The Documentary Podcast 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.
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.
Episodes to download
![]()
The right thing: Uganda’s fearless nun
Today
The nun who rehabilitates child victims of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army
![]()
Good Bad Billionaire: Gautam Adani
Yesterday
Gautam Adani’s businesses span almost every part of life in India
![]()
Digging deep to help farmers
Wednesday
Can deep-bed farming and solar tractors help Malawi feed more people?
![]()
Duo-euthanasia – a family’s story
Tuesday
Jan and Els chose euthanasia, and died together in the Netherlands
![]()
If China's exports are booming, why are consumers struggling?
Monday
A Chinese export surge has implications far beyond its borders
![]()
Germany's rust belt revival
Sunday
Katja Hoyer on how cities like Dortmund have ditched the old industries for the new
![]()
![]()
The right thing: Gaza's parish priest
Last Friday
Why a priest from Argentina chose to stay with Gaza’s Christians through the war
![]()
![]()
The silence of the oligarchs
Last Thursday
How the political influence of Russia's super-rich has faded under Vladimir Putin
![]()
The dolphin whisperer of the Amazon
Wed 21 Oct 2026
The race to protect the iconic pink river dolphins of the rainforest
![]()
China and the UK: After the golden era
Tue 20 Oct 2026
Paul Kenyon investigates rising suspicions over China’s presence in the UK
![]()
What China's solar panel obsession means for the world
Mon 19 Oct 2026
How did China become dominant in solar power and what does it mean for the world?
![]()
Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine
Mon 19 Oct 2026
Inside a network of Russians secretly fighting their own country
![]()
Afghan refugees: 3. Back to zero
Sun 18 Oct 2026
What reality awaits refugees returning to Afghanistan?
![]()
Afghan refugees: 2. Life in exile
Sun 18 Oct 2026
Rising anti-migrant sentiments in Iran and Pakistan
![]()
Afghan refugees: 1. The exodus
Sun 18 Oct 2026
Why are millions of Afghans pushed into circular migration?
![]()
Final moments with death row inmates
Sat 17 Oct 2026
The long-term impact of witnessing an execution
![]()
Living lands of Hawai'i
Fri 16 Oct 2026
Broken by the US military, a Hawaiian park ranger finds healing in a living volcano
![]()
The dream academy
Thu 15 Oct 2026
What countries are doing to tackle poor sleep and the financial strain of sleeplessness
![]()
Breaking the code of silence
Wed 14 Oct 2026
How Palermo's citizens are fighting back against the mafia
![]()
Hungary after Orban
Tue 13 Oct 2026
Hungary under Viktor Orban was a model for the populist right. How is it different now?
![]()
Why are birth rates falling across the world?
Mon 12 Oct 2026
Can governments the trend of falling birth rates?
![]()
Recommending: Trouble with Hubble
Sun 11 Oct 2026
The dramatic story of the Hubble Space Telescope from the BBC’s space podcast
![]()
The politics of water: Iraq and Turkey
Sun 11 Oct 2026
Two rivers helped build civilisation. Now they're at the heart of a geopolitical struggle
![]()
What goes on in a US college frat house?
Sat 10 Oct 2026
A secret world of initiation rituals, alcohol and brotherhood
![]()
Jamaica: Shaken, not broken
Fri 9 Oct 2026
How volunteers are salvaging Jamaica’s 1,600 sacred spaces destroyed by Hurricane Melissa
![]()
America’s gerrymandering civil war
Thu 8 Oct 2026
Republicans and Democrats up the ante as they compete to redraw voting districts
![]()
The everyday tech helping to prevent disasters
Wed 7 Oct 2026
The groups using tech to save lives after natural disasters like earthquakes and fires
![]()
Saving young men from murder: The Homeboy story
Tue 6 Oct 2026
How a gang rehabilitation charity set up by a Jesuit Priest became a model of success
