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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Reflections on Terror: 50 Years Behind the Headlines
Sat 1 Apr 2017
Peter Taylor reflects on his 50-year career reporting terrorism
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Brazil’s modern-day Captains of the Sands
Fri 31 Mar 2017
A Brazilian novel about street children written 80 years ago still resonates today
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The Web Sheikh and the Muslim Mums
Wed 29 Mar 2017
Muslim mums discuss their fears of extremist Islam influencing their children
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A Failed Revolution
Tue 28 Mar 2017
Six years after protests began in Syria, Lina Sinjab explores why the revolution failed
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Horses for Courses
Sun 26 Mar 2017
The glamour, graft and glory at the most important thoroughbred horse auction on earth
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Freedom and Fear in Myanmar
Thu 23 Mar 2017
How the Burmese military stand accused of abusing Myanmar’s Muslims
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Songs for the Dead
Wed 15 Mar 2017
The role of Irish keeners - women who were paid to cry, wail and sing over the dead
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Dying for a Song
Sun 12 Mar 2017
The musicians being persecuted for raising their voices against repression
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In Search of Henk and Ingrid
Thu 9 Mar 2017
Why is the tolerant Netherlands home to a major anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party?
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Where Are You Going?
Tue 7 Mar 2017
Catherine Carr travels to Tijuana in Mexico, and asks strangers - where are you going?
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Poland and the Mysterious Murder of Jola Brzeska
Thu 2 Mar 2017
The Polish property scandal now being linked to a brutal and unsolved murder
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The Swedish Ambassador’s Guide to Eurovision
Wed 11 May 2016
Ahead of the world’s biggest song contest, a diplomat explains why pop is a secret weapon
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‘Islamic State’s’ Most Wanted
Thu 21 Apr 2016
The astonishing story of a group of young men who chose to resist ‘Islamic State’.
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The Great Tennis Fix
Thu 21 Jan 2016
Have the tennis authorities done enough to investigate allegations of match fixing?
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David Bowie: The Music and the Legacy
Sat 16 Jan 2016
David Bowie's lasting impact on music, fashion, teenage culture and attitudes to gender.
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The Philippines: Workers Without Borders
Wed 27 May 2015
Claudia Taranto travels to the Philippines where 10% of the population work overseas.
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Australia: Workers Without Borders
Tue 26 May 2015
Claudia Taranto travels to Australia where she hears how temporary workers are the of...
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The World’s Richest Terror Army
Sat 23 May 2015
The story of how Islamic State, a small band of fanatical jihadi fighters, became the...
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Somalia: Back from the brink
Thu 21 May 2015
With defectors inside the militant group al-Shabab is Somalia turning against extremism?
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Singapore: Workers Without Borders
Wed 20 May 2015
Claudia Taranto visits Singapore, which is increasingly reliant on labour from abroad...
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Nepal: Workers Without Borders
Tue 19 May 2015
Claudia Taranto travels to Nepal where - until the recent disasters - 1600 people were...
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Peru's Wildlife for Sale
Thu 14 May 2015
Peru is one of the most biodiverse nations in the world. But its precious wildlife is...
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African Students Abroad
Wed 13 May 2015
Over 35,000 African students studied at British universities last year - part of a of...
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Jordan Takes On the Islamic State's Digital Machine
Tue 12 May 2015
The Jordanian social media campaign run in response to the burning of pilot Moaz...
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The Alistair Cooke Memorial Lecture
Sat 9 May 2015
American historian David Blight explores the legacy of the American Civil War - the of...
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Georgia: Orthodoxy in the Classroom
Thu 7 May 2015
Natalia Antelava asks if the creeping influence of the Orthodox Church in Georgia’s...
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Lost Children of the Holocaust
Wed 6 May 2015
Following the end of World War Two, the BBC began a series of special radio appeals on...
