The Documentary Podcast

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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 fightback against big surveillance in the US, to Ukraine’s “hell jumpers” to the story of life-saving peanut paste, 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.

  1. 18 hr ago

    Ukraine: Fighting Russia, fighting Russian

    Russian is the first language of millions of Ukrainians, including many of the country’s frontline troops. But it is also the language of their enemy. Its public use is increasingly restricted by law, with ever more measures to enforce communication in Ukrainian. Ukrainians are allowed to speak Russian in private conversations. But they can be fined for playing a Russian language song in the street, if the singer or composer is a Russian citizen. The state says Russian must be policed because Russia uses the language as a weapon to spread its influence. But in primarily Russian-speaking places such as Odesa, Ukraine’s third-largest city, many are unhappy about the language laws. Tim Whewell reports on the arguments dividing a city under constant Russian bombardment, as one side calls the Russian language a colonial hangover, while the other says cultural diversity is what Ukraine should be fighting for.

  2. 1 day ago

    Who's afraid of the AI job-snatchers?

    There is a general fear that artificial intelligence could make huge swathes of workers redundant, but are those fears unjustified? Rob Young asks what history can tell us about big technological leaps and how they changed the world of work at the time. How much of the rate of change comes down to customer preference - would you rather deal with a bot or a person?

    Who's afraid of the AI job-snatchers?

  3. 2 days ago

    Getting the homeless homed

    We visit two projects exploring practical responses to homelessness and housing insecurity. Presenter Myra Anubi travels to Edinburgh to see the work of Social Bite, a charity creating small communities of prefabricated homes on unused land, offering people a stable place to live and rebuild their lives. Meanwhile, in Nantes, western France, we meet the team behind Bureaux du Cœur, which partners with businesses to open up unused office space as safe overnight accommodation for people in need.

    Getting the homeless homed

  4. 3 days ago

    Ukraine's 'hell jumpers'

    The rescuers who dodge drones and bombs to evacuate from frontline areas in Ukraine, known as the “kill zone”. More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, thousands of civilians still live dangerously close to active combat zones. Getting them to safety requires powers of persuasion, knowledge of warfare, and nerves of steel. The Global Jigsaw explores how volunteer evacuation efforts of civilians in eastern Ukraine have evolved throughout the war, and how rescuers continue to adapt to an increasingly hostile and unpredictable battlefield. Find out more about BBC Monitoring on our website: https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk Contributors: Vitaly Shevchenko Producer: Kriszta Satori, Tim Bowler Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg Music: Pete Cunningham

    Ukraine's 'hell jumpers'

  5. 3 days ago

    Nepal floods: 'It was like a tsunami'

    Survivors of the floods in Nepal share their experiences of escape from the torrent of water that swept through valleys in the Himalayas, killing at least 1.300 people. “For me that river valley was where I built my dreams,” Gaurav, who owned a café tells us. “Within a few minutes we lost everything, everything was swept away.” Gaurav is joined in conversation by his friend Sakil, who lost his family home in the floods. Extraordinary pictures of the first people to be rescued after nine days have been shared with the world. They were trapped in a hydro-electric power station tunnel with many others. But thousands, including foreign nationals from India, the UK, Australia and the US, are still missing. We bring together two families, hoping their loved ones will be found.

    Nepal floods: 'It was like a tsunami'

  6. 4 days ago

    Fred Hammond

    Fred Hammond is one of the biggest names in Gospel music, with 15 Grammy awards, and a career that spans over 40 years, from playing bass in The Winans to more recently his Tiny Desk Concert. His songs are loved by Christians around the world, and gospel fan and radio presenter Swarzy Shire wants to learn more about the man behind the music and how his faith has kept inspiring that music. Fred has faced ups and downs publicly from his divorce and the impact that has had on his family, to his physical suffering with multiple knee operations and a fall from stage just two years ago. He shares with Swarzy how his faith and music have helped him overcome the painful periods in his life.

    Fred Hammond

  7. 5 days ago

    A23a: Biography of an iceberg

    Forty years ago, an iceberg broke away from the Antarctic ice shelf. But this was no ordinary iceberg. A colossal chunk of ice which covered an area twice the size of London, it was as deep as the Empire State building is high and it weighed a trillion tonnes. For nearly four decades A23a was the world’s largest iceberg. Glaciologist Dr. Catherine Walker tells the story of A23a from its origins, its ice being laid down deep in the Antarctic over millennia, through to its final chapter - shrinking, melting and feeding the ocean from which it came. Catherine talks to glaciologists who study the vast cracks which propagate across the Antarctic ice shelf and to scientists who have seen A23a up close and followed its journey and its impact as it released a trillion tonnes of fresh water and nutrients into the marine environment.

    A23a: Biography of an iceberg

  8. 6 days ago

    Fighting the silent killer

    Presenter Becky Green lost one of her twins to sepsis in 2018. It is a condition that, according to the World Health Organization, is implicated in one in five deaths worldwide - more than bowel, prostate and lung cancer combined. Sepsis can begin as a simple infection and escalate within hours, overwhelming the body and causing organ failure. It is a race against time that too often goes unrecognised until it is too late. But around the world, that is starting to change. Becky speaks to Dr Kissoon of the Global Sepsis Alliance about how our understanding of sepsis has changed. In Malawi and Uganda, she meets the team behind the APT Sepsis programme. By educating healthcare workers on hand hygiene, infection prevention and early detection they have cut maternal deaths and severe infections from sepsis by 32%. In Madrid, Dr Rosa Mendez explains how a hospital-wide "sepsis code" - mirroring fast-track protocols for heart attacks and strokes - has brought sepsis mortality down from 24% to 17%. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from People Fixing the World, looking at people and projects trying to make the world a better place.

    Fighting the silent killer
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About

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 fightback against big surveillance in the US, to Ukraine’s “hell jumpers” to the story of life-saving peanut paste, 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.

Information

  • Channel
    BBC
  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    2k
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    The Documentary Podcast
  • Provider
    BBC Studios Distribution Limited

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