The Documentary Podcast

Last year, San Francisco had twice as many deaths from drug abuse as Covid. In the central ‘Tenderloin’ district alone, where thousands of homeless people have pitched tents, three people a week are dying. Meanwhile drugs, including highly addictive and dangerous fentanyl, are sold and consumed openly on the street. Many types of crime are rising, and the city is struggling to entice people back a...

National and regional elections have frequently coincided with internet shutdowns or disruption. Shutdowns can occur whilst polls are open, or are sometimes imposed in response to protests that follow election results. National elections were held on 12 August 2021 in Zambia, and part way through voting, access to WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter was blocked. We hear from young voters in Lusaka abou...

The war in Ukraine is bringing much destruction and devastation, with fighting and attacks in multiple cities. Host Karnie Sharp guides us through the stories of men and women who are living through it. Many have been forced to flee to find a safe haven, often leaving relatives behind to stay and fight or because they refuse to move from their homes. Hussain is one person we hear from in Kherson,...

When someone young dies it is very hard for those they leave behind, perhaps even more so when they have taken their own life. Jorge, from Mexico, speaks to Buddhist Nun, Sister Dang Nghiem, about how he struggles to forgive himself after his partner took her own life three years ago. Sister Dang shares her experience of losing her own partner. She suggests that acknowledging part of them lives on...

What would it be like if everyone believed you were dead? Lal Bihari knows exactly what that feels like. When he was 22 years old the Indian farmer was told by his local government office that he was dead and no protestations that he was standing before them would persuade the bureaucrats otherwise – after all, his death certificate was there as proof. Whether the victim of a scam or a clerical er...

It is often claimed that shut downs are required to stop the spread of misinformation online, particularly during times of uncertainty or protest. In India, one of the world's largest democracy, internet shutdowns are a regular occurrence. According to data published by Access Now, an international digital rights, non-profit organisation, India has been responsible for more shutdowns each year tha...

Each year Unicef, the United Nations children’s charity, procures billions of dollars of goods for delivery to those most in need all over the word. Many of those supplies will either have come from, or been organised by, the men and women working on the outskirts of Copenhagen in the biggest humanitarian warehouse in the world. The world’s disasters roll through here in waves, and as they do the...

When the Russian attacks began, after all attempts at diplomacy had failed, Ukrainians were awoken in their beds by the sound of explosions. Host James Reynolds share the stories of ordinary Ukrainians over the course of an extraordinary week. We hear from men and women in different parts of the country as they prepare for war and try to go about their lives as normal while packing emergency bags,...

Is self-love the key to developing confidence? If so, how does it work? Nadia, from Colombia, doesn’t trust in her own ability to succeed, especially in her career and feels trapped by her lack of self-esteem. She speaks to Sufi teacher Iman Jamal Rahman, who shows her ways to help develop self-love. He suggests that by getting used to focusing on the present moment, rather than the past or the fu...

From pills that resolve chronic pain issues overnight to diet supplements which promise to help shed pounds in days, the internet is awash with adverts making bold - and often outrageous - claims. Some come with a celebrity endorsement, where household names appear to give their personal stamp of approval to a product. But many of these ads are fake, with customers tricked into parting with more m...

It is 2020. Covid Britain is in lockdown and the world is working from home. In the depths of the deadly pandemic and when people were at their lowest, someone spots an opportunity. This is the story of how people from all over the world were hired to work for a seemingly glamorous and successful design agency - but the whole thing was fake. Who was behind the con? And what on earth were they tryi...

Outside a war zone, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist. In 2021, seven journalists were murdered. In the first few weeks of this year alone, the killing of five journalists has prompted an outcry and concern. We hear what it is like when your job is to try and tell stories in a country where four people are killed every hour and where violent crimes fill your news-fee...

When someone we trust betrays us, the feelings can be corrosive and long-lasting. Nini, from Myanmar, found out a year ago that her husband of 20 years had been cheating on her for a decade and had a child with another woman. They are now divorced. He has moved on with his life, but Nini finds it difficult to let go of a deep resentment. She speaks to writer and teacher Gary Zukav, who suggests th...

With the seat of the Catholic Church on its doorstep and the highest number of priests of any country, Italy is a bastion of global Catholicism. And yet, unlike many other countries, it has failed to confront the scourge of clerical sex abuse. It keeps no official statistics on the issue and the number of convictions remains shockingly low. Survivors of abuse have fallen foul of a combination of c...

Trying to cancel some online accounts can be a maze of searches and false hopes, multiple clicks through a puzzle of seemingly unrelated destinations. This is what has become known as a 'dark pattern'; complex web design that makes it hard for you to do something the website does not want you to do, and employs behavioural psychology to make you do things it does want you to do. It is just one of...

An ex-Farc fighter talks about her struggle to integrate into Colombian society after she laid down arms five years ago. Leading women peace builders discuss whether the historic 2016 peace accord delivered on its promises to help women and communities across the country.

For World Radio Day 2022, we tune in to radio stations around the world that connect communities, spark conversations, keep traditions alive and give a voice to their listeners. From Aboriginal Koori Radio in Australia to a community station in India run by rural women from the lowest Dalit caste, the airwaves carry intimate wisdom, vital knowledge, beats and tunes that keep reminding us who we ar...

For the past fortnight, the world has watched Canadian truckers block roads to protest against Covid restrictions. A rule that required any truckers entering Canada from the US to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or face a 14-day quarantine triggered the demonstations. The protests then grew to include different people who are angry at other Covid restrictions and also at Prime Minister Justin...

Russia and some Nato member states, including the US, are at odds over the Ukraine crisis. Ros Atkins examines the dynamics at play between Russia and Nato.

Looking back over a long life can provide cause for regret. Incidents from decades past, seemingly forgotten, can suddenly provoke deep sadness. Richard in Malaysia is troubled by the way he acted as a young man. Writer and therapist Dr Shefali offers him guidance on accepting his flaws and living more in the present moment.

Lucy Ash catches up with a warzone bakery comforting people in an east Ukrainian town. She visited in 2017 to tell the story of a small enterprise that was bringing hope to a trapped community living near the frontline. The town of Marinka is in the buffer zone – the ‘grey zone’ - that separates Ukraine from the Dontesk region – now claimed and occupied by Russian backed separatists. For the town’...

Sex is everywhere – in popular music and TV programmes, in toothpaste adverts and on social media. Yet in real life, regular sex no longer seems to be such a big priority for people in their 20s. Research in countries including Britain, the United States and Japan has shown that young people are having less sex than previous generations. Twenty-one-year-old student Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty talks...

Women working to help communities caught up in Ethiopia’s brutal war talk about the immense challenges they face on the ground, and we hear the story of "Tsega", who was brutally attacked after she was forced to flee from her home. A co-production by BBC and Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

The Winter Games are officially underway as Beijing becomes the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics. Host Karnie Sharp brings us a conversation between two competitors, who are from countries that don’t traditionally send large teams to snow sports. Manon Ouaiss is the only woman on the three person Lebanon team while Ornella Oettl Reyes is the sole member, and flag bearer, for...

The musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have asked Spotify to remove their music from the platform. They have criticised the music streaming service for publishing a podcast that spreads Covid misinformation. It’s sparked a debate about freedom of speech and corporate responsibility. Ros Atkins has been looking into the controversy.