Documentaries
An indepth look at stories and issues from around the world. This podcast offers you the chance to access landmark series from our archive.
BBC OS Conversations: India train crash
The collision between three trains in the state of Odisha claimed more than 280 lives and left more than 1000 people injured. We bring together a volunteer, Govind Dalai, who was one of the first on the scene and doctors Manoj Kumar Barik and Amrit Pattojoshi. Dr Barik was working…
Heart and Soul: America's relief mission
The work of Florida's Baptist Relief responding to climate events like Hurricane Ian and floods in Kentucky - in support of people whose lives have been turned upside down.
Ukraine: the men who don’t want to fight
For more than 15 months the Ukrainian armed forces have held out against the superior numbers of the Russian invasion force. But not every Ukrainian man subject to the draft is willing to fight. More than 6,000 Ukrainian men of military age have been granted protection in Romania since the…
Yellowstone: The first national park
In 1872, Yellowstone became America and the world's first national park. Alongside erupting geysers, bubbling hot springs, canyons, and bison herds, we uncover the pivotal role of art in winning over the public and convincing politicians to set aside this unique landscape, which today spans 2.2 million acres. Shirl Ireland…
In the Studio: Ken Loach
The Old Oak will be Ken Loach's last feature film and Sharuna Sagar was granted exclusive access behind the scenes of this landmark movie. She joins the 86 year old director on his swansong as he brings together his loyal team for one last time. As with his previous two…
BBC OS Conversations: Mount Everest and the future of tourism in Nepal
It’s 70 years since a New Zealand mountaineer and his Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer guide reached the highest point on Earth. There have been celebrations in Nepal in recent days to mark the anniversary. Thousands of people have followed in their footsteps but this climbing season on Mount Everest is drawing…
Heart and Soul: The ‘living saint’ who hid a mystical sex sect
Jean Vanier changed Richard and Hazel’s lives. He founded the L’Arche movement – a global network inspired by Christian teaching – where people with and without learning disabilities live together in community. During his life, Vanier was hailed as “a living saint” and “a prophet”. But shortly after his death,…
Myanmar’s war in the air
Russia is supplying the Myanmar military with advanced fighter jets and training their pilots how to use them in a war against their own people. More than two years on from the coup, the country’s military is facing a countrywide armed uprising and their troops are struggling to hold ground…
Metaleurop : A stain on France
For years the people of Evin-Malmaison in north-east France have lived and brought up children in a town which is dangerously polluted. The Metaleurop Foundry attracted workers and their families, it provided life to the area - but it has now killed it with the pollution, which lies deep in…
In the Studio: Alberta Whittle
Alberta is an award-winning Barbadian-Scottish multi-disciplinary artist whose work encompasses drawing, digital collage, film and video installation, sculpture, performance and writing. In this edition of In The Studio, Antonia Quirke follows the progress of a new painting, commissioned specifically for the exhibition. All is going well with the painting, until…
BBC OS Conversations: Living with ADHD
The exact cause is unknown, but the mental health condition ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) affects millions of lives around the world. Symptoms include hyperactive behaviour and maintaining concentration. To understand its effect a little more, we brought people together who are living with it. Two mothers in Kenya and…
Heart and Soul: Evangelical or political Christianity?
One of the founding principles of the United States is that religion and politics, church and state, are separate. Yet today in America religious belief and politics have become inseparable. Self-styled "evangelical" Christians have become the dominant grassroots force in the Republican Party. "Evangelical" is not a denomination, it can…
Germany’s forests under threat
Drought and hotter summers are killing Germany’s spruce forests. They’re a staple of the timber industry but are proving unable to cope with the consequences of climate change. Four out of five of Germany’s trees show signs of sickness, according to the latest survey of the health of the country’s…
Global dancefloor: Salvador
Brazil has one of the highest rates of trans and gender-diverse homicides in the world, and almost three-quarters of people killed each year are either black or mixed race. Many think the country's conservative and populist class explicitly targets Afro-Brazilians, whose voices are under-represented in politics and culture, despite making…
Global dancefloor: Beirut
Frank McWeeny heads to Beirut to meet the nightlife community behind the Grand Factory club, and explores how underground culture here survives even during chronic lack of opportunity. This scene is working tirelessly to remain active, while rebuilding both physically and psychologically. But how do you run a club in…
Beirut: Life in the unliveable city
What is it like to live through the collapse of your country, in a city you love and cannot bear to leave? Lina Mounzer is a writer and translator living in Beirut, and this is a question she wrestles with, both in her writing and her daily life. Lebanon has…
In the Studio: Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Lawrence Abu Hamdan is an artist and forensic investigator of sound. He describes himself as a 'private ear’, listening to, with and on behalf of people affected by corporate, state and environmental crimes. Whether that’s determining the type of ammunition and location of gunfire from sound alone, drawing on earwitness…
Iraq: Generation Invasion
Twenty years after the US-led invasion, four young Iraqis recall life under foreign occupation and share their hopes and fears for the future. Shedding a light on post-Saddam Iraq are: 26-year-old Dima who rebelled against religious extremists in her native Basra and has rediscovered a love of singing; Bassam, an…
Introducing The Explanation
On a mission to make sense of the world. A new podcast, with hosts John Simpson and Claire Graham. Episodes released weekly from 20 May 2023.
Long Covid
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest figures suggest that nearly seven million people have died due to Covid - although the true figure is likely to be much higher. While many more contracted the disease and avoided being seriously ill, one estimate suggests 65 million people have not fully recovered…