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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Assignment: Plastic recycling’s dirty secrets
Mon 18 Nov 2024
Malaysia; the global hub for recycling plastic waste
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The 10 years that changed women's football
Sun 17 Nov 2024
How women's football has boomed in the past decade, and what challenges still lie ahead
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The Fifth Floor: Leaving for an African dream
Sat 16 Nov 2024
Actor Idris Elba is planning to move to Africa. What's inspiring him, and many others?
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BBC OS Conversations: The aftermath of the Valencia floods
Sat 16 Nov 2024
A family shares their experience of searching for their missing father
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Faith on the fly: The airport chaplains
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Spend a week with the chaplains of Heathrow Airport supporting passengers and staff
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Heart and Soul: The human shield
Tue 12 Nov 2024
Why an Australian journalist decided to try and stop Western powers bombing Iraq
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Poisoned flood: South Sudan life at 50°C
Mon 11 Nov 2024
Blood, pollution and oil in South Sudan but who is responsible? BBC Eye investigates
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In the Studio: Opera Australia
Sun 10 Nov 2024
Ce Benedict goes behinds the scenes of Opera Australia
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The Fifth Floor: What do Georgians want?
Sat 9 Nov 2024
Why are people protesting on the streets of Tbilisi, in Georgia?
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BBC OS Conversations: Americans react to Donald Trump's re-election
Sat 9 Nov 2024
We get reaction from Republicans, Democrats and Ukrainians
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Heart and Soul: The Arab Holocaust museum
Fri 8 Nov 2024
Why an Arab Israeli set out to educate his fellow Palestinians about the Holocaust
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Tuvalu: The first digital nation?
Thu 7 Nov 2024
With its future under threat, how can Tuvalu preserve its culture?
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Bonus: People Fixing the World: Fixing elections - for the better
Wed 6 Nov 2024
2024 has been a big year for elections. But how can we make sure people can vote safely?
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Tongue and talk: Keeping language alive in Africa
Tue 5 Nov 2024
Ghanian journalist Justice Baidoo examines the threat to hundreds of languages in Africa
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In the Studio: TRIVAX
Mon 4 Nov 2024
TRIVAX on their mission to fight against oppression and totalitarianism through music
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Assignment: Denmark’s weight loss boom town
Sat 2 Nov 2024
Assignment visits the small Danish manufacturing town making the weight loss drug Wegovy
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The Fifth Floor: Ikat fashion and other Uzbek wonders
Sat 2 Nov 2024
Ibrat Safo explores Uzbekistan's love story with textiles
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BBC OS Conversations: US voters and the cost of living
Sat 2 Nov 2024
How major news stories are affecting the lives of people around the world
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Heart and Soul: How the war in Gaza helped me find God
Fri 1 Nov 2024
How the unshakeable faith of Palestinian Muslims in Gaza led Vanessa to embrace Islam
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The jaguar's last stand
Thu 31 Oct 2024
The Jaguar is the apex predator in the Pantanal, Brazil, but loss of habitat is a threat
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BBC Trending: The cost of an addiction to Somali TikTok battles
Wed 30 Oct 2024
Cash-strapped and verbally abused – players of the TikTok game taking Somalia by storm
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Assignment: Choosing race
Tue 29 Oct 2024
Stories of people fighting to claim their racial identity, and those looking to police it
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In the Studio: Ishmael Reed
Mon 28 Oct 2024
Legendary American author Ishmael Reed is 86 – how does he keep creating?
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The Fifth Floor: Where do vampires come from?
Sat 26 Oct 2024
Where did the vampire myth originate from?
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BBC OS Conversations: US black and Latino male voters
Sat 26 Oct 2024
We discuss if the male vote is a problem or opportunity ahead of the US election
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Heart and Soul: Seeking justice from Opus Dei
Fri 25 Oct 2024
Former assistant numeraries who worked in Opus Dei centres say they were abused
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Iraq's secret women's shelters
Thu 24 Oct 2024
The dangerous and secretive work of the Iraqi women helping victims of domestic violence
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BBC Trending: Meet the anti-witch hunter
Wed 23 Oct 2024
Meet the man who intervenes to protect people accused of witchcraft across Africa
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Assignment: Singing in Gaza
Tue 22 Oct 2024
Amid the rubble, children in Gaza are learning music. How and why do they go on singing?
