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

The women of IS: Part two

What next for the Syrian detention camps and their residents? After the fall of the so-cal... more

18 hrs Ago

29 MINS

29:46

18 hrs Ago


#1999

The women of IS: Part one

What next for the Syrian detention camps and their residents? After the fall of the so-cal... more

Yesterday

29 MINS

29:33

Yesterday


#1998

Ukraine: The war behind the war

No one wants to do Major Serhiy Laziuk’s job. He travels from house to house in Lviv, west... more

09 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:44

09 Mar 2026


#1997

Graffiti across continents

Bright geometric shapes make the graffiti work of Kenyan artist Wise Two really stand out.... more

08 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:29

08 Mar 2026


#1996

Inside Russia’s ‘Youth Armies’

The "Yunarmiya" or 'Youth army' is a movement that was founded in January 2016 by the Russ... more

07 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:29

07 Mar 2026


#1995

Iranians in London

Five Iranians join presenter James Reynolds in the Naroon Persian restaurant in central Lo... more

07 Mar 2026

24 MINS

24:18

07 Mar 2026


#1994

Leaving Isis: Is redemption possible?

In 2014, Tareena Shakil, then 24, made a decision that would change her life forever. She ... more

06 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:29

06 Mar 2026


#1993

Forty-eight hours in Isfahan

*** This episode contains scenes of violence and descriptions you may find upsetting *** E... more

05 Mar 2026

29 MINS

29:33

05 Mar 2026


#1992

Namibia’s hydrogen superpower dream

A near-pristine desert wilderness on southern Africa’s remote Atlantic coast in Namibia co... more

04 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:29

04 Mar 2026


#1991

Can Syria’s Kurds save their women’s revolution?

For 14 years, while Syria was divided by civil war, Kurds in the north-east of the country... more

03 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:50

03 Mar 2026


#1990

Kwan Pun Leung: The image creator of nature

Shan Ng follows acclaimed Hong Kong and Taiwan cinematographer Kwan Pun Leung as he create... more

02 Mar 2026

26 MINS

26:21

02 Mar 2026


#1989

Rewriting a revolution

On 25 February 1986 the Philippines, Asia’s oldest democracy peacefully took control of it... more

01 Mar 2026

49 MINS

49:28

01 Mar 2026


#1988

Will Venezuela ditch Chavismo?

On the 3rd of January this year, Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, was removed from o... more

28 Feb 2026

26 MINS

26:29

28 Feb 2026


#1987

Living with Tourette syndrome

When the film I Swear won three Bafta awards, what happened at the ceremony prompted a muc... more

28 Feb 2026

23 MINS

23:13

28 Feb 2026


#1986

When music became a prayer

Concert pianist Yirui Weng, 32, grew up in a communist, atheist family in China, where rel... more

27 Feb 2026

26 MINS

26:30

27 Feb 2026


#1985

Ukraine’s defiance, four years on

This week marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the l... more

26 Feb 2026

27 MINS

27:55

26 Feb 2026


#1984

Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary

Aged 16, coming out of an audition, budding British actor Dan Whitlam was caught up in a f... more

25 Feb 2026

37 MINS

37:54

25 Feb 2026


#1983

Russia's Church in Texas

Not that long ago many church-going Americans saw Russia as a godless place, an “evil empi... more

24 Feb 2026

27 MINS

27:31

24 Feb 2026


#1982

The Dream Makers

In Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s protagonist is paid... more

23 Feb 2026

49 MINS

49:28

23 Feb 2026


#1981

Jason Gilkison: Choreographer for Strictly Come Dancing

Jason Gilkison has for the past 10 years been the creative force behind the UK's top ratin... more

23 Feb 2026

26 MINS

26:30

23 Feb 2026