The Documentary Podcast cover art
Podcast · 508 episodes

The Documentary Podcast, page 20

by BBC World Service · English

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.

All episodes, page 20

Ukrainians at war and their hopes for peaceUkrainians describe day-to-day life during Russia’s war on Ukraine and their hopes and fears for peace, amid US/Russia diplomacy and debates over territorial swaps.23 Aug 2025 · 23 min · 10 chapters
Gaudí: God’s architectA BBC Heart and Soul documentary on why Antoni Gaudí (“God’s architect”) may be canonized, focusing on his spirituality, architecture (especially the Sagrada Familia), and reported miracles.22 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 18 chapters
White Coats v the White HouseThe episode argues that the Trump administration’s science policy is undermining “gold standard science” by cutting funding, politicizing research priorities, and eroding trust in evidence-based…21 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 19 chapters
Dan Meis: Designing Everton Football Club's new stadiumSports architecture and the design process behind Dan Meis’s new Everton FC stadium, including how stadiums shape fan memory, how he pitches ideas, and the project’s UNESCO and construction…20 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
Europe’s migrant crisis: the truck that shocked the worldThe BBC Assignment documentary examines the 2015 “Parndorf case” after 71 migrants died in a refrigerated truck in Austria, asking how the deaths could have been prevented.19 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
The Herds: Life-sized puppets flee climate changeThis episode of BBC World Service’s In the Studio follows The Herds, a public-art project using life-size puppet animals to dramatize climate change.18 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 10 chapters
Ghost cities FCBBC World Service documentary “Ghost Cities FC” about how the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict displaced both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, using football clubs FK Karabakh and Lernayin Artsakh as…17 Aug 2025 · 49 min · 28 chapters
Comedians and Afghan weddingsThe episode is about how wedding celebrations adapt when music is banned, focusing on Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021.16 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 9 chapters
Messages from Sudan's warBBC World Service documentary on the human impact of Sudan’s civil war (began April 2023) between the Sudanese army and RSF, including siege conditions, displacement, hunger, cholera, and aid access…16 Aug 2025 · 24 min · 11 chapters
The president’s path: Trump’s Latino baseThe BBC “The President’s Path” episode analyzes why Latino voters shifted toward Donald Trump in 2024 and how Trump’s first eight months’ policies may affect them in upcoming midterms, especially…15 Aug 2025 · 25 min · 8 chapters
Birding the gender gapA BBC documentary about the “World Series of Birding” in Cape May, NJ, where an all-female team (Team Galbatrosses) intentionally counts only female birds to expose how science and bird guides have…14 Aug 2025 · 29 min · 15 chapters
Mo Salah: Egyptian kingMohamed Salah’s Egyptian football journey, his impact on Egypt, and the pressure on him ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup.13 Aug 2025 · 56 min · 29 chapters
Tajikistan’s last, lonely hyenasThe episode follows BBC World Service reporter Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent in southwestern Tajikistan to investigate the striped hyena’s near-extinction and a conservation effort to save it.12 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 14 chapters
Yoko Nishina: Japanese calligraphyJapanese calligraphy with master calligrapher Yoko Nishina, focusing on her process, aesthetics (monono aware), and a project translating/evoking The Tale of Genji using hiragana, plus her…11 Aug 2025 · 26 min · 9 chapters
Has Ghana's ‘Year of Return’ been a success?Ghana’s “Year of Return” (launched in 2019 for the 400th anniversary of enslaved Africans taken from Ghana to America) and whether diaspora return has delivered on expectations, including economic…10 Aug 2025 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Why are Chinese micro-dramas so popular?The episode asks why Chinese micro-dramas are so popular: short, highly bingeable romance/fantasy series delivered in 1–2 minute episodes (often 50–60 per series) via Instagram/TikTok targeting, with…9 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 8 chapters
Israelis and the war in GazaBBC OS Conversations episode on Israelis’ perspectives on the war in Gaza after the Oct 2023 Hamas attack, including calls for an end to fighting, hostage priorities, and debate among Israeli rabbis…9 Aug 2025 · 23 min · 10 chapters
The Engineers: Exploring the humanThe episode “The Engineers: Exploring the Human” (BBC World Service) focuses on three engineering breakthroughs in biomedicine: brain-computer interfaces, targeted drug delivery using…7 Aug 2025 · 50 min · 23 chapters
New Zealand: Heading across the ditchNew Zealand’s “Kiwi exodus” to Australia (“across the ditch”), framed as brain drain vs brain gain, and how migration is reshaping demographics, housing, services, and bicultural/multicultural…6 Aug 2025 · 33 min · 19 chapters
Waiting for my Dad - Ukraine's children of the missingA BBC World Service documentary about a pioneering two-week summer camp in the Carpathian Mountains for 50 Ukrainian children (ages 7–17) whose parent is missing in the war, exploring “ambiguous…5 Aug 2025 · 30 min · 17 chapters
Luke Jerram: A good yarnBBC World Service “In the Studio” documentary about artist Luke Jerram’s installation A Good Yarn for Bradford UK City of Culture 2025—its creation, community workshops, and final street-rolling…4 Aug 2025 · 27 min · 15 chapters
Why a South Korean church bought a village in ParaguayThe BBC World Service “The Fifth Floor” episode investigates a 25-year land dispute in Puerto Casado, a remote Paraguayan village in the Chaco, where residents have lived for generations without…2 Aug 2025 · 18 min · 9 chapters
Hunger in GazaHunger and famine risk in Gaza amid Israel’s blockade and war, with accounts of food/water/medicine shortages, malnutrition in hospitals, and limited aid access.2 Aug 2025 · 25 min · 12 chapters
Bergen-Belsen: Among graves, we were bornThe episode is about Bergen-Belsen’s liberation and what happened to the survivors’ children—“Bergen-Belsen babies”—who were born in the displaced persons (DP) camp after the camp’s devastation.1 Aug 2025 · 26 min · 11 chapters