Documentaries

In 2005, Michelle Vanek, a 35-year-old mother of four, disappeared on Colorado's Mount of the Holy Cross, a rugged peak so steeped in symbolism that its snow-filled cross has become both landmark and legend. She was hiking with a friend when the pair split up and she vanished. Despite one of the largest search operations in state history, involving helicopters, dogs and hundreds of rescuers, no tr...

When cities industrialise the rivers they were built around are first polluted, then turned into sewers and finally built over. It’s a pattern that’s repeated itself for 250 years from 18th century Paris to 21st century Manila. But across the world the fight is on to release and revive our urban rivers. They provide a cooling effect for overheated neighbourhoods, space for wildlife and a welcome p...

What will the food of the future taste like? In Japan, we discover a fungus turning waste into a high-protein alternative to meat. Then we visit a bedroom where amateur scientists are growing chicken cells. And a restaurant with its very own cultured-meat laboratory upstairs. Could these ideas eventually change the way Japan - and the world - eats food?

Gianni Agnelli is the head of the family that controls Fiat, and the vast business empire beyond the carmaker that helped shape modern Italy. Charming, charismatic and powerful, he's regarded by many as Italy’s unofficial king, and his family de facto royalty. When he dies the country is plunged into mourning and fear for its economic future. But Gianni’s death also triggers an inheritance dispute...

Why does artificial intelligence sometimes make things up? From law firms to consultants, businesses are grappling with the risks of AI hallucinations. What's causing them, and can they be prevented?

Catalina and Jorge were born on the same day - 14 June. They also share a surname and, at one point, attended neighbouring schools. But that is where the similarities end. They hold radically different political views in a country that has endured Latin America's longest running and most violent internal conflict. Catalina, 36, was born in Bogotá. She is a right-wing influencer and a staunch admir...

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a condition where a person’s breathing stops and starts repeatedly while they sleep, possibly over 30 times an hour, leaving them exhausted on waking. It affects millions around the world and can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. Patients are often given a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) breathing device to keep air flowing into their lungs t...

Rosemary Nyirumbe became a nun when she was just in her mid-teens – and she felt her true vocation lay in rehabilitating children who had been through some of the worst trauma imaginable. So that’s what she did. In this episode Mike Wooldridge hears Sr Rosemary’s astonishing story. The feared rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, started to terrorise the north of Uganda in the 1980s. Many child...

Gautam Adani’s businesses span almost every part of life in India. From energy to food, ports to mining, and drinks to weapons, the Adani group has widespread influence over millions of people day to day. From his early career as a diamond trader, Gautam built a reputation as always looking for the next opportunity. But as well as a huge pyramid of business interests, he also has cultural and poli...

A new farming method is having a dramatic effect on maize crops in Malawi, and assistance is coming from a solar-powered tractor. In the last of her visits to Malawi, Myra goes to a village where they are using a new method called Deep Bed Farming. It has more than doubled the yield of some of the farmers and improved their standards of living. The method involves digging deep into the hard earth....

Els and Jan have fewer than three days left on Earth. Childhood sweethearts who met in kindergarten more than six decades ago, they know precisely when they will die. And how. On an early summer’s Monday morning they will travel to a nearby hospice. Some of their family and friends will accompany them. And then precisely at 10.30am - holding hands, they hope - two doctors will administer lethal me...

China's booming export figures, driven in part by demand for AI-related products, suggest a high-tech economy that's thriving. Yet many consumers at home continue to face economic pressures. Ed Butler asks whether there's a link between weakness at home and strength abroad, and what China's export surge could mean for other countries and trading partners.

On location in Dortmund, in Germany's Ruhr region, historian and author Katja Hoyer reports on the dramatic transformation that has taken place in the city in the last 20 years. Once known for its heavy industry, especially steel production, Dortmund realised the future lay elsewhere. The city would instead become a centre for hi tech industries, for start-ups, for logistics and it would attract t...

A major new international study predicts that the number of people diagnosed with dementia will more than double by 2050. Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who led the study, predict that new cases worldwide will rise from some 11 million each year to around 25 million. That increase will not only have an impact on the families affected but also on health and care serv...

As a young missionary priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli left his native Argentina to work in the Middle East. He went out of a passion for bringing Christ to the people wherever he was called. He became Gaza’s only Catholic parish priest at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. Life in the territory was never easy, but it became extraordinarily challenging after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 Octob...

Navanetham 'Navi' Pillay has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026. The 85 year old South African jurist and former UN Human Rights chief initially thought the news was a joke. Born in Durban, South Africa, to a Tamil family, her grandparents had come to South Africa as indentured labourers to work in the sugarcane fields. Born under apartheid rule neither of her parents were educated and he...

Russia's super-rich once ruled the country, holding deep influence over the country's politicians in the years immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They then gradually saw their power decline under the rise of Vladimir Putin, but could they - and would they - ever seek to restore their political influence Russia editor at BBC Monitoring, Vitaly Shevchenko, traces the origin story of...

Deep in the Amazon jungle, pink river dolphins are under threat from pollution, deforestation, illegal mining and climate change. As a powerful El Niño looms, raising fears of drought and extreme heat, renowned Colombian scientist Fernando Trujillo is racing to protect them. His solution combines cutting-edge science with Indigenous knowledge, sustainable tourism and reforestation. We follow Ferna...

Journalist and author Paul Kenyon investigates rising suspicions over China’s presence in the UK. From shadow policing operations, to spies and the infiltration of universities and public bodies, Beijing is being accused by the UK’s domestic intelligence agency of posing a threat to national security. Yet, less than a decade ago, China and the UK had a flourishing relationship. So what has changed...

China's latest trade data show another huge surplus, putting the country on course for what could be a record $1.5 trillion trade surplus this year. In the first of two episodes examining China's export machine, we look at the country's massive solar panel industry. We hear from the so-called Sun King, Dr Jerry Shi, China's first solar billionaire, about the rise of solar power in China. Ed Butler...

A network of Russians say they are secretly fighting their own country. They claim armed resistance to stop Russia winning in Ukraine is the best way to undermine Putin’s regime. BBC Eye investigates. Presenter: Monica Garnsey Reporter: Marcin Mamon

Why are millions of Afghans pushed into circular migration and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, The Global Jigsaw explores one of the world’s largest and longest-running refugee crises - a story spanning decades and affecting nearly half of Afghanistan’s population. Once welcomed as guests and embraced in the spirit of Islamic solidarity in neighbouring Iran and Pakis...

Why are millions of Afghans forced to go home and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, The Global Jigsaw explores one of the world’s largest and longest running refugee crises - a story spanning decades, and affecting nearly half of Afghanistan’s population. Once welcomed as guests and embraced in the spirit of Islamic solidarity in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, Afghan...

Why are millions of Afghans pushed into circular migration, and what awaits them in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan? In this series, we explore one of the world’s largest and longest-running refugee crises - a story spanning decades and affecting nearly half of Afghanistan’s population. Once welcomed as guests and embraced in the spirit of Islamic solidarity in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, Afghan ref...

Two cases in recent weeks have reignited debate around capital punishment in the United States after the failed attempt to execute Christa Pike and controversy over – now abandoned – plans to live-stream another execution. We bring together three people who have witnessed prisoners being put to death to share their experiences. Retired Ghanaian army officer, Captain Budu Koomson says, “It has an e...