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.
Orthodoxy or death: The fight for Mount Athos
**This programme contains discriminatory language** On Greece’s Mount Athos, the most holy site in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, lies a rift in the faith. For more than 20 years, a banned monastery has operated illegally and at times violently towards their sacred community. Nikos Papanikolaou visits these excommunicated monks ready to…
Powering Nigeria
According to the World Bank, more than 80 million people in Nigeria still lack access to electricity, making it the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world. But even among those connected to the grid, many struggle daily to keep the power going. Blackouts are frequent, infrastructure…
Deepfaking disability
A growing industry of content creators is teaching people how to make money from AI models, promising quick profits. Their strategy: steal content, alter faces with AI, and funnel users from Instagram to adult platforms. And one trend has caught the internet’s attention - Down’s Syndrome deepfakes. Rowan Ings and…
Haitians Living in Fear in the Dominican Republic
How Haitians in the Dominican Republic are being targeted for expulsion. The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s number one tourist destination. Last year 11 million visitors came here, many enjoying the five star resorts that skirt the island’s coast. Much of the construction work building those tourist facilities is in…
Emilia Wickstead: London Fashion Week
Inspiration for Emilia Wickstead’s luxury fashion brand comes from her childhood home in New Zealand, her adolescence in Italy’s most fashionable city Milan, but also from her hard-working fashion designer mother. Her feminine silhouettes and creative use of colour and textiles have made her a popular choice among members of…
Bonus: The Global Story
Can Apple cut ties with China? Apple is promising to make more products in the US, backed by a $600bn investment over the next four years. But after decades of relying on Chinese manufacturing that promise is going to be tough to keep. We’re joined by journalist and author Patrick…
Social media influencers and politics
What happens when social media influencers join forces with politicians to promote their messages? Around the world political parties are switching from mainstream media to influencers to amplify their voices, in some cases even putting them on the official government payrolls. To find out what impact this is having on…
Living with the threat of drone attacks
There are now more Russian drone attacks on Ukraine than ever before in the conflict. On some nights, hundreds are targeted at the country. In one raid this week, Ukraine's air force says Moscow launched 619 drones and missiles, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. In our…
Finding my Sikh faith against the odds
Harj Gahley is a Sikh who began gambling when he was just 23. What started as a ‘fun’ night out with friends at a casino spiralled out of control, nearly costing him his life. For over a decade, Harj kept his addiction a secret, living a double life that led…
Bonus. 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
Can Nasa build the most complex flying machine in space history? The plan is to create a permanent human presence in space. It’s Spring 1969 - two months before the launch of Apollo 11 – the first US mission to land humans on the moon. But meanwhile, hidden away from…
Goodreads’ ‘unfair’ rating problem
BBC Trending investigates how negative ‘pre-read’ and pre-publication Goodreads ratings are leaving writers - and readers - mystified. Goodreads is a popular website that invites users to track and share their reading habits – through ratings and reviews. But before they even hit the market, some books have attracted negative…
‘A new foe’: Conscripting women in Denmark
Denmark is eyeing up the military threat from Russia – and dramatically increasing the numbers in its national service. Now, 18-year-old girls are facing a call up. The BBC has been granted rare access to a military base on the outskirts of Copenhagen to see the newest recruits learn how…
Lesia Khomenko: Art and war
Artist Lesia Khomenko left Kyiv with her daughter the day after the Russians invaded Ukraine – leaving her husband and all of her artwork behind. She now lives in New York, documenting how the conflict has transformed Ukrainian society through her painting. Her first work after the invasion was a…
Will a fugitive oligarch sway Moldova’s election?
On 28 September, Moldova’s parliamentary election will be closely watched by leaders in both the EU and Russia. Ilan Shor, a fugitive oligarch on the run from Moldovan authorities, and now resident in Russia, is believed to be behind a major disinformation campaign. The apparent aim is to draw the…
A radio lifeline for Afghan women
Women in Afghanistan are unable to access education, and getting medical help is difficult. But a radio station in the Panjshir Valley is trying to get crucial information to them nevertheless. Their broadcasts cover everything from breast feeding to basic school science lessons for women and girls who are often…
Charlie Kirk and free speech
The shooting of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk has intensified what was already a bitter divide between those who found him inspiring, and those who believed he spread hate with his views on subjects like gay marriage, Islam and abortion. Since he was killed at a university rally in Utah,…
Digital Dolittles: Talking to the animals?
Digital technology has transformed the science of bioacoustics - the ways we hear and record animal life in the deep oceans, through the earth and in the skies. Vast leaps in computing power allow us to analyse hundreds of thousands of hours of chirps, whistles, clicks and rumbles. Some researchers…
The social lives of bacteria
Our bodies are filled with bacteria that have rich social lives and, just like people, these microbial neighbours and families do not always get along. In some cases, it is the bacterial equivalent of The Sopranos. Dr Sally Le Page delves into the bacterial dramas of loners, crowd-lovers, backstabbers and…
Faith on the Russia-Ukraine frontline
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian army personnel have been killed since the Russian invasion of their country. Russian casualties could be as high as 250,000. But who rallies the troops when morale crumbles and fear creeps in? How important are religion and faith in the war effort? Lucy Ash hears…
Kenya: A Battle For Gen Z
Over the past year, Kenya has been rocked by anti-government protests. What started as a demonstration over proposed tax increases soon turned into a nationwide, youth-led protest over the state of the economy, alleged political corruption and police brutality. But it's come at a cost. Dozens of protestors have been…