The Documentary Podcast Podcast
Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. Documentary storytelling 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 of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service.
From conflict in the Middle East to the advance of AI, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines. Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.
Episodes to download
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The Salafis: Islam, People and Power Boxset
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Disputes in Islam’s most misunderstood sect - the Wahhabis, also known as Salafis
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The Islamists: Islam, People and Power Boxset
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Why the Muslim Brotherhood has fractured since the Arab uprisings
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The Shia: Islam, People and Power Boxset
Fri 16 Dec 2016
The debate within Shi’ism about the role of Islam in government
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Reflections: Islam, People and Power Boxset
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Safa Al Ahmad chairs a discussion about the role of Islam in politics in the Arab world
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Woman Found Dead by the Lake Shore
Fri 16 Dec 2016
The Kafkaesque story of the brutal killing of a woman found dead by a lake in Sweden
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India's Silent Terror
Thu 15 Dec 2016
Protecting cows has now become the focus of armed Hindu vigilante groups.
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Tito's Tourist Crisis
Tue 13 Dec 2016
Tito's career is wrecked now that so many of Egypt’s hotels have closed
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Cricket, Colour and Quotas in South Africa
Thu 8 Dec 2016
Black sporting talent is still struggling to break through into South Africa's top teams.
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What My Parents Taught Me
Wed 7 Dec 2016
When Louisa Smith was eight, her father, a Vietnam veteran, dealt with an armed attacker
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Naija Sexual Desires
Wed 7 Dec 2016
Breaking taboos by exploring sex and female sexuality in conservative Nigeria
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Trolls, 'the Devil', and Death
Mon 5 Dec 2016
How President Duterte's 'war on drugs' is playing out in real life
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Life, Death and Cheerleading
Sat 3 Dec 2016
The inspirational cheerleading grandmothers of Arizona who refuse to act their age
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Albania's Cannabis Boom
Thu 1 Dec 2016
Linda Pressly and Albana Kasapi investigate the 'Green Gold' rush in the Balkan nation
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Interview with the CIA Director, John Brennan
Wed 30 Nov 2016
The BBC’s Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera interviews the CIA Director, John Brennan
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Jobs for the Girls - Part Two
Tue 29 Nov 2016
The women in India who are bucking the trend and doing jobs traditionally done by men
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The Life of President Fidel Castro
Mon 28 Nov 2016
Cuba's iconic leader has died - we look back over his life
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Checkmate for the King of Chess?
Thu 24 Nov 2016
The bizarre tale of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov - master or pawn in the great game of chess?
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Candela: The Lives of Cuban Women
Wed 23 Nov 2016
Five ordinary Cuban women on their lives, their passions and their struggles
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Jobs for the Girls - Part One
Tue 22 Nov 2016
Meet the women in India working in jobs traditionally done by men
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Cleansing Turkey
Thu 17 Nov 2016
Public employee one day, enemy of the state the next. The post coup reality in Turkey.
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Country Down Under
Wed 16 Nov 2016
How country music became a powerful form of expression for Australia’s Aboriginal peoples
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How to Win a US Election
Tue 15 Nov 2016
A post-election view of the US presidential race from the perspective of the winning side
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Searching for Tobias
Tue 15 Nov 2016
In Mississippi in 2008, 15-year-old Tobias dreamt of being a policeman. Did he succeed?
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The History of Rhythm
Sun 13 Nov 2016
Acclaimed percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie explores the evolution of musical rhythm
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The Story of the Bamboo Club
Sun 13 Nov 2016
How the Bamboo Club in Bristol, England, became a lifeline for a victimised community
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Prisons for Rent in the Netherlands
Fri 11 Nov 2016
There’s a shortage of criminals in the Netherlands. What are the Dutch doing about it?
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The Response - Turning Point
Tue 8 Nov 2016
Listeners' stories of incidents and actions that proved to be a turning point in life
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Iceland Rescue
Tue 8 Nov 2016
Life as a volunteer out on call with Ice-SAR: Iceland’s search and rescue workers
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