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 Chinese Cryptoqueen
Mon 10 Nov 2025
The Chinese woman at the heart of the UK’s biggest cryptocurrency seizure
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Chef Yoshifumi Yamaguchi
Mon 10 Nov 2025
At his restaurant in Kampala, Yoshifumi Yamaguchi fuses the cultures of Japan and Uganda
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The great hunger: Stalin's famine in Kazakhstan
Sun 9 Nov 2025
The Kazakhs who came through one of the worst man-made famines the world has seen
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Does Kruger deserve a park?
Sat 8 Nov 2025
The debate surrounding the name of South Africa's iconic wildlife park
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Kai Höss: My grandfather, the Commandant of Auschwitz
Fri 7 Nov 2025
The grandson of Rudolf Höss, Commandant of Auschwitz, comes to terms with his family
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In the shadow of the railway
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Will the US-led Lobito Corridor project deliver a brighter future for Angola?
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Striking gas in Bolivia
Wed 5 Nov 2025
A huge gas find reignites old debates over Bolivia’s energy and environmental future
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The real ‘Yellowstone’: A battle for the cowboy way of life
Tue 4 Nov 2025
Ranches, rodeos and public land - a surprising battle raging in the American West
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Lara Dizeyee's Kurdish couture
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Kurdish designer Lara Dizeyee blends culture and couture at Milan Fashion Week
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What’s behind the war in Sudan?
Sun 2 Nov 2025
Blood spilled in Sudan's el-Fasher massacre is visible from space
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How Russian AI targets news organisations
Sat 1 Nov 2025
‘Russian Doll’ and ‘Doppelganger’: the bot networks targeting journalists
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Women share stories of losing their hair
Sat 1 Nov 2025
Baldness, wigs and dating mishaps – experiences of alopecia
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The right thing: Confronting my abuser
Fri 31 Oct 2025
The gymnast who confronted America’s top sports doctor for abusing hundreds of girls
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Bonus: Cyber Hack - Evil Corp
Tue 28 Oct 2025
Accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars – Russia’s most wanted hackers
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David Harewood: Return to Othello
Mon 27 Oct 2025
Homeland's David Harewood plays Othello, with the director of War Horse, Tom Morris
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'Looking American' to avoid deportation
Sat 25 Oct 2025
The ways in which Brazilian people living illegally in the USA try to avoid deportation
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Living with motor neurone disease
Sat 25 Oct 2025
People with the condition tell us how it affects their lives
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The right thing: A deal with God
Fri 24 Oct 2025
The North Korean defector who challenged God from a prison cell in Shanghai
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G-Land: Surf and spirits
Thu 23 Oct 2025
G-land where spiritual beliefs protect waves and jungle of myth and legend
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Bonus: The Global Story - A Gazan journalist's diary
Tue 21 Oct 2025
A month in the life of Ghada Al-Kurd, a freelance journalist from Gaza City
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Carl Brandon Strehlke: My search for the 15th Century artist Beato Angelico
Mon 20 Oct 2025
Carl Brandon Strehlke on his search for the work of 15th Century friar Beato Angelico
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A people’s history of Gaza
Sun 19 Oct 2025
Gaza, from the 1940s to the 2010s, told through the experiences of ordinary people
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Reporting the impact of the Gaza ceasefire
Sat 18 Oct 2025
Reporting the impact of the Gaza ceasefire
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Families in Israel and Gaza share their stories
Sat 18 Oct 2025
Two families on either side of the border on their hopes for the future
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Mamdani New York
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Religion’s role in Zohran Mamdani’s meteoric rise in New York’s political scene
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Sabotage by smartphone
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Ukrainians are being recruited to carry out sabotage attacks against their own country.
