The Documentary Podcast

The fathers of Michael Brown and Terence Crutcher, as well as George Floyd's uncle, reflect on the moment that forever altered their families’ lives following the killing of their loved ones by police officers in the US. Poet and songwriter Cornelius Eady navigates sobering and moving first hand accounts of what it means to raise a black man in America today. He learns how three father figures hav...

From the fields of Ukraine to a bakery in Beirut, we find out what it costs to produce a global staple - bread.

Indonesia continues to search for answers and comfort after more than 130 fans died at a football match. There appears to have been a deadly combination at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java, of over-crowding, tear gas being fired by police and blocked exits during the ensuing panic. The president of Fifa, the game’s world governing body, called it a “dark day” for football. Host James Re...

Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in England – often presented as a shining example multi-cultural Britain. But tensions between some factions have been brewing in the city for months and boiled over recently when there were violent clashes which led to dozens of arrests. Assignment investigates why sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities that once lived together in harmony are now...

More than a decade after the UN raised the alarm on the scale of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sexual violence remains a persistent issue. Congolese journalist Ruth Omar investigates the complex issues that continue to feed the problem, and meets local activists fighting for change.

The world has witnessed extraordinary protests across Iran during the past fortnight. It followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was arrested and detained after allegedly breaking rules over covering her hair. She collapsed and fell into a coma at a detention centre, and died three days later in hospital. Her arrest was by the so-called Morality Police: a special police unit, tasked wit...

Inflation in Argentina is racing towards 100%. In a country where prices are constantly on the move, it’s hard to navigate daily life as salaries slump and the cost-of-living soars. But, after decades of lurching from one economic crisis to another, Argentines have developed their own techniques for dealing with soaring inflation. In this week’s Assignment, Jane Chambers travels to the capital Bue...

Ghana is Africa's leading producer of gold. The majority of Ghana's gold mining operation is legally undertaken by national and global mining corporations but it is estimated that in recent years as much as 35% is produced by small scale miners, much of it illegally. This practice, known as galamsey, is a danger to the miners and the environment around them and it is estimated that up to 60% of Gh...

Cakes Da Killa is in Atlanta, the epicentre of hip-hop and home of trap music. The success of southern queer artists like Lil Nas X and Saucy Santana has brought more diversity into the genre, but boundaries and prejudice are still strong. Despite differences in their backgrounds, lives and music, the performers Cakes speaks to are driven by a common goal – to be creative on their own terms withou...

All banks in Lebanon have been shut indefinitely. They say it is for safety reasons following a string of raids by customers demanding access to their own money. In one incident, a woman armed with a toy gun staged a bank hold-up to pay family medical bills. Although the authorities have condemned the raids, they have drawn widespread public support. Since the 2019 collapse of Lebanon's financial...

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community is struggling to come to terms with high-profile sex abuse scandals. In the past year, two of its leading lights were accused of taking advantage of their status to sexually assault vulnerable women, men, and children. What has added to the shock is how, after one of the alleged attackers committed suicide, religious leaders in this insular, devout communit...

In August 1972, Idi Amin publicly condemned Ugandan Asians as ‘the enemy’, enforcing a brutal policy that ordered them to leave the country within 90 days. It is estimated between 60-70,000 South Asians left Uganda in fear for their lives. On the 50th anniversary of the expulsion, BBC reporter Reha Kansara follows her mum and aunt as they return to Uganda together for the first time.

Homophobia and misogyny are ingrained in hip-hop. But a new generation of women and queer artists are determined to challenge the status quo. Cakes Da Killa is an openly gay rapper who has been recording for more than a decade. In this two-part series he talks to female stars like number one artist Latto, and queer rappers like Ripparachie to find out how far they have come, the issues they still...

The Queen is lying in state in Westminster Hall in the UK Parliament. Tens of thousands of people have been queuing to pay their final respects. The line has stretched several kilometres along the River Thames. We talk to some of the mourners who have been waiting overnight, sometimes in the rain, to have the opportunity to view the late monarch’s coffin. We hear from three people who have met the...

Historic levels of flooding in eastern Kentucky in August caused 37 deaths. The State’s governor described it as the worst natural crisis Kentucky has seen. River levels on the North Fork Kentucky River in Whitesburg reached 21ft (6.4m) compared with the previous record of 14ft (4.2m). The floods have tested the resilience of the people in the former coal-mining region of Appalachia. In towns like...

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has set out a plan to help with people’s soaring energy bills, food and petrol prices. And then there is the challenge of strikes over pay and a record number of people waiting for treatment by the country’s national health service. Host James Reynolds brings together two public sector workers – Kailee, a care home nurse in Lincoln and Alice, a music teacher in Hertford...

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, used to be known as the Terror Dome for its high rates of inmate violence, murder and suicide. Polunsky houses all the men condemned to death in Texas (currently 185) and nearly 3,000 maximum security prisoners. But since the pandemic, a prison radio station almost entirely run by the men themselves has helped to create community--even for those on...

Samburu county, in northern Kenya, is one of many places where it is normal for girls as young as 11 to be married, often to men more than three times their age. These marriages are additionally traumatic because the child brides are forced to undergo female genital mutilation the day before the wedding. For this documentary Lisa-Marie Misztak meets Josephine Kulea, a remarkable Samburu woman on a...

It has been called "a monsoon on steroids" by one United Nations chief after record-breaking rainfall and floods destroyed over a million homes in Pakistan leaving many homeless. Buildings, crops and vital infrastructure have been damaged, destroyed or submerged in water affecting about 33 million Pakistanis. Nauroz Jamali helped start a group to support those in the flooded villages. Abraham Buri...

As Boris Johnson prepares to stand down as UK Prime Minister, the BBC’s Ritula Shah asks what his premiership has meant for Britain’s standing in the world. In just three years in office he was a key player in world events – Brexit, the COP 26 climate summit, the war in Ukraine. He championed an idea of ‘Global Britain’ – what did that mean and how will his colourful and controversial leadership b...

Max, Alyona, Serhiy, Oleg, Alina and Vladyslav are leaving school this year - six 17 year olds full of dreams. Serhiy plans an epic bike ride; Max pours his heart into music - and they’ve all turned up for the prom that marks their passage into adulthood. But their school, School no. 20 in Chernihiv, has been shelled badly by the Russian army, and the school leavers face a future with none of the...

By examining internet search data, Ben Arogundade discovers the surprising stories of how, from the tiniest villages under attack to major cities hosting thousands of refugees, people are navigating their difficult circumstances and managing to live in the spaces between conflicts.

August 24 is always a significant date for Ukraine, as it marks official independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. This year, however, it also marked six months since Russia invaded the country. Russian officials initially predicted a short campaign but the fighting shows no sign of ending soon. The human cost has been immense – thousands of lives have been lost on both sides. Three women share...

Why are Native Americans striving to ‘reclaim’ the game of lacrosse? Lacrosse may have the reputation as a white elitist sport, played in private schools. In fact, it was originally a Native American game, practiced across North America before European colonisers arrived. As white settlers pushed westwards, taking land and resources, they also took lacrosse as their own. They stopped Native Americ...

What are people looking for online within the world’s major war zones? By examining internet search data, Ben Arogundade discovers the surprising stories of how, from the tiniest villages under attack to major cities hosting thousands of refugees, people are navigating their difficult circumstances and managing to live in the spaces between conflicts.