The Documentary 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. 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.
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The silence of the oligarchs
Russia's super-rich once ruled the country, holding deep influence over the country's politicians in the years immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They then gradua…
The dolphin whisperer of the Amazon
Deep in the Amazon jungle, pink river dolphins are under threat from pollution, deforestation, illegal mining and climate change. As a powerful El Niño looms, raising fears of dro…
China and the UK: After the golden era
Journalist and author Paul Kenyon investigates rising suspicions over China’s presence in the UK. From shadow policing operations, to spies and the infiltration of universities an…
What China's solar panel obsession means for the world
China's latest trade data show another huge surplus, putting the country on course for what could be a record $1.5 trillion trade surplus this year. In the first of two episodes e…
Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine
A network of Russians say they are secretly fighting their own country. They claim armed resistance to stop Russia winning in Ukraine is the best way to undermine Putin’s regime.…
Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine
A network of Russians say they are secretly fighting their own country. They claim armed resistance to stop Russia winning in Ukraine is the best way to undermine Putin’s regime.…
Afghan refugees: 3. Back to zero
Why are millions of Afghans pushed into circular migration and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, The Global Jigsaw explores one of the world’s largest…
Afghan refugees: 2. Life in exile
Why are millions of Afghans forced to go home and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, The Global Jigsaw explores one of the world’s largest and longest…
Afghan refugees: 1. The exodus
Why are millions of Afghans pushed into circular migration, and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, we explore one of the world’s largest and longest-ru…
Final moments with death row inmates
Two cases in recent weeks have reignited debate around capital punishment in the United States after the failed attempt to execute Christa Pike and controversy over – now abandone…
Living lands of Hawai'i
After 23 years in the US military left him broken, Native Hawaiian park ranger Keoni Kaholoaʻā finds healing in Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and in Pele, the…
The dream academy
Sean Allsop has had insomnia for much of his adult life and now sees it as a problem he wants to understand. He explores what countries are doing to tackle poor sleep and he exami…
Breaking the code of silence
We travel to the Italian island of Sicily to see how Palermo residents are fighting back against the influence of the mafia. Presenter Myra Anubi meets people from the charity Add…
Hungary after Orban
Hungary under Viktor Orban was a model for the populist right the world over. But in April 2026 he and the party he led, Fidesz, was decisively defeated in an election that brough…
Why are birth rates falling across the world?
Birth rates are falling across much of the world, raising questions about the future of ageing populations and economies. We look at why people are having fewer children, from the…
Recommending: Trouble with Hubble
A brand new season of the BBC’s space podcast explores the story of the revolutionary Hubble Space Telescope and the tiny flaw that almost destroyed the dream. This is the first e…
The politics of water: Iraq and Turkey
Two rivers helped build civilisation. Now they are at the centre of a geopolitical struggle that casts a shadow over the future of the Middle East. For centuries, the Tigris and E…
What goes on in a US college frat house?
The President of Cornell University says it "must do better" after a woman alleged she was drugged and raped by a group of men at a fraternity – or frat – house. Fraternities are…
Jamaica: Shaken, not broken
From historic buildings linked to emancipation to tiny village chapels, Jamaica is home to the world’s highest density of churches. The Caribbean Island faced a profound spiritual…
America’s gerrymandering civil war
Electoral battle lines are being drawn and redrawn in the United States right now, as Republicans and Democrats up the ante in an electoral redistricting war that many fear is und…