- #124 -1Gesellschaft & Kultur
- #123beste Platzierung
- täglichErscheinungsrhythmus
- 27 mintypische Länge
- gesternletzte Folge
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.
Folgen
Rebranding sleep apnoea
Obstructive sleep apnoea is a condition where a person’s breathing stops and starts repeatedly while they sleep, possibly over 30 times an hour, leaving them exhausted on waking. It affects millions around the world and can lead to serious
The right thing: Uganda’s fearless nun
Rosemary Nyirumbe became a nun when she was just in her mid-teens – and she felt her true vocation lay in rehabilitating children who had been through some of the worst trauma imaginable. So that’s what she did. In this episode Mike Wooldri
Good Bad Billionaire: Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani’s businesses span almost every part of life in India. From energy to food, ports to mining, and drinks to weapons, the Adani group has widespread influence over millions of people day to day. From his early career as a diamond
Digging deep to help farmers
A new farming method is having a dramatic effect on maize crops in Malawi, and assistance is coming from a solar-powered tractor. In the last of her visits to Malawi, Myra goes to a village where they are using a new method called Deep Bed
Duo-euthanasia – a family’s story
When Linda Pressly met them in 2024 in the Netherlands, Els and Jan had fewer than three days left on Earth. Els was living with dementia. Jan was in continual physical pain. A married couple, they chose to die together by lethal injection
If China's exports are booming, why are consumers struggling?
China's booming export figures, driven in part by demand for AI-related products, suggest a high-tech economy that's thriving. Yet many consumers at home continue to face economic pressures. Ed Butler asks whether there's a link between wea
Germany's rust belt revival
On location in Dortmund, in Germany's Ruhr region, historian and author Katja Hoyer reports on the dramatic transformation that has taken place in the city in the last 20 years. Once known for its heavy industry, especially steel production
Living with dementia
A major new international study predicts that the number of people diagnosed with dementia will more than double by 2050. Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who led the study, predict that new cases worldwide wil
The right thing: Gaza's parish priest
As a young missionary priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli left his native Argentina to work in the Middle East. He went out of a passion for bringing Christ to the people wherever he was called. He became Gaza’s only Catholic parish priest at
Navi Pillay
Navanetham 'Navi' Pillay has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026. The 85-year-old South African jurist and former UN Human Rights chief initially thought the news was a joke. Born in Durban, South Africa, to a Tamil family, her gran
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 gradually saw their power decline under the rise of Vladimir Putin,
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 drought and extreme heat, renowned Colombian scientist Fernando
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 and public bodies, Beijing is being accused by the UK’s domesti
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 examining China's export machine, we look at the country's mas
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. BBC Eye investigates. Presenter: Monica Garnsey Reporter: Mar
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 and longest-running refugee crises - a story spanning decade
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 running refugee crises - a story spanning decades, and affect
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-running refugee crises - a story spanning decades and affecting
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 abandoned – plans to live-stream another execution. We bring together
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 elemental deity who lives within. Kīlauea, on the Big Island
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 examines the financial strain sleepless nights place on a nation.
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 Addiopizzo, which encourages residents to stop paying protection
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 brought an end to his 16 years in power. In the six months since th
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 financial pressures facing couples in the US to changing soc
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 episode in the season, to listen to more just search 13 Minute
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 Euphrates carried goods, armies and ideas, shaping some of his
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 all-male social organisations where the students live, study
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 crisis after Hurricane Melissa devastated many of the 1600 s
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 undermining democracy. BBC North America correspondent Anthony Z
The everyday tech helping to prevent disasters
For International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (13 October), we are finding out how technology can help prevent disasters, save lives and help rescuers. In Argentina, we meet Franco Rodríguez Viau whose family friends lost their home in
