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 China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, 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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Inside the Mugabe dynasty
Today
Why the late Robert Mugabe's wife and children have attracted criticism in Zimbabwe
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Faith and revolution in the Philippines
Yesterday
How Catholicism helped overthrow a dictator and restored democracy to the Philippines
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Under the influence of AI
Thursday
What happens when conversations with AI start to feel more real than the world around you?
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Introducing Searching for Soldier Dad
Wednesday
DNA detectives track down the British soldiers who fathered children in Kenya
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In Iceland's Defence
Tuesday
Iceland is one of the few nations without a military. Is this a sustainable strategy?
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The last dance floor in Chernobyl
Monday
A young couple fall in love against the backdrop of disaster
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Patti LuPone: Taking the stage at Carnegie Hall
Last Sunday
Patti LuPone has long reigned as one of Broadway’s most formidable leading ladies
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Counting the soldiers dying for Russia
Last Saturday
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have died in the war in Ukraine, but who are they?
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Experiences of miscarriage
Last Saturday
Two couples on the emotional toll of losing an unborn child and their relationship
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Jamaica: Shaken, not broken
Last Friday
Hurricane Melissa devastated many of Jamaica’s 1,600 sacred spaces
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Back to books: Sweden’s digital backlash
Thu 16 Apr 2026
Why tech-savvy Sweden is ditching screens for books and pens in its schools
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Surviving my daughter's killing
Wed 15 Apr 2026
When 19-year-old Ann was killed, her mother chose restorative justice
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Pakistan: Hospitals putting children at risk of HIV
Tue 14 Apr 2026
How and why Pakistani hospitals might be putting children at risk of HIV
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Helping prisoners become better parents
Mon 13 Apr 2026
An innovative scheme in Scotland is helping dads in prison become better parents
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British Queen Elizabeth II's century of fashion
Sun 12 Apr 2026
A new exhibition features the wardrobe of the late Queen Elizabeth II
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Bringing India's daughters back home
Sat 11 Apr 2026
In India, a film about domestic violence urges fathers to step in and protect daughters
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Hopes for a 'fragile' Middle East ceasefire
Sat 11 Apr 2026
People from across the Middle East share their stories
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Your questions answered about Artemis II and space travel
Fri 10 Apr 2026
We put our listeners' questions to former Nasa astronauts, Steve Swanson and Nicole Stott
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Freddie’s second verse
Fri 10 Apr 2026
Freddie left fame behind to follow Buddhism and find stillness in Hong Kong
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The battle for Hungary
Thu 9 Apr 2026
Viktor Orban faces a high-stakes election showdown as Peter Magyar takes him on
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Albania: Land, money and the sea
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Ivanka Trump, a beach full of sheep and the changing landscape of southern Albania
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Chef Rodolfo Guzman: Chilean summer menu
Mon 6 Apr 2026
Chilean chef Rodolfo Guzman unlocks the potential of indigenous ingredients
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Growing up black in a white family – the truth behind my birth
Sun 5 Apr 2026
M People star Andrew Lovell’s home life hid a terrible, yet beautiful, secret
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The woman fighting IS in Somalia
Sat 4 Apr 2026
A female soldier on the frontline of Somalia's fight against the Islamic State group
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God, grief and the chatbot
Fri 3 Apr 2026
A mother’s grief, a son’s chatbot, and the faith that sustained her
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The Saltmakers
Thu 2 Apr 2026
The Salt farmers in India's Rann of Kutch fighting to save a 600-year-old history
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Inheritance: Samsung: 1. My kingdom for a horse
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Samsung’s future hangs in the balance as its heir-in-waiting faces jail
