The Documentary Podcast
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.
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
Mentioned books
18 snips
Mar 25, 2026 • 26min
Madagascar: From famine to hope
Huli Raubina, a nutrition and gender specialist with FAO Madagascar, explains how women’s land rights and agroecology shape resilience. Short scenes cover women forming land collectives, agroecological techniques that rebuild soils and seed systems, and the links between secure land access and stronger family nutrition. The narrative moves from drought and deforestation to community-led recovery and calls for systemic, women‑focused policy change.
12 snips
Mar 24, 2026 • 52min
Billion dollar babies
Florian Stein, a researcher who studied eel biology and trafficking, explains why glass eels are crucial and impossible to breed in captivity. The conversation traces smuggling methods, shifting export routes after trade bans, and the boom in Caribbean elver fishing. Short, tense scenes reveal undercover probes, recovered data, and links between European suppliers and Asian markets.
4 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 27min
The Romeros: Developing digital games
Brenda Romero, veteran designer and studio co-lead, and John Romero, pioneering creator of seminal shooters, talk through life in a busy indie studio. They reveal studio life in Galway, the scale and pivots of their project Heavy Trigger, coping with funding loss and layoffs, and shrinking a blockbuster vision into a focused micro team while keeping art and spirit intact.
Mar 22, 2026 • 24min
Is the revolution in Cuba over?
Christopher Sabatini, a Latin America researcher who maps Cuba’s ties with Venezuela and oil-for-services deals. Lillian Guerra, a historian of Cuba’s revolution and political shifts. They explore Cuba’s lost Venezuelan oil lifeline, rising blackouts and humanitarian strain, and the historical roots of the island’s resilience and authoritarian evolution.
21 snips
Mar 22, 2026 • 27min
Nepal - “Shot like enemies”
A deep-dive into mass youth protests in Nepal that toppled the old political order. Online organising on TikTok and Discord transformed anger into action. Thousands of videos and a leaked police radio log reveal chaotic crowd control, orders to fire and fatal shootings. Nationwide unrest spiraled into arson, looting and a rushed election that vaulted a Gen Z-backed cohort into power.
Mar 21, 2026 • 26min
Bangladeshi newspapers attacked by mob
Soutik Biswas, BBC correspondent who reported from Dhaka on violent attacks against two major newspapers. Sunwook Lee, BBC Korean reporter covering BTS and the Hallyu phenomenon. They discuss the mob attacks, rooftop rescues, destroyed archives and fragile press freedoms in Bangladesh. They also explore BTS’s return, ticket frenzy, military service debate and national pride around Hallyu.
28 snips
Mar 21, 2026 • 24min
Navigating the Strait of Hormuz
Captain John Noble, a former marine surveyor with deep Persian Gulf experience, and Tom Sauer, an ex-US naval officer and EOD specialist, join to discuss life in the Strait of Hormuz. They talk about navigating dense traffic and Iranian harassment. They describe naval transit tactics, mine‑clearance readiness, and the strain on commercial crews operating in a high-risk corridor.
6 snips
Mar 20, 2026 • 26min
Can yoga be Christian?
Lorette Willis, founder of Praise Moves and fitness minister who created a scripture-based alternative to yoga. Annette Lanchbury, Christian yoga teacher who blends scripture and worship with postures. They discuss how Christian references shape classes. They debate cultural origins, spiritual experiences on the mat, and whether adapting or replacing yoga best aligns with Christian faith.
4 snips
Mar 19, 2026 • 36min
Iran's media at war
Barry Sadeed, Iran specialist with BBC Monitoring Iran, provides a concise look at Tehran’s wartime information machinery. He breaks down propaganda tactics, internet blackouts, jamming and VPN risks. Short segments cover televised mourning, martyrdom rhetoric, IRGC influence and fast-tracked leadership changes. The conversation highlights mass messaging, restricted news options and the risks of deeper polarisation.
Mar 18, 2026 • 49min
Hope and fear: India's space revolution
A deep dive into India’s leap from practical satellites to planned human spaceflight. Behind-the-scenes control rooms, the Mars mission’s tense triumph, and the origin story that shaped the programme. Profiles of engineers and a private rocket boom show new ambition. Tensions over safety, transparency and military uses frame a debate about national pride and risk.
