The Documentary Podcast Podcast
Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can make sense of the world. Home of 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. Home of the best documentaries from the BBC World Service.
From the impact of drought on crops, tourism and trade, to Africa's first film city, to the Romanian teenagers who built a DIY internet...we go beyond the headlines.
Each week we look at the stories shaping our world and hear voices connecting people from across the globe, asking how news stories are shaping their lives. We also follow spiritual journeys, examine the world through the lens of its media and focus on solutions to global problems.
Episodes to download
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Afghanistan Calling
Wed 13 Dec 2017
How former Afghan child refugee Dr Waheed Arian is breaking medical boundaries
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Make America Great Again
Tue 12 Dec 2017
Why is the word America such a controversial one outside of the US?
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The Odyssey of General Anders' Army
Sun 10 Dec 2017
Many thousands of Polish people took a chance to escape Soviet gulags by joining an army
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Return to China
Thu 7 Dec 2017
Kati goes to meet her biological parents for the first time since she was abandoned
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Neurolaw and Order
Wed 6 Dec 2017
How young offenders and the US legal system are being reformed through neuroscience data
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The Face of China
Tue 5 Dec 2017
What Chinese magazines and their readers tell us about culture and politics in China
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The CIA's Secret War in Laos
Sat 2 Dec 2017
A son uncovers his father's double-life as a CIA spy in a covert mission in 1960s Laos
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Symphony of the Stones
Sat 2 Dec 2017
How our ancient forebears made music and how ancient sites affected sounds of their time
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Pride, Passion and Palestinian Horses
Thu 30 Nov 2017
A love for Arabian horses unites Israelis and Palestinians
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Offence, Power and Progress
Wed 29 Nov 2017
Is taking offence on social media over-sensitivity or a force for progress?
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Stockfish
Tue 28 Nov 2017
How did stockfish - cod that is dried in Norway’s cold air - became a Nigerian staple?
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The Tula Toli Massacre
Thu 23 Nov 2017
The chilling story of a massacre of Rohingya muslims in a small village in Myanmar
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Blind Man Roams the Globe: Christchurch
Wed 22 Nov 2017
Life in Christchurch, New Zealand, as it recovers from two earthquakes
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Europe's Illiberal Democrats: Poland
Tue 21 Nov 2017
Is Poland sliding towards autocracy or just on a different, democratic path?
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The Judgement on Mladic
Thu 16 Nov 2017
Mark Urban examines the impact General Mladic had on the lives of thousands of people
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Blind Man Roams the Globe: Berlin
Wed 15 Nov 2017
The sounds and smells of Berlin experienced through the senses of a blind man
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Europe's Illiberal Democrats: Hungary
Tue 14 Nov 2017
Hungary is becoming an "illiberal democracy". Is that its right, or a slide to autocracy?
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Remembering Solidarity
Fri 10 Nov 2017
Five Solidarity members reflect on the movement that ended communist rule in Poland
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Namibia’s Missing Millions
Thu 9 Nov 2017
David Grossman on Namibia’s missing tax millions revealed in the Paradise Papers
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The Invisible Hand of Donald Trump
Thu 9 Nov 2017
Martin Wolf of the Financial Times examines the economic impact of President Donald Trump
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The Last Kamikazes
Tue 7 Nov 2017
The indoctrination of Japan’s World War Two suicide pilots told by the last survivors
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Trump Re-Elected
Sat 4 Nov 2017
Donald Trump’s election win revisited - could he do it again in 2020?
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The Lost Children of ISIS
Thu 2 Nov 2017
Searching for captive children still lost after the retreat of so-called Islamic State
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Before I Go
Wed 1 Nov 2017
Four people share their life-affirming experience of living with a terminal illness
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The Red and the White: Retribution
Tue 31 Oct 2017
The story of the Red Terror in the North of Russia nearly 100 years ago
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AKA Mystery Island
Sat 28 Oct 2017
A tiny South Pacific island hosts 25,000 cruise ship tourists a month but at what cost?
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Sweden’s Child Migrant Mystery
Thu 26 Oct 2017
Why do asylum-seeking children in Sweden withdraw from the world & how can they recover?
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Nigeria: Shooting it Like a Woman
Wed 25 Oct 2017
Nigerian director Tope Oshin celebrates women film-makers currently reinventing Nollywood
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The Red and the White: Britain’s Arctic Prison
Tue 24 Oct 2017
How foreign troops incarcerated Russians on 'Death Island' in the White Sea
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A New Church for the Red State
Sun 22 Oct 2017
How a reforming priest brought revolution to Russia’s Orthodox Church