Documentaries

Rocky Hard Place
Moulid Hujale on life in Dadaab, one of the world's largest refugee camps.
15 Dec 2017,30 mins
Just William… and Richmal
A centenary celebration of Richmal Crompton’s Just William books.
01 May 2022,28 mins
Who Runs Labour?
A look back at Labour's civil war in the 1980s and whether there is currently a re-run.
02 Nov 2015,28 mins
In Search of Barney Bubbles
The hunt for the truth about the most influential and enigmatic of graphic designers.
30 mins
The Fast Furniture Fix
Venetia La Manna explores the rise of fast furniture, asking if and how it can slow down.
12 Jun 2023,28 mins
Furries at 30: The Super Furry Animals Story
Elis James celebrates three decades of Super Furry Animals.
25 May 2026,56 mins
The Reinvention of Germany
Why Europe's dominant power is struggling with a deep identity crisis.
18 Apr 2023,37 mins
The Origins of War
Is war a uniquely human act, or can its origins be found in our evolutionary past?
19 May 2015,28 mins
Revisiting the 14-Day Rule
Episode 2
Matthew Hill asks if the 14-day limit on research on human embryos should be extended.
24 Jan 2017,28 mins
More episodes
Flight of the Vulture
Sacha Dench investigates the plight of one of the world's most persecuted birds.
16 Apr 2025,28 mins
The Failure of the Future
A Promise of Peace
Johny Pitts examines failed utopias to decipher if they can help us reimagine the future.
06 Feb 2024,28 mins
More episodes
From Enlightenment to Entanglement
Science writer Stuart Clark explores the relationship between scientists and computers.
01 Sep 2015,28 mins
Stealing Power
Meter tampering is dangerous and illegal yet reports of it are rising at an alarming rate.
20 Mar 2024,28 mins
Parkinson's Law Revisited
Matthew Sweet re-examines Parkinson's Law. Does work expand to fill the time allocated?
17 Jun 2013,28 mins
Stalking under Scrutiny
A look at the support provided for victims of stalking and ways to stop stalkers.
03 Aug 2016,28 mins
Jock Purdon, the Miners' Poet
Billy Bragg tells the story of Jock Purdon and the history of songwriting about mining.
02 Mar 2015,28 mins
Copyright or Wrong
Richard Taylor charts the story of copyright and asks if the law is overreaching itself.
21 Apr 2017,28 mins
Goliath: How Monopolies Came to Be
Will Hutton considers the ironies and tensions central to modern monopolies.
09 Apr 2019,37 mins
Sister Aimee
The story of the glamorous woman who invented broadcast evangelism.
29 Dec 2014,28 mins
From Dunkirk to D-Day
Charles Wheeler recalls the epic of strategic success that made victory possible.
05 Jun 2004,45 mins
Kings in the North
How two high-profile metro mayors are rebalancing power in England's great northern cities
03 Jun 2023,28 mins
The Past is a Foreign Country, with Peter Curran
Secrets from celebrated Northern Ireland iconoclasts, from peace negotiation to pop.
05 Sep 2022,28 mins
Learning From the Great Tide
Justin Rowlatt asks what lessons can still be learned from the North Sea flood of 1953.
30 Jan 2023,28 mins
My Head
A true story of brain injury, recovery and discovery.
27 May 2015,28 mins
Greece: Warehouse of Souls
Maria Margaronis explores worlds of hope and chaos for refugees and islanders in Greece.
27 Jun 2016,28 mins
The Black Chair
The story of the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, killed at Passchendaele in 1917.
13 Jul 2017,28 mins
Reaction Time
Stories about love straight from the smartphones of Radio 4 listeners.
11 Feb 2016,28 mins
The Muslim Sex Doctor
The work of Imam Alyas Karmani, counselling those Muslims who have troubled sex lives.
09 Nov 2015,28 mins
A Society of Recordists
A sonic portrait of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society.
17 Apr 2022,29 mins
Classics Illustrated: The Comic Book Unbound
Bill Paterson marks the 70th anniversary of the Classics Illustrated comic book series.
25 Oct 2011,30 mins