The Documentary Podcast podcast

The Documentary Podcast

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.

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.

 

#2000

Shepherd's Eye In The Sky

Africa's 250 million nomadic herders, or pastoralists, are the invisible keystone of the c... more

Yesterday

49 MINS

49:29

Yesterday


#1999

Nigeria: Killings, land and cattle

On Christmas Day 2025, the US carried out missile strikes on suspected Islamist militants ... more

27 Jan 2026

29 MINS

29:57

27 Jan 2026


#1998

Mrinalini Mukherjee: Hemp sculptures

Art from the circle of friends, family and teachers of artist Mrinalini Mukherjee is now o... more

26 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:30

26 Jan 2026


#1997

US foreign policy in five doctrines

Looking back at five big US foreign policy shifts from the Monroe doctrine in the 19th Cen... more

25 Jan 2026

56 MINS

56:50

25 Jan 2026


#1996

Protest in the age of the 'Kill Switch'

In the face of widespread protests, the Iranian government ‘switched off’ the country’s ac... more

24 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:29

24 Jan 2026


#1995

Living in Greenland

Described by Donald Trump as “a giant piece of ice,” the world’s largest island has found ... more

24 Jan 2026

23 MINS

23:21

24 Jan 2026


#1994

Daughters of thunder

In small towns and rural areas across the south of the United States traditional family ch... more

23 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:30

23 Jan 2026


#1993

Bonus: Introducing: The History Bureau

If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft turns out to be fl... more

21 Jan 2026

28 MINS

28:14

21 Jan 2026


#1992

Greece: Rescuers on trial

In a case with profound implications for European migration policy, two dozen former volun... more

20 Jan 2026

28 MINS

28:27

20 Jan 2026


#1991

Black girlhood in photos and writing

Black girls performing in a parade on the streets of Chicago and playing in the surf at Ma... more

19 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:29

19 Jan 2026


#1990

New elements

What does it take to make something which has never existed on Earth before? The search fo... more

18 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:29

18 Jan 2026


#1989

Kenyans lured to Russia's frontline

Kenyan authorities recently reported that 200 of their citizens are fighting for Russia in... more

17 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:29

17 Jan 2026


#1988

Surviving an avalanche

In the past few days there have been a number of deaths on ski slopes in the Alps and, in ... more

17 Jan 2026

23 MINS

23:30

17 Jan 2026


#1987

Eternal horizons

*** This programme contains graphic descriptions of body mutilation *** In the Nepalese Hi... more

16 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:30

16 Jan 2026


#1986

Stories from the New Silk Road: The Bering Sea

In 1867, the US government bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars. At the time... more

15 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:30

15 Jan 2026


#1985

Putin's foreign fighters

*** This programme contains very strong language *** Over the past year, BBC Eye has follo... more

13 Jan 2026

29 MINS

29:44

13 Jan 2026


#1984

The Netherlands: 10 new cities?

'Start by lighting a candle every morning.’ In other words, pray. That’s the advice on one... more

12 Jan 2026

27 MINS

27:11

12 Jan 2026


#1983

Bianca Raffaella: A world of blurred vision

Bianca Raffaella is a partially sighted painter based in Margate. Working entirely by touc... more

12 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:30

12 Jan 2026


#1982

Looking for No Man's Land

Humans have spread to every corner of the globe, transforming ecosystems and reshaping lan... more

11 Jan 2026

49 MINS

49:29

11 Jan 2026


#1981

Taraneh: Iran's defiant actress

A recent BBC Persian documentary, Taraneh, has recieved millions of views online. It featu... more

10 Jan 2026

26 MINS

26:29

10 Jan 2026