The Documentary Podcast Podcast
The best documentaries from the BBC World Service. Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world.
The best documentaries from the BBC World Service. Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world.
From Australia's relationship with China, to Turkey's sinkhole problem, to understanding the behaviour of dictators, we go beyond the headlines.
Each week, all year round, we bring you the stories shaping our world. From the personal voices behind the headlines to perspectives on faith and spirituality and how work and money impact our lives. Discover how people find solutions to global problems and look at the world through the lens of its media.
Powered by the BBC World Service’s global network, The Documentary Podcast is about the people living the story – helping you see the world with greater clarity.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
The Sprung Floor
Wed 18 May 2016
Dancer Dane Hurst on his dream to teach modern dance to under-privileged kids in SA
-
![]()
Rebel Song Journey
Tue 17 May 2016
One man’s struggle to keep singing despite losing everything in the Sri Lankan civil war
-
![]()
Die Klassen - Health and Family
Sun 15 May 2016
The Syrian refugees who arrived in Berlin in 2015 and their attempts to settle in
-
![]()
Checkmate Me In St Louis
Thu 12 May 2016
The mid-western city which has become a world centre for the game of chess.
-
![]()
Setting the Past Free - Part Two
Wed 11 May 2016
Wrestling with Rudolf Kastner's Holocaust story and the issues it raises
-
![]()
Are Human Rights Really Universal?
Tue 10 May 2016
The human rights movement vs resistance to human rights by powerful states
-
![]()
China's Family Planning Army
Thu 5 May 2016
China's once hated population police are being turned into child development specialists.
-
![]()
Setting the Past Free - Part One
Wed 4 May 2016
The Rudolf Kastner story - a hero or villain of the Holocaust?
-
![]()
Are Human Rights Really Universal?
Tue 3 May 2016
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which set out of rights for all humankind
-
![]()
Born Free, Killed by Hate in South Africa
Thu 28 Apr 2016
The story of Pasca, a young lesbian and how South Africa's rainbow nation has failed her.
-
![]()
Forgetting Igbo
Tue 26 Apr 2016
The fall and rise of Igbo, one of West Africa’s most widely spoken languages
-
![]()
Beyond Binary
Sun 24 Apr 2016
The movement of people who define themselves as ‘non-binary’ – not male, not female
-
![]()
Forgotten Girls of Dhaka
Fri 22 Apr 2016
What does the future hold for the girls of the Duaripara slum in Dhaka?
-
![]()
A Global Queen
Wed 20 Apr 2016
The role of British monarchs on the global stage including Elizabeth II
-
![]()
Secret Lives
Sat 16 Apr 2016
What do our secrets tell us about who we are? And what happens when we reveal them?
-
![]()
Where Are You Going? - Kolkata
Thu 14 Apr 2016
From the feminist Shakespeare enthusiast to the man dying of AIDS: we're in Kolkata
-
![]()
Norway: Parents Against the State
Thu 14 Apr 2016
Norway's child protection policies are attracting sharp criticism both at home and abroad.
-
![]()
Trading Hair
Wed 13 Apr 2016
Why women in India shave their natural hair and why South African women want to buy it
-
![]()
The Afro-Mexicans
Sun 10 Apr 2016
Mexico’s black communities feel ignored and are using culture to fight for recognition.
-
![]()
The Salon
Sat 9 Apr 2016
Intimate conversations between hairdressers and their clients around the world.
-
![]()
The Panama Papers
Thu 7 Apr 2016
A major investigation reveals how the world's most notorious regimes get around sanctions
-
![]()
-
![]()
Where Are You Going? - Amsterdam
Tue 5 Apr 2016
From the father and son who share a passion for firearms to one of the last hippies there
-
![]()
Where Are You Going? - New York
Tue 5 Apr 2016
From a pigeon catching crack addict to the woman married to her cat. We're in New York.
-
![]()
Default World
Sat 2 Apr 2016
How the ethics, philosophies and lifestyles of the tech elite influence the way we live
-
![]()
Zaha Hadid - Dream Builder
Fri 1 Apr 2016
Zaha Hadid was the first woman and first Muslim to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
-
![]()
Thai Buddhism - Monks, Mercs and Women
Thu 31 Mar 2016
The rifts and sexual politics challenging Thai Buddhism and its devotees.
-
![]()
South Korea: The Silent Cultural Superpower - Part Two
Wed 30 Mar 2016
How South Korea's popular culture is leading to a raucous, more individualist culture
-
![]()
What Should We Teach Our Kids?
Tue 29 Mar 2016
How should we be preparing schoolchildren today to find employment in the future?
-
![]()
The Easter Rising 1916
Sun 27 Mar 2016
How six days of armed struggle in 1916 changed Irish and British history
