The Documentary Podcast

Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can make sense of the world. Home of the best documentaries from the BBC World Service.

World Service,2791 episodes

Episodes

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The Vatican's AI Battle
Silicon Valley says it's ‘creating God’ with AI. The Catholic Church is watching closely.
21 Aug 2026,26 mins
LA: Rising from the ashes
Jonathan Glancey meets architects leading LA’s recovery from 2025’s catastrophic fires.
20 Aug 2026,26 mins
The Kansas City cycling revolution
Kansas City was named America's worst city for cyclists in 2008. Has it improved?
19 Aug 2026,31 mins
Raiders of the lost art
How Manhattan's Antiquities Trafficking Unit works to track and return stolen art
18 Aug 2026,33 mins
Behind the scenes of Bookish
Antonia Quirke goes behind the scenes of Bookish.
17 Aug 2026,26 mins
The sound of soft power
Does the world still need international radio as a tool of soft power?
16 Aug 2026,49 mins
Ukraine and Russia’s recruitment war
Ukraine and Russia face different challenges recruiting fighters
15 Aug 2026,26 mins
Experiences of drought
Failing crops and angry alligators – how a lack of rain is affecting people worldwide
15 Aug 2026,24 mins
The creator of France's 'Untouchables' houses
The man behind inclusive homes where accident survivors live with non-disabled people
14 Aug 2026,26 mins
Tree of diplomacy
How botany has kept the US and China talking for decades
13 Aug 2026,29 mins
The world's largest wildlife crossing
Can a major engineering project help save Califonia's mountain lion population?
12 Aug 2026,22 mins
Victoria Falls: An environment on the edge
How over development around The Victoria falls could threaten its delicate ecosystem
11 Aug 2026,27 mins
Special forces on trial
Was a detective murdered to cover up the alleged crimes of South Africa’s special forces?
09 Aug 2026,26 mins
Africa's first film city
On the edge of Lagos, a vast scrubland is being developed into an ambitious film city
09 Aug 2026,26 mins
Rapping behind bars in Cameroon
How a record label was created in one of Cameroon's most notorious prisons
08 Aug 2026,26 mins
Ariana Grande and the public scrutiny of women
Fans and content creators share their experiences
08 Aug 2026,20 mins
A singer’s search for peace
A Lithuanian singer’s journey from New Age spirituality and ayahuasca to faith
07 Aug 2026,26 mins
The teenagers who wired Romania
How Romanian teenagers built a daring DIY internet network that inspired telecoms giants
06 Aug 2026,26 mins
The Engineers: Flying at the Edge
Aircraft engineers Kelly Latimer, Rob Miller, Daniel Moczydlower on their pioneering work
05 Aug 2026,49 mins
Getting Gaza back online
Amid the tents and the rubble Gaza is developing once again as an unlikely tech hub
04 Aug 2026,26 mins
Skatepark designers Nine Yards
The designers of Paris's Olympic skatepark start work on a new project in Amsterdam
03 Aug 2026,26 mins
What is so-called 'Jihadi cool'?
How extremist content is quietly spreading on TikTok and Instagram
02 Aug 2026,27 mins
A Chinese dissident's journey
A policeman turned dissident’s quest for freedom
01 Aug 2026,26 mins
Wildfires in Europe
Victims and volunteers share their experiences of the wildfires in France and Spain
01 Aug 2026,23 mins
Rastafari and I
Silas Gray travels to Ethiopia to explore the legacy he inherited from his Rastafarian dad
31 Jul 2026,26 mins
A battle that changed Ireland
How a World War One battle still affects people and communities
30 Jul 2026,32 mins
Sierra Leone: The cocaine trail
Ed Butler investigates one of Europe’s most wanted drug smugglers
29 Jul 2026,18 mins
The Kenyans taking on multinational chemical companies
We follow a lawyer and a nurse who are building this unprecedented case
28 Jul 2026,26 mins
James Turrell: Master Of Light
James Turrell in Aarhus, Denmark, on his latest Skyspace, As Seen Below – The Dome
27 Jul 2026,26 mins
Driving across the divide
Israeli volunteers meeting ill Palestinians at the check point to drive them to hospital
26 Jul 2026,49 mins