2,000 episodes

A window into our world. Original BBC documentary storytelling, bringing award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and “unputdownable” audio. New episodes every week from The Documentary, Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, BBC OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

The Documentary Podcast BBC World Service

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.1 • 61 Ratings

A window into our world. Original BBC documentary storytelling, bringing award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and “unputdownable” audio. New episodes every week from The Documentary, Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, BBC OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

    Assignment: Reggaeton - the pride of Puerto Rico?

    Assignment: Reggaeton - the pride of Puerto Rico?

    Reggaeton’s the soundtrack to Puerto Rico. The globally popular music reflects what’s going on in the cultural and political scene of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean Island.
    It started out as underground music in marginalised communities but was criticised for allegedly promoting violence and being too sexually explicit.
    Reggaeton has since been used as an anthem to overthrow a local governor and a way to criticise the island’s complex relationship with the United States.
    It’s also evolved from misogynist roots to reach new audiences in the LGBTQ community.
    Jane Chambers travels to Puerto Rico to meet the people and hear the music which is both maligned and revered.

    • 27 min
    Bonus: The Global Story on Iran-Israel attacks

    Bonus: The Global Story on Iran-Israel attacks

    A special bonus episode on the Iran-Israel attacks from The Global Story podcast.
    Israel says 99% of the missiles and drones fired by Iran on Saturday night were intercepted without hitting their targets. Iran said the assault was in response to a deadly attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria two weeks ago. Now all eyes are on how Israel will respond to Iran's unprecedented move. James Reynolds talks to the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, who says the attack marks “a whole new chapter” in the relations between Iran and Israel. James is also joined by the BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera and Siavash Ardalan, from BBC Persian, to discuss how the players at the centre of this confrontation might decide their next move.
    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. The Global Story is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app. This episode was made by Richard Moran. The technical producer was Annie Smith. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

    • 24 min
    In the Studio: Helle Nebelong

    In the Studio: Helle Nebelong

    Danish landscape architect Helle Nebelong is a pioneer of the natural playground movement. Natural playgrounds are made of natural materials, rather than plastics, but they also encourage creativity and independence rather than rule-based games.
    In The Studio follows Helle as she faces her biggest challenge yet - designing one of America's largest natural playgrounds, at Colene Hoose School in Normal, Illinois.

    • 26 min
    His and hers medicine

    His and hers medicine

    Dr Zoe Williams talks to researchers and clinicians around the world as she investigates how and why the care of women has been so neglected, and what moves are afoot to change that. She examines the historical inequalities in the diagnosis and treatment of women, particularly in the area of heart disease. There is an abiding myth that men are much more likely to suffer heart attacks than women, but heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US, and the British Heart Foundation estimates that nearly 10,000 British women would still be alive over the last decade alone had they received the same quality of care as men. This is a global problem. Dr Zoe Williams is a general practitioner in the NHS. She's also the resident doctor on ITV's This Morning and a regular expert on the BBC's The One Show. Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Executive producer: Susan Marling

    • 49 min
    The Fifth Floor: A journalist's life in Israel

    The Fifth Floor: A journalist's life in Israel

    What is it like to work in Jerusalem right now? BBC journalist Shaina Oppenheimer shares her experience of living in Israel and monitoring the conflicting narratives published on Israeli and Palestinian media. Plus, BBC Mundo's Alicia Hernandez explains why Equatorial Guinea is the only African country which has Spanish as one of its official languages and shares the unusual local Spanish words she discovered.
    Produced by Caroline Ferguson and Alice Gioia

    • 26 min
    BBC OS Conversations: Sudan's war - One year on

    BBC OS Conversations: Sudan's war - One year on

    Sudan has experienced a year of civil war. It’s been described by the United Nations as “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history”. Over the past 12 months, we’ve heard from people in Sudan living through the violence and destruction. More than 14,000 people have died and more than 8 million people have been driven from their homes . In this edition, with Luke Jones and James Reynolds, we hear from Omnia, a recent college graduate, whose been separated from her family for a year. Her life stopped when the fighting began: “I have experienced displacement four times. I have experienced living in a war zone under bombings and shellings and mass shootings. Life has changed completely from what it was. But I would also say it’s a year of resilience and strength that I did not know I had in me.” Another of our guests is Samreen. She is an aid worker in Sudan, herself displaced by the war. She describes how overwhelmed she can be by requests for help: ”Knowing that you’re an aid worker, they ask you for stuff, they ask you to flee the country, they ask you to get to other safer locations, they ask you to help them in asylum seeking and there’s so little that we can do.” A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

    • 23 min

Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5
61 Ratings

61 Ratings

alfrandel ,

Good documentaries

The quality of BBC is amazing. Good information and good for learn english.

listentothispodcastbecause: ,

Good and informative.

A very informative podcast that takes an in-depth look at everyday news. It will make you understand the world better, you can be sure of that. Please consider sharing the podcast’s when they are about a lot of suffering, or a problem that can and should be solved. Don’t forget, the world is very connected and what effects others might go down and effect you one day as well! Especially the episode about climate tipping points, matters to us all, like the climate! It effects our air, food, water.

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