The Documentary 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.

World Service,2790 episodes

Episodes

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The lifelong toll of surviving disaster
Disaster survivors share experiences of coping with the lifelong impact on their lives
25 Jul 2026,23 mins
Searching for my samurai mother
Will researching her samurai ancestry help Rimi get to know her deceased mother?
24 Jul 2026,26 mins
The spirit of Tala: The rapid rise of Tonga's netball team
Tonga’s extraordinary netball journey to becoming a force on the international stage
23 Jul 2026,32 mins
Bonus: Forgiving a killer - from Lives Less Ordinary
Why I don’t hate my attacker – from Lives Less Ordinary
22 Jul 2026,42 mins
Italy’s child obesity time-bomb
How Italian children have become some of the most overweight in Europe
21 Jul 2026,27 mins
Tom Bailey: Can a walk across the Arctic be art?
British artist Tom Bailey starts his 600km trek through the Arctic borderlands
20 Jul 2026,26 mins
Love on trial: India's age of consent controversy
How India’s child‑protection law is punishing some teens for consensual relations
19 Jul 2026,26 mins
Belarus's university in exile
How the Belarus government targets independent higher education by threatening students
18 Jul 2026,26 mins
Older women and the challenge of IVF
Women share their experiences of fertility treatment
18 Jul 2026,23 mins
Harry Haft's unspeakable fight
A father's story of survival from Nazi death matches to US boxing rings
17 Jul 2026,26 mins
Follow the money: The beef with US beef
Why have US beef prices risen around 13% over the past year?
16 Jul 2026,19 mins
Moscow’s enemy number one
“Perfidious Albion” - how Britain replaced the US as Russia’s top nemesis
15 Jul 2026,26 mins
Euthanasia in Spain: Whose life is it anyway?
The fall-out from the death by euthanasia of Noelia Castillo in Spain earlier this year
14 Jul 2026,29 mins
The Chinese fentanyl king
Zhang Zhidong has been labelled one of the world's most significant drug traffickers
13 Jul 2026,26 mins
Jordanian director Zain Duraie
Zain Duraie talks about her debut film Sink, an intense family drama about mental health
12 Jul 2026,26 mins
Fruit Wars!
Why Taiwan and Malaysia's luxury fruit growers have a complex relationship with China
11 Jul 2026,26 mins
Chasing the Wimbledon dream
Tennis pros in the lower rankings share their stories of sacrifice
11 Jul 2026,23 mins
Diving for Yuko
Yasuo Takamatsu has spent nearly 15 years diving for the remains of his wife, Yuko
10 Jul 2026,26 mins
Secrets of the ant trade
The multi-million dollar ant trade and the enthusiasts working to stop illegal smuggling
09 Jul 2026,26 mins
Was ‘Made in China’ made in America?
Has the United States met its match?
08 Jul 2026,27 mins
China’s collapsing population
Since the one-child policy was scrapped 10 years ago, China now has too few births
07 Jul 2026,26 mins
Karin Slaughter: thriller penned in mountain cabin
Karin Slaughter on how she keeps readers awake at night
06 Jul 2026,26 mins
A history of the United States in 100 objects: 1: The Century Safe
In 1876, Americans filled an iron safe with objects meant to tell their story
05 Jul 2026,26 mins
Balochistan's disappeared
A leading campaigner for Balochistan's disappeared has been imprisoned
04 Jul 2026,26 mins
The Venezuelan earthquakes
Survivors share their experiences from Caracas and the port of La Guaira
04 Jul 2026,23 mins
Cast out: Faith of a gay Nigerian priest
A Nigerian Anglican priest shares how he was cast out after his sexuality became known
03 Jul 2026,26 mins
The social lives of bacteria
The microscopic dramas of bacterial loners, crowd-lovers, backstabbers and do-gooders
02 Jul 2026,26 mins
The Food Chain: Can I save the family restaurant?
Can a viral video help an actor save her family's restaurant?
01 Jul 2026,26 mins
Switzerland's population cap referendum
Switzerland recently voted on capping the country’s population to limit migration
30 Jun 2026,26 mins
The poetry of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh
From Kitchen Table to the Underworld: The Poetry of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh
29 Jun 2026,26 mins