we pray for the dead

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, once told Michael Goldfarb of people going to their deaths at Auschwitz asking who will say Ka...

Solutions Journalism: Prison of the mind

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In many countries around the world, prison populations are bursting at the seams. However, in some Northern European countries, prisons are closing an...

BBC Trending: The chatbot bridging an aid gap

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A mechanical engineer by day, Hania Zataari felt compelled to put her skills to use as the war intensified in Lebanon. Hailing from the south, one of ...

Assignment: The Gambia - when migrants are forced to go home

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Each year young people from the tiny West African nation of The Gambia try to reach Europe through “The Backway” - a costly, perilous journey over...