The Documentary Podcast Podcast
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.
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 the global housing crisis to gerrymandering in US politics to the miracle doctor of Lourdes, 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.
Episodes to download
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Assignment: Ireland’s phone-free town
Tue 11 Jun 2024
The town where primary schools asked parents not to buy smartphones for their children
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In the Studio: Senua's Saga - Hellblade II
Mon 10 Jun 2024
We follow the sequel to the award-winning Hellblade video game
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Greening the Hajj
Sun 9 Jun 2024
What can Muslims do to reduce the enormous carbon footprint of the pilgrimage to Mecca?
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The forgotten people of the Ravi River
Sun 9 Jun 2024
We meet the people in western India cut off from the mainland by a bridgeless river
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BBC OS Conversations: Stories from Mexico
Sat 8 Jun 2024
Ordinary Mexicans share their concerns and hopes for new President Claudia Sheinbaum
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Heart and Soul: Losing my religion
Fri 7 Jun 2024
The young Nigerians creating a community for the irreligious in a highly religious society
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The Fifth Floor: For the love of football
Thu 6 Jun 2024
Why is football such a universal language? Stories from Argentina, Iran and Kenya
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Bonus: What in the world - Africa and FGM: When will it end?
Thu 6 Jun 2024
The Gambia could be about to reverse its ban, but elsewhere rates are going down
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Whose Truth?: Online women haters
Wed 5 Jun 2024
How Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa came under fire for doing her job
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Whose Truth?: Climate change denial
Wed 5 Jun 2024
Nobel Prize laureate Sir Paul Nurse wants science to guide the climate change debate
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Whose Truth?: Russia v Ukraine
Wed 5 Jun 2024
Can information become a weapon of war? Oleksandra Matviichuk on documenting war crimes
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Whose Truth?: The vaccine
Wed 5 Jun 2024
Nobel Prize laureate Katalin Kariko was caught up in a Covid vaccine disinformation storm
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Trending: Is Russia targeting Poland's farmers’ protests?
Wed 5 Jun 2024
A pro-Russian image from a farmers protest in Poland went viral. Who's the man behind it?
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Assignment: El Salvador – life after the gangs
Tue 4 Jun 2024
How people’s lives have changed since a crackdown on criminal gangs
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In the Studio: Andy Riley
Mon 3 Jun 2024
Andy Riley, Emmy-winning scriptwriter and a million-selling author and cartoonist
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The Fifth Floor: Russia's lost troops
Sat 1 Jun 2024
Olga Ivshina on the human cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine
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BBC OS Conversations: Toxic politics
Sat 1 Jun 2024
Politicians share their experiences of threats and intimidation
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Heart and Soul: Hijabs and skinny jeans
Fri 31 May 2024
Nora Akachar questions what it means to be Muslim in the Netherlands today
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Gaming Africa
Thu 30 May 2024
Gamer and broadcaster Kobby Spiky looks at the video games industry across Africa
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Assignment: Myanmar - Rise of the resistance
Tue 28 May 2024
Quentin Sommerville reports from Myanmar on the rising resistance to the military junta
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Perfume’s dark secret
Mon 27 May 2024
The BBC reveals the human cost of one of perfume’s most luxurious ingredients
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Mad Women: Portraying mental health in theatre
Mon 27 May 2024
Constanza Hola Chamy directs two casts for her play about female artists with bipolar
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The Fifth Floor: Life in exile
Sat 25 May 2024
Two journalists from Afghanistan and Russia share their experience of living in exile
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BBC OS Conversations: Beauty pageants
Sat 25 May 2024
Contestants, judges and an organiser on the stereotypes and positive experiences
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Heart and Soul: Hervé's Way, the story of a one-legged pilgrim
Fri 24 May 2024
The amputee who regained his will to live by walking to Santiago de Compostela
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Denmark's esports revolution
Thu 23 May 2024
Why a European country has put competitive gaming on the school curriculum
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Trending: Long Covid: Think yourself well?
Wed 22 May 2024
BBC Trending investigates a controversial treatment programme being promoted online
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Assignment: The Caspian crisis
Tue 21 May 2024
Why is the Caspian Sea shrinking and what does this means for the region?
