The Documentary Podcast
Episodes
Assignment: Loving, living and dying together in the Netherlands
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Els and Jan have fewer than three days left on Earth. Childhood sweethearts who met in kindergarten more than six decades ago, they know precisely whe...
In the Studio: Baek Mi-kyoung
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Script writer Baek Mi-kyoung has pioneered female narratives on Korean television, putting women front and centre of acclaimed dramas like Mine and Th...
Bonus: What in the World - Why are so many young people leaving Nigeria?
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nigeria is Africa’s economic powerhouse - so why are so many young people trying to leave and find opportunities in other countries? It’s become s...
The Fifth Floor: India's deadliest scam
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Instant loan apps promise easy money. But what's the catch? Investigative reporter Poonam Agarwal and filmmaker Ronny Sen take us behind the scenes of...
BBC OS Conversations: Hajj pilgrims
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The annual pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is something millions of people look forward to as an immensely spiritual experience. A main pillar o...
Saint Sara: Patron saint of the Romani people
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Roma photographer Artúr Čonka joins the annual Romani pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the south of France. Thousands of Romani from across...
The West Indies’ first black captain: Sir Frank Worrell
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The brilliant cricketer Frank Worrell became the first permanent Black captain of the West Indies team in 1960 – but he had to wait for a decade to ...
Trending: The American pushing Russian disinformation
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The websites have names like DC Weekly and Chicago Crier. They are filled with thousands of legitimate-looking stories, plucked from real news website...
Assignment: Germany’s AI detectives
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In late 2023 a group of German journalists released a podcast series, Legion: Most Wanted. It described their ultimately unsuccessful search for a ter...
In the Studio: Hanna Harris
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hanna Harris is Helsinki’s chief design officer and the second person in the job since the role was created in 2016. But why does a city need a chie...
The Global Jigsaw: The evolution of the Islamic State Group
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a lull in activities, in 2024 the Islamic State Group claimed to be behind several major attacks, showing the world they have not gone away. Amo...
Alvin Hall's other America
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Writer Alvin Hall returns to Wakulla County, Florida, the world he grew up in, to shed light on the political present and share a haunting portrait of...
The Fifth Floor: Is Islamic State still a threat?
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
10 years ago, IS proclaimed the creation of an Islamic State or Caliphate in Iraq and Syria. They went on to dominate headlines for years, committing ...
BBC OS Conversations: National service
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The war in Ukraine has contributed to a heightened awareness of security in parts of Europe, and in some countries, the reintroduction of different fo...
The Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast 2024
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This special programme is dedicated to the team of scientists and support staff isolated at British research stations in the Antarctic midwinter. For ...
Ukraine to Korea
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over 800 ethnically-Korean refugees fled Ukraine for Koryo Village in South Korea’s Gwangju province following Russia’s invasion. Many Koryoin are...
Trending: Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters. These armed groups did ...
Assignment: Decolonising Russia
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is Russia Europe’s last empire? Is its invasion of Ukraine a “colonial war”? Is “decolonising” the country the only way of ensuring it stops...
In the Studio: Nazanin Moradi
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For artist Nazanin Moradi, who was brought up in Iran where women are “second-class citizens in every sense,” reversing the “unfair” gender ro...
Three Million: 6. Silk scarves
16 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Eighty years ago at least three million Indians, who were British subjects, died in the Bengal Famine. But today different generations in Britain are ...
The Fifth Floor: My AI boyfriend
15 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Would you turn to AI to create your perfect partner? Wanqing Zhang from the BBC Global China Unit has been looking into an AI dating trend that is goi...
BBC OS Conversations: Far-right voters in Europe
15 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Politics in Europe took a shift to the right following the recent European parliamentary elections, with far-right parties making gains in several cou...
Losing Attar
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Attar is the essential oil that is produced when aromatics like jasmine and sandalwood are pressed and distilled. It has been a feature of life in Ind...
Heart and Soul: Last Christians of Gaza
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
George Antone is a member of the only Roman Catholic Church in Gaza, part of a dwindling Christian community whose roots in this area, go back to the ...
Trending: The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from south-western Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”. He wrongly claims that climate change is a “sc...
Assignment: Ireland’s phone-free town
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Greystones made global headlines a year ago when, concerned by rising anxiety levels among their pupils, the headteachers from all the primary schools...
In the Studio: Senua's Saga - Hellblade II
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Released in 2017, the video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice saw players take control of dark-age warrior Senua as she battled to rescue the soul o...
Greening the Hajj
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj, attracted no fewer than two million pilgrims in 2023. But this pilgrim boom has an environmental downside: c...
The forgotten people of the Ravi River
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the hundreds of people who live in a cluster of villages between India and Pakistan, a map drawn up long ago still causes daily struggles. Punjab ...
BBC OS Conversations: Stories from Mexico
08 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The election of Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is a moment of history. For the first time, a woman is in charge of the country. Host James Reyno...
Heart and Soul: Losing my religion
07 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Spiritual but not religious’ is the fastest growing faith category amongst Gen Z and Millennials around the world. However, in Nigeria, where most ...
The Fifth Floor: For the love of football
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why is football such a universal language? Three BBC World Service journalists and football fans - Matias Zibell Garcia, Pooria Jafereh and Njoroge Mu...
Bonus: What in the world - Africa and FGM: When will it end?
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Female genital mutilation affects around 230 million women and girls globally, with rates highest in Africa. FGM is considered a human rights violatio...
Whose Truth?: Online women haters
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Attacked on social media - how Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa came under fire for doing her job as a journalist in the Philippines, covering the pre...
Whose Truth?: Climate change denial
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nobel Prize laureate Sir Paul Nurse wants science, not politics, to guide the debate surrounding climate change. But how do you convince the denialist...
Whose Truth?: Russia v Ukraine
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can information become a weapon of war? Oleksandra Matviichuk, whose organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, is documenting alleged Russian wa...
Whose Truth?: The vaccine
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How Nobel Prize laureate Katalin Kariko got caught up in the Covid vaccine disinformation wars. What was it like - as someone behind one of the vaccin...
Trending: Is Russia targeting Poland's farmers’ protests?
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Farmers' protests have been erupting across Europe, and on 20 February one image from a protest in Poland went viral. It showed a tractor carrying a s...
Assignment: El Salvador – life after the gangs
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
El Salvador used to be known as one of the most dangerous places in the world. The central American country was dominated by rival gangs who terrorise...
In the Studio: Andy Riley
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Andy Riley is an Emmy-winning scriptwriter and a million-selling author and cartoonist published in more than 20 countries, notably with the Bunny Sui...
The Fifth Floor: Russia's lost troops
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How many soldiers are fighting - and dying - for Russia in Ukraine? Who are they, and what do their stories tell us about Russia's frontline tactics? ...
BBC OS Conversations: Toxic politics
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone seeking election as a politician can expect to have to argue their case with the electorate, and deal with opposition and criticism. But what h...
Heart and Soul: Hijabs and skinny jeans
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Holligan spends time with Dutch Muslim Nora Akachar, whose world was turned upside down with the traditional progressive country voted for right-...
Gaming Africa
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ghanaian gamer and broadcaster Kobby Spiky explores the video game landscape across Africa. He speaks to everyday gamers and developers about their ex...
Trending: Love and deception in the age of AI
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a viral thread posted on X in January this year, a 23-year-old Russian man claims he used ChatGPT to filter through and chat thousands of women on ...
Assignment: Myanmar - Rise of the resistance
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Myanmar is in the grip of a country-wide insurgency as armed resistance groups, including many young people from the cities, attempt to overthrow a mi...
Perfume’s dark secret
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The global perfume industry is worth billions. Some luxury brands sell for hundreds of dollars a bottle. But BBC Eye Investigations has discovered tha...
Mad Women: Portraying mental health in theatre
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a unique creative experiment, Chilean director and playwright Constanza Hola Chamy is directing in parallel both a professional cast and a communit...
Shadow War: China and the West
26 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of China is a defining challenge for the West. How far should it co-operate, compete or confront Beijing? And were Western countries slow to ...
The Fifth Floor: Life in exile
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What's the price journalists pay for telling the truth? For many it's exile. We'll hear from two colleagues, TV presenter Shazia Haya from BBC Pashto ...
BBC OS Conversations: Beauty pageants
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, questions are being asked after two beauty queens, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, stepped down in as many weeks. The sudden and con...
Heart and Soul: Hervé's Way, the story of a one-legged pilgrim
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hervé lost a leg in a motorbike accident. On the eve of the operation, he made a deal with God: “If I walk again, I'll go to Santiago.” He did wa...
Denmark's esports revolution
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world of esports is a wide and varied domain which has captured audiences around the world. OJ Borg explores how Denmark is leading the way in emb...
Trending: Long Covid: Think yourself well?
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long Covid can ruin lives, and scientists are striving to understand the condition and beginning to get some early clues about possible treatments. Wh...
Assignment: The Caspian crisis
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world. Bordered by Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan it spans 371,000 s...
In the Studio: Zoë Barrett and Patrick Eley
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Zoë Barrett and Patrick Eley have a unique way of thinking about space. They know just how to guide people from A to B with ease, no matter how higgl...
Bonus: The Global Jigsaw
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from The Global Jigsaw podcast. “China is not buying Africa, it is building Africa” is the view from Beijing. How is this landing ...
Labelling the world: The power of DSM
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The number of labels to describe different types of mental disorder has mushroomed in recent years. New categories include Oppositional Defiant Disord...
The Fifth Floor: Message in a bottle to North Korea
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Park Jung-oh defected to South Korea from the North 26 years ago. Hearing how North Koreans in the Hwanghae Province suffer from food shortage, he sta...
BBC OS Conversations: The floods in Brazil
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vast areas of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul remain under water after the worst flooding in 80 years. Homes have been destroyed, th...
Heart and Soul: Glorifying God through wine
17 May 2024
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...
Bonus: The Global Story
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. EncroChat: The crime family brought down by their violent messages. The Global Story brings you one big...
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from the Lives Less Ordinary podcast. Manni Coe’s brother Reuben has Down’s syndrome, and had become isolated and non-verbal in a ...
Assignment: Return of the Benin Bronzes
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1897 British colonial forces attacked and looted the ancient Kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria. Thousands of precious objects were t...
Crime and punishment in South Africa
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Outside of a war zone, South Africa is one of the most dangerous places in the world. The country’s murder rate is now at a 20-year high. With trust...
In the Studio: Cressida Cowell
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Enter the magical world of children’s writer Cressida Cowell. She created the hugely successful How to Train Your Dragon series, which continues to ...
The Fifth Floor: China’s global mining for green tech
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The BBC's new Global China Unit tell Faranak Amidi about their investigation into Chinese mines overseas, and what it's like to work in them and live ...
OS Conversations: Mass tourism
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic stopped most of us travelling anywhere, but now the United Nations predicts that international tourism will soon return to pre-Covid leve...
Heart and Soul: A Colombian Christmas in February
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the heart of Colombia, very special Christmas celebrations take place not in December but in February. Its roots lie in the days of slavery when ma...
Twin towns
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The small rural town of Igbo-Ora in south-western Nigeria proclaims itself to be the “twin capital of the world". It has an astonishingly high twin ...
Bonus: World of Secrets: The Disciples investigation live show
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from the World of Secrets podcast. Inside the World of Secrets investigation – the story of the journalism behind The Disciples. Hea...
Assignment: Italy's mafia whistleblower
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last year in Italy the biggest anti-mafia trial in 30 years reached a climax. On the stand were the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta: they are estimated to run...
In the Studio: Abhishek Singh
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Indian artist Abhishek Singh’s comic books have sold more than half a million copies and been translated into Italian, Spanish, French and English. ...
The Fifth Floor: Love and politics in Russia
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nataliya Zotova of BBC Russian tells us how Yulia Navalnaya has stepped in for her husband since his death and how there is somewhat of a precedent fo...
BBC OS Conversations: Student protests in the US
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The war in Gaza has triggered demonstrations at dozens of universities thousands of miles away in the United States. There have been hundreds of arres...
Heart and Soul: Jewish dating
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dating in the Jewish world can be a struggle - different denominations, beliefs, being Kosher or not Kosher, ideologies and geography makes navigating...
South Africa: The people shall govern
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South Africa is marking 30 years of democracy this year, reflecting on the remarkable transition from apartheid that captivated the world. While some ...
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from the Lives Less Ordinary podcast. Evy Mages grew up in and out of foster care in 1970s and 80s Austria. But even when she started...
Assignment: Kosovo - euro or bust?
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's a quarter of a century since Kosovo emerged from a brutal war, one which pitted local ethnic Albanians against Serbs. Twenty-five years on, the g...
In the Studio: Kenyan artist Wangari Mathenge
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wangari Mathenge used to be a high-flying corporate lawyer before turning to her first love of art. She likes to express herself through her colourful...
The Cultural Frontline: Exposing the fake Russian modern art collection
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past twenty years, paintings from a private collection of Russian and Ukrainian modern art have been sold to museums and private collectors a...
The Fifth Floor: The disinformation wars
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How is disinformation created and spread, and how is it impacting the way journalists work? We'll look at what's going on in Latin America, Russia and...
BBC OS Conversations: Ukrainian aid from the US
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After months of delays, US politicians agreed a $61bn aid package of military assistance for Ukraine to support their fight with Russia. Ukraine’s P...
Heart and Soul: The whale worshippers of Vietnam
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the southern shores of Vietnam, whales are revered as gods of the oceans. Eliza Lomas visits whale temples and a whale cemetery, hearing about the ...
Super-rich Swedes
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sweden has a global reputation for championing high taxes and social equality, but it has more dollar billionaires, relative to its population size, t...
Forward Thinking: Can feminism fix the internet?
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From deepfakes to the fear of AI taking jobs, to the social media giants making money from abusive content, our technology dominated world is in a cri...
Assignment: Armenia's lost garden
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For three decades Armenians ruled Karabakh – literally “Black Garden” – an unrecognised statelet inside neighbouring Azerbaijan. Many saw it a...
In the Studio: David Haig and Max Webster
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Philip K. Dick's novella The Minority Report was famously adapted into a science fiction blockbuster by director Steven Spielberg in 2002. More than 2...
Bonus: What in the World: South Korea’s shamans are now online
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode from the What in the World podcast. Korean shamans hold significant cultural importance in Korean society. They are often portrayed i...
The Fifth Floor: My emergency kit list
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you prepare for the worst-case scenario? Juna Moon has been talking to young people in South Korea about how they perceive the threat of war in...
BBC OS Conversations: Living in Israel
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The situation in the Middle East is being described as uncharted territory following strikes involving Iran and Israel. This is framed around the war ...
Heart and Soul: Should I change my name?
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What if you carry an inherited surname that you feel is profoundly un-Christian? Should you keep it or change it? Robert Beckford is going through thi...
The poker parent
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An eight-year-old girl holds two cards in her hand. She places several plastic poker chips into the middle of the dining room table and makes a bet. S...
Forward Thinking: Can going vegan feed the world?
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Could going vegan help feed the world and save the planet? While industry and energy production are often singled out as the main drivers of climate c...
Assignment: Reggaeton - the pride of Puerto Rico?
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Reggaeton’s the soundtrack to Puerto Rico. The globally popular music reflects what’s going on in the cultural and political scene of the Spanish-...
Bonus: The Global Story on Iran-Israel attacks
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A special bonus episode on the Iran-Israel attacks from The Global Story podcast. Israel says 99% of the missiles and drones fired by Iran on Saturday...
In the Studio: Helle Nebelong
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Danish landscape architect Helle Nebelong is a pioneer of the natural playground movement. Natural playgrounds are made of natural materials, rather t...
His and hers medicine
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Zoe Williams talks to researchers and clinicians around the world as she investigates how and why the care of women has been so neglected, and what...
The Fifth Floor: A journalist's life in Israel
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to work in Jerusalem right now? BBC journalist Shaina Oppenheimer shares her experience of living in Israel and monitoring the conflic...
BBC OS Conversations: Sudan's war - One year on
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sudan has experienced a year of civil war. It’s been described by the United Nations as “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent histor...