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.
Kwan Pun Leung: The image creator of nature
Shan Ng follows acclaimed Hong Kong and Taiwan cinematographer Kwan Pun Leung as he creates a new music video, Fragile Love. Known for his work on landmark films including In the Mood for Love and 2046, Kwan has built a reputation for crafting deeply poetic and emotionally resonant images. Across…
Rewriting a revolution
On 25 February 1986 the Philippines, Asia’s oldest democracy peacefully took control of its destiny. Ferdinand Marcos, a democratically elected president-turned dictator, who remains accused of widespread graft and human rights abuses, had gambled on one too many rigged elections. After days of mounting protests and the defection of the…
Will Venezuela ditch Chavismo?
On the 3rd of January this year, Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, was removed from office by a US military intervention. He was flown to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and partnering with terrorist groups, charges he denies. His leadership and that of his predecessor and mentor…
Living with Tourette syndrome
When the film I Swear won three Bafta awards, what happened at the ceremony prompted a much bigger story and wider discussion. The film portrays the life of John Davidson who grew up with Tourette syndrome – the incurable condition, which causes sudden, repetitive sounds or movements. During the awards,…
When music became a prayer
Concert pianist Yirui Weng, 32, grew up in a communist, atheist family in China, where religion played no part in her life. Music, however, always did. As a gifted young pianist, she immersed herself in the great works of Western classical music. When Yirui moved to Italy to pursue her…
Ukraine’s defiance, four years on
This week marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since WW2. Ukraine has put its official losses at 55,000 soldiers, and the BBC has verified the deaths of more than 180,000 on the Russian side, although the true toll…
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary
Aged 16, coming out of an audition, budding British actor Dan Whitlam was caught up in a fight with a group of boys in London. He was stabbed twice in the back with a screwdriver. The wound pierced and collapsed his lung. The physical scars healed quickly but the mental…
Russia's Church in Texas
Not that long ago many church-going Americans saw Russia as a godless place, an “evil empire” in the words of Ronald Reagan. But in President Trump’s second term, US-Russia relations have been turned on their head. Last year, the White House sided with the Kremlin at the United Nations, voting…
The Dream Makers
In Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s protagonist is paid to implant an idea into a target’s subconscious. If you look the film up, its genre is listed as being ‘science fiction’ - but could that soon have to be revised? Dream engineering is an experimental new field -…
Jason Gilkison: Choreographer for Strictly Come Dancing
Jason Gilkison has for the past 10 years been the creative force behind the UK's top rating TV show, Strictly Come Dancing, better known around the world as Dancing with the Stars. Jason is an eight-time World Choreographer nominee who has become internationally renowned for his work creating dance spectaculars…
Ukraine after four years of war
The 24th of February will be the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Irena Taranyuk is joined by several of her BBC Ukrainian colleagues to talk about people who are continuing to fight and live in the country. Victoria Kalimbet talks about her pride of her home city, Kharkiv,…
Remembering Ukrainians who have lost their lives in the war
Just before dawn on 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine. Since then, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands on both sides have been killed. We hear from families of fighters, civilians and journalists about their loved ones and the impact on those left behind. “Our…
‘Oasis of peace’ in wartime
Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom is a unique community located on a hilltop between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where Jewish and Palestinian families have lived together since the late 1970s. Journalist Mike Lanchin first visited the community in the early 1980s when there was just a handful of Jews and Palestinian families…
Give me my child back
Greenlandic parents across Denmark are fighting to be reunited with their children who were taken into care after authorities used ‘parenting competency tests’ as part of assessments to judge their ability to raise them. After banning the tests for use on Greenlandic people, the Danish government has now pledged to…
Alex Eala: The tennis star who could be a game-changer for the Philippines
The hottest ticket at this year's Australian Open tennis tournament wasn't to see Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek, or even the tournament's eventual winners, Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina. Instead, the longest queues were to watch the world number 49, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. Her first round match, which…
Fixing Chile’s fashion graveyard
Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth – often likened to Mars. It is also home to piles of dumped clothes from fast fashion labels across the world. Because it is so dry nothing decomposes. And that means that clothes ditched 10 to 20 years ago…
Bridgerton: Behind the scenes
Producer Jess Brownell takes us behind the scenes of Bridgerton. When the first series of Bridgerton premiered in 2020, it offered a welcome escape, inviting us into a world of high society romance, extravagent period dress, and violin pop covers. It also rewrote the rules of costume drama, with colourblind…
Body image and weight loss drugs
An advert shown during this year’s Super Bowl has prompted a backlash on social media. In the ad, tennis champion Serena Williams promotes a weight loss injection, saying she is "healthier" thanks to the product. Many fans have expressed disappointment that a woman associated with strength and body positivity, is…
The spy who loved to dance
In April 2022, two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, a man in his thirties called Victor Muller Ferreira flew into Amsterdam airport using a Brazilian passport. He was identified by the Dutch authorities as Russian national Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov and immediately sent back to Brazil, where investigations by both the…
The Gaudí code
Millions flock to Spain’s Sagrada Família to marvel at its towering tree-like columns, remarkable displays of light and ornate stonework. One hundred years after the master architect Antoni Gaudí’s death, Spanish journalist Lluís Amiguet explores why so many people, regardless of faith, come to visit a Barcelona church that is…