Documentaries

Artificial Implosion
Chris Stokel-Walker asks what impact OpenAI’s recent implosion could have on the world.
11 Dec 2023,28 mins
The Colour of Justice
Edward Adoo investigates why there are so few non-white judges in the UK judiciary.
22 Jul 2019,28 mins
How New Is the New Philanthropy?
Two 'New Philanthropies'
Hugh contrasts the role of philanthropy today with that of the middle of the 20th century.
26 Dec 2011,30 mins
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Clinging On: The Decline of the Middle Classes
Is the middle class in decline? The divide between a rich elite and those now clinging on.
03 Feb 2015,38 mins
Who Are the '22?
David Cannadine tells the story of the origins of the 1922 Committee.
29 Aug 2022,28 mins
Learning to Listen
Dominic Sandbrook explores how the first generation of radio listeners learned to listen.
14 Aug 2014,30 mins
The Half: A Countdown To Performance
Fiona Lindsay meets performers of all kinds during the half hour before they go on stage.
17 Apr 2017,30 mins
The Tyranny of Story
Episode 3
John Harris considers the potent role of narrative in our public and private lives.
03 Sep 2018,28 mins
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Call Yourself an Impartial Journalist?
Jonathan Coffey asks what impartiality now means for broadcasters in a polarised society.
26 Apr 2019,28 mins
Fela Kuti Comes Home
The story of Nigerian musician and political revolutionary, Fela Kuti.
31 May 2011,30 mins
The Unmaking of the English Working Class
Historian Jon Lawrence of Cambridge University asks what has happened to the working class
09 Jun 2014,28 mins
Going on the Gallopers
A portrait of the life, popular art and remarkable engineering of Carters Steam Fair.
25 May 2011,28 mins
The Placebo Problem
Geoff Watts explores the phenomenon of the nocebo effect and its implications for medicine
17 Feb 2015,28 mins
The Misinformation Virus
Why fake science spreads faster online than the truth
17 Dec 2019,37 mins
Still Loving Thy Neighbour?
Mark Hodkinson revisits the sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, forty years after it was last shown
19 Sep 2016,28 mins
JD Salinger: Made in England
How 3 months in rural Devon influenced one of the greatest chroniclers of urban New York
18 Feb 2016,28 mins
How to Hire a Master
Jolyon Jenkins explores the mysterious world of the headhunter.
10 Dec 2014,30 mins
Language of Flowers
Lilies
A look at the lily and the folklore surrounding it
21 May 1993,27 mins
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The United States - Part One
Why the world's biggest economy is experiencing a pensions crisis
06 Apr 2003,22 mins
Inside the Academie Francaise
Agnes Poirier explores the role of the body which protects the French language.
23 Dec 2011,30 mins
Walter Kershaw: The UK's First Street Artist?
Uncovering the life and work of a pioneering and under-appreciated British painter
13 Sep 2012,30 mins
The Speaker, Behind the Scenes
Mark D'Arcy examines the controversial approach of the Commons Speaker John Bercow.
10 Jun 2012,28 mins
The International Trade in Drugs
How do authorities tackle drug trade? With reports from South Africa and Trinidad
28 Jun 2000,27 mins
30 Years of the Bradshaws
John Henshaw explores the unrelenting success of one of the longest running comedy series.
25 Feb 2013,28 mins
From the Cockpit to the Operating Theatre
Why lessons learned from aviation psychology are starting to save lives in hospitals.
19 Jun 2015,28 mins
Putin, the Patriarch and Pussy Riot
After Pussy Riot, Lucy Ash explores the power of the Orthodox Church in Putin's Russia.
01 Oct 2012,28 mins
Ghost Music
Archaeologist Christine Finn taps her foot to ancient sounds not heard for millennia.
19 Apr 2011,30 mins
Entitlement to Care
Bradford GP Dr Alastair Bavington explores how we deal with the health needs of immigrants
13 Feb 2015,28 mins
Beautiful Britain
Toyah Willcox takes an audio journey into the private world of hair and beauty salons.
11 May 2018,28 mins
Trump: The Presidential Precedents
Ronald Reagan
In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the White House by running against politics.
20 Jan 2017,15 mins
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