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PODCAST

The Documentary Podcast

BBC World Service

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

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

23:15

Chasing the Wimbledon dream

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/11

In a summer of world class sporting events, tennis players have been battling it out at Wimbledon - one of the four major Grand Slam tournaments. One of the big stories has been the success of British wildcard entry Arthur Fery who, before Wimbledon, was ranked outside the top 100. His success has come with a big jump in prize money - essential to pay for the international travel, accommodation and coaches required to keep climbing the rankings. For those lower down the ranks, life on the

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26:41

Diving for Yuko

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/10

In coastal Japan, Yasuo Takamatsu has spent nearly 15 years diving for the remains of his wife, Yuko, who was swept away in the 2011 tsunami. With on-location recording of Yasuo on his 763rd dive, this Heart and Soul documentary explores his search as an act of devotion shaped by Japanese ideals of grief, memory, and the power of nature. A profound story of love and loss, we reveal how one man’s repeated dives became a ritual of remembrance in a land where disaster is part of life.Presenter: Jake

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26:28

Secrets of the ant trade

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/09

Once a quiet hobby for enthusiasts, ant-keeping has exploded into a global, multi-million-dollar business driven by social media and a rising wave of "ant-influencers". Demand for exotic species is fuelling a boom in online trading forums, and a new front in wildlife trafficking. We go to Kenya, where law enforcement has made global headlines arresting gangs as they try to smuggle thousands of prized mated queens out of the country.

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27:07

Was ‘Made in China’ made in America?

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/08

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, all this week The Global Story is exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world.For decades in the US, “Made in China” signified a product that was cheap, poorly made, and, in some cases, produced through exploitative labour. But today, the label signifies something quite different in many American minds - state-of-the-art tech and luxury goods that even rival America, for arguably the first time in US

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26:50

China’s collapsing population

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/07

Worried about a ballooning population, the Chinese government introduced its infamous one-child policy in 1980. At the time it seemed urgent to find ways to reduce the number of babies being born. China today has the opposite problem - too few births. Since the one-child policy was scrapped 10 years ago, there have been increasingly desperate attempts to encourage couples to have more children. But nothing has worked. China’s population has already started to fall. That process will gather pace over

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26:15

Karin Slaughter: thriller penned in mountain cabin

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/06

From her secluded mountain cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, USA, best-selling author Karin Slaughter crafts stories which keep millions awake at night. She tells Lucy Collingwood how she works best – at her bespoke ‘cockpit’ desk, a couple of intense weeks at a time, where she juggles the tv-adaptation of her book The Good Daughter and her latest thriller The Secrets We Hide.

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26:27

A history of the United States in 100 objects: 1: The...

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/05

100 Objects #1: The Century Safe In 1876, Americans filled an iron safe with objects meant to tell their story — to be opened a century later. Roman Mars and historian Jill Lepore trace its long wait, from Reconstruction to Watergate, and the surprising, unsettling contents that emerged in 1976. What do the objects we choose to preserve, or forget, reveal about how we author our own history?

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26:36

Balochistan's disappeared

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/04

When Dr. Mahrang Baloch was a teenager, she joined hundreds of families across Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan to search for her father, who had disappeared. Activists and rights groups say thousands of ethnic Baloch people have disappeared over the past two decades, alleging many were detained by security forces, tortured and killed as part of operations against a long-running separatist movement. After three years of being missing, Mahrang's family received a call telling them

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23:14

The Venezuelan earthquakes

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/04

The people of Venezuela are still reeling from the aftermath of two powerful earthquakes which struck near the capital Caracas in June. As buildings collapsed, the impact was devastating. Over 2,500 are recorded dead but, with tens of thousands of people still missing, the final number will be much higher. We hear from people who were in Caracas and the nearby port of La Guaira - one of the worst affected areas. Some have been made homeless. Some are students, who were about to graduate and are now

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26:29

Cast out: Faith of a gay Nigerian priest

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/03

Once a respected voice in the pulpit, a Nigerian priest was cast out when his sexuality became known, mirroring a broader pattern in which clergy have been dismissed or barred from ministry in Nigeria over allegations of homosexuality. Listening to his intimate testimony and stark reality, Emily Buchanan explores the cost of authenticity in a society where belief, culture, and law intersect - and where being true to oneself can mean losing everything.

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26:29

The social lives of bacteria

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/02

Our bodies are filled with bacteria that have rich social lives and, just like people, these microbial neighbours and families do not always get along. In some cases, it is the bacterial equivalent of The Sopranos. Dr Sally Le Page delves into the bacterial dramas of loners, crowd-lovers, backstabbers and do-gooders that are fighting it out in the world and inside our bodies. Co-operation, cheating and selfish behaviour can all lead to benefits or disease so scientists are studying this behaviour to

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26:28

The Food Chain: Can I save the family restaurant?

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/07/01

Running a restaurant is hard. Long hours, tight margins and constant stress. In this episode of the Food Chain, Rumella Dasgupta travels to Edinburgh, Scotland, to meet Lisa He and her mum Sophie. Lisa has just put her life and acting career on hold, to try and help her mum save the family's restaurant, the China Star. A video she made documenting her attempt has gone viral, with more than fifteen million views. But is a viral video going to be enough to turn a failing business into a success

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26:30

Switzerland's population cap referendum

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/30

Switzerland recently voted on a radical and unprecedented initiative: capping the country’s population to limit migration. It is the latest in a series of referendums around immigration policy in Switzerland, which have spanned decades. In the weeks preceding the vote, Josephine Casserly was in Switzerland to speaking to the people championing this policy to understand why concerns about immigration have grown so strong in this small, wealthy country, famed for its neutrality.

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26:29

The poetry of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/29

In the Studio enters the creative world of award-winning Irish-language poet Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh as she composes a new poem. We follow its journey from first draft to first public reading. Ailbhe writes exclusively in Irish. She is deeply rooted in the language’s literary tradition yet unmistakably modern in outlook and has become one of the most distinctive literary voices of her generation. Working from the early-morning quiet of her kitchen table in Cork, the documentary centres on a new

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27:11

How did we get here? 1. Israel and the Palestinians

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/28

Episode one of the podcast series examining the origins and tracing the history of the Middle East conflict. Presenter Jonny Dymond is joined by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, professor in ancient history at Cardiff University, and historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The Biography. They discuss the value of the Bible as a guide to history, the concept of a “promised land”, the archaeological record of the various peoples who lived in the region in ancient times, the coming of

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26:38

Witnessing the 'Hand of God'

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/27

Every World Cup has its stand‑out personalities and talking points. This year, fans have been as delighted by Lionel Messi’s performance in the tournament, his sixth World Cup, and by the stand‑out style of DR Congo superfan Lumumba Vea, as they have been sometimes baffled by hydration breaks. But only a handful of moments are remembered throughout the decades. In 1986 in Mexico City, Diego Maradona scored two goals for Argentina in a match against England that will never be forgotten. World Service

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23:08

What is it like to have a lung transplant?

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/27

As Norway’s crown princess, Mette-Marit, convalesces from lung transplant surgery, we bring together patients and doctors to share their experiences of this major life-saving procedure. Since the 1980s, lung transplantations have become increasingly routine, but as every operation relies on suitable donor organs becoming available, the timing is always uncertain.“Everything was so quick, everything was so scary,” says Aimee Morrison, who received her new lungs last year, only months after being told

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26:30

Musician on a mission to keep bhajans alive

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/26

Sitting on his grandad’s knee, a young Bhavik Haria was introduced to devotional Hindu music. Since childhood, he’s been hooked on the moving instruments and tales of gods and deities. Fast forward to his late 20s – and it was during the Covid pandemic that Bhavik realised how the landscape was changing in his community. Young people were no longer engaging with these bhajans. The instruments and sound were just not resonating. A trend began in India of bhajan jams – incorporating Western

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26:39

Agony and ecstasy: A history of penalty shootouts

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/25

As the knockout stage of the men’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA draws closer, so too does the dreaded penalty shootout. Why do penalties bring so much drama and anxiety to both players and fans when they are used to decide tied games in knockout football? Former South African captain Amanda Dlamini looks back at the history of the shootout with penalty expert and author Ben Lyttleton. South African internationals Nomathemba Ntsibande and Gabriela Moodaly‑Salgado take us through their

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64:22

Brexit Ten Years On (part 2)

The Documentary Podcast ·

2026/06/24

It is 10 years since the UK voted to leave the European Union in the Brexit referendum. In this two-part series, Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life, both within Britain and beyond.In this second episode, Alex and guests discuss how leaving the EU impacted UK regulation, science and academia, and fishing and farming, and consider how Brexit

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2,496 results

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