The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2012: Recent Episodes
BBC World Service
New democratic freedoms are allowing farmers to protest as companies grab their land for agriculture and land. Lucy Ash reporting.
Does the Bollywood film industry need to broaden its fanbase to appeal to international, non-Indian audiences to survive in the future?
A look at the unique narratives and symbolism of the lullabies of the Arab world, which are a form of self-expression for women.
El Salvador's violent street gangs have made a truce. The murder rate has plummeted, and quality of life for many Salvadorans has improved dramatically. But can it last?
After 100 years of Bollywood cinematic magic, how are filmmakers dealing with India's diverging audiences and wildly different expectations?
A powerful memorial to the bravery of an ordinary man Leigh Pitt, who saved a boy from drowning but did not himself survive.
The IMF is threatening to throw Argentina out of the Fund if it doesn’t start reporting credible figures for inflation.
Many ex-offenders in the US leave prison indebted to the courts. Why do one in five people in Philadelphia owe around $1.5 billion in criminal court debt?
For 95 years, the ‘Anzac Legend’ has been at the heart of Australia’s national identity. Through a government-sponsored programme of commemoration and education, Australians are taught that part of their identity was forged on the battlefields of Europe, the Gallipoli peninsula and in South-East Asia throughout the twentieth century. Sharon Mascal asks what Anzac means today.
Sol River talks to James Meredith, who walked into history as the first black student at the University of Mississippi in 1962.
Linda Pressly investigates why rape and sexual abuse is so common in America's huge prison system - and asks if new measures to fight it will succeed.
John Simpson looks back at the chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, unleashed by Saddam Hussein in 1988. What hope and justice can a new scientific investigation offer to the families of those 5000 civilians who lost their lives?
In many remote areas of Afghanistan – where few foreign journalists have access - it’s the Kalashnikov rather than the ballot box that dictates who holds power.
The largest Iranian community outside Iran can be found in the heart of LA. What is that diaspora's story? Iranian stand-up comedian and actor Maz Jobrani begins his journey on Westwood Boulevard, a street lined with Iranian stores, restaurants, beauty salons, cafes and businesses, where everyone speaks Farsi and all the shop signs are in Persian.
Nina Robinson investigates whether the government of Trinidad and Tobago's initiative to get more people involved in sport can reduce the country’s high rates of crime.
What does it take to get people in the rich world engaged in the issue of global poverty? How can you avoid cliché, sentimentality and callousness? What stops people turning off?
Andrew Harding joins Mohamed Ahmed Noor who, by request of the president, has returned with his wife and family from a life in London to try and clean up Mogadishu.
Rob Broomby explores how British universities are adapting to commercial times and asks if significant donations could distort the academic agenda.
Phil Maguire, Chief Executive of the Prison Radio Association (PRA), reports on the launch of Rise Maximum Radio, based inside Trinidad and Tobago's Maximum Security Prison and hears this remarkable radio station's first moments on-air.
How exemption from conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews is exposing Israel's fault lines. Linda Pressly reports.
Across the developed world, government funding for universities is drying up. That means universities are having to seek finance elsewhere. Princeton University is the master at getting money from former students. Rob Broomby hears concerns about how donations are changing academic priorities.
In Japan people believe that your blood type - or ketsueki-gata - defines your temperament and personality. What implications does this have for life, work and love?
The series History Lessons for China's New Leaders recalls some of the most important stories from Chinese history. In part 2 Carrie Gracie looks at the lessons from history as seen by the Chinese people.
The island monastery of Valaam in northern Russia is a beacon for orthodox believers and a favourite of President Putin. But all is not well with the island's inhabitants.
The series History Lessons for China's New Leaders recalls some of the most important stories from Chinese history. In part 1 on the eve of the 18th Communist Party Congress, Carrie Gracie looks at lessons from history for China’s new leaders.
Meet Muhammad Idrees Idrees, the man who overstayed his Indian visa and was stripped of his nationality and identity.
Episode 2: Power and Foreign Policy - How do America's presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney believe the US should interact with the rest of the world?
America's presidential election campaign is now in its closing stages. The leaders of the two parties - Barack Obama and Mitt Romney - have very different ideas for America. What is each candidate's ideological vision for the future?
Alan Dein attempts to cross the world on a late-night excursion via Facebook and Skype.
What does the collapse in Iran's currency mean for ordinary people and the regime? Pooneh Ghoddoosi reports.
Please note this programme contains a description of a medical circumcision As the German government proposes to make religious circumcision explicitly legal, Stephen Evans talks to the people - Jews and Muslim - who do it; to the lawyer who wants it banned and to a Muslim who regrets being circumcised.
An audio tour of The Museum of Broken Relationships and the stories behind the objects it exhibits: the things left behind at the end of love affairs… shared belongings, mementos and gifts.
South Africa remains a growing market for Avon cosmetics despite a slump elsewhere. How has Avon managed to make such inroads into South Africa? Who are the Avon ladies? We travel with two reps to find out what it is like to be a door-to-door salesperson in a country where people are often afraid to open their doors because of high rates of crime.
Recorded in the days before the exploratory drilling begins off the Alaskan coast, May Abdalla travels to Point Hope, not far from where the drilling will begin, to meet the Inupiat people and to learn of their fears and hopes of an oil-rich future.
A dying man and his husband try to meet death in style with a "bon voyage party", but realise dying cannot be choreographed. Please note, Paul Perkovic died on 26 November 2012, in Eric Trefelner's arms at their home in Montara, California.
New Zealand's street gangs are established, territorial and notoriously intimidating. Leaving them is incredibly difficult, and "punishments" are often administered to those that try. Warning: This programme contains description of torture and sexual violence which some listeners may find disturbing.
May Abdalla travels to the settlement of Point Hope, a remote Alaskan village, to meet the Inupiat people and to learn of their fears and hopes of an oil-rich future.
The Assad family has now been in power in Syria for more than 40 years. The country may be embroiled in a civil war, but President Bashar Al-Assad has so far withstood the winds of change of the Arab Spring, as well as the international calls for him to go. Owen Bennett Jones asks how this dynasty has survived so long?
Benjamen Walker visits airports, amusement parks, roadways and colleges to document how the priority queue is re-ordering American society.
Why do we do the things we do? Mike Williams searches for the extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions. This week, why do we wear ties?
It's a unique Japanese practice. Each year in Japan there are tens of thousands of unusual adoptions – very different from adoptions elsewhere in the world. They're mostly of grown men, adopted by their wife's family, so that they can then take over the family business and keep the family name alive. Mariko Oi has been to Japan to investigate. She meets, among others, a famous Kabuki performer and the owner of a spa hotel, who runs the world's oldest family business.
Latinos are part of the fabric of the USA, so what role will they play in the nation's forthcoming elections? Claire Bolderson visits Miami and looks at the future of America's fastest growing minority.
Why are there a growing number of African-Americans who openly don't believe in God or the church? Sarah Richards reports.
This programme contains views and language which some listeners may find offensive and upsetting Iraq can cost you your life. In a hard-hitting Assignment programme Natalia Antelava reports from Iraq on the persecution of gays in the country.
Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic population in the USA. In the first episode of a two-part documentary, Claire Bolderson asks whether the Hispanic population could help re-energise the country.
BBC correspondent Will Grant challenges stereotypes as he investigates Mexico's economy. He talks to industry leaders, workers, politicians and economists.
For Assignment Tom Esslemont examines the disturbing world of Russia’s skinhead ultra nationalists.
Kati Whitaker gains rare access to Northern Ghana's witch camps, where old women accused of witchcraft are banished.
Tessa Dunlop travels to Romania to investigate why a proposed open-cast gold mine, that would be Europe's largest, has caused a political storm all over the country.
Mike Greenwood journeys across one of the world's final frontiers, the Chaco in Paraguay, to uncover how environmental groups, ranchers and missionaries are battling for the soul of one of the last wildernesses.
Aleks Krotoski explores what computer gaming offers as a cultural medium. In part two of this two-part documentary she examines how cultural difference is reflected in games and hears how people increasingly want to reflect their cultural experiences in them.
Gareth Mitchell visits Canada to meet one of the teams behind the most violent sport in the Paralympics -€" wheelchair rugby.
Measures to stop drugs cheats in the Paralympics are already in place but as BBC World Service Science Correspondent Matt McGrath reports, the rule book is a long one.
No fewer than twenty football bosses have been murdered in Bulgaria in the last decade. In Assignment, Margot Dunne explores reports of deep rooted corruption and matchfixing in the country's top league.
In Beijing in 2008, the Ukrainian Paralympic Team came 4th in the league of medals. Andriy Kravets discovers how the country managed this surprising achievement and how it is preparing for the London Games, and questions whether the success of its Paralympic Team has had an impact on how disability is viewed in Ukraine.
Gareth Mitchell looks at the technology behind the Paralympics and visits a German factory where carbon fibre running blades are produced.
Documentary-maker Nina Robinson concludes her two-year project to capture the attitudes of London's Eastenders to the biggest event to ever take place in their locality: the Olympic Games. In this episode she finds out if her participants feel willing and able to join the Olympics party.
Aleks Krotoski explores what computer gaming offers as a cultural medium. In part one she visists The Art of Video Games exhibition at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum in Washington.
Lucy Williamson reports on the host bars in South Korea that cater to women's desires for male companionship.
Financial journalist and broadcaster Max Flint investigates the positives of inflation. He looks at how inflation can shrink mortgages, shrivel debt, create growth and disposable income.
Karachi has a population of 20 million, of whom an estimated half a million are chronic heroin addicts. For Assignment Mobeen Azhar finds out how a charity is helping them and their families.
Financial journalist and broadcaster Max Flint investigates the negatives of inflation using the lessons of history by revisiting its bad reputation, in different parts of the world.
Tim Mansel reports from Ruhengeri in the mountainous north-west of Rwanda on the Rwandan cyclists who have become the nation’s heroes.
In the second part of his bold examination of rape in the DRC, award winning writer and Guardian journalist Will Storr meets male victims of sexual violence. He asks why NGOs and the UN are seemingly resistant to looking at this issue.
Olympic athletes dream of winning, but don't they owe it to themselves to prepare for the more probable outcome of losing?
The mass killings of civilians in Houla immediately led to calls for the ICC to investigate and for those responsible to be held to account. But in cases like this, how likely is it that international justice will eventually be done?
In this powerful documentary, Will Storr examines a taboo that still reigns even in the most diabolical of conflicts. The beautiful but incredibly violent Lake Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been dubbed the 'rape capital of the world'. In the first part of a searing two-part documentary, award-winning writer and Guardian journalist Will Storr travels to the DRC to meet the women who are menaced daily by the escaped genocidaires from neighbouring Rwanda and by their own army. He finds that they are desperate for the world to hear their harrowing stories.
BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera talks to the people behind the largest security operation in peacetime, designed to ensure London's 2012 Olympic Games go ahead without interruption.
A powerful memorial to the bravery of an ordinary man Leigh Pitt, who saved a boy from drowning but did not himself survive.
Shanghai-based journalist Duncan Hewitt concludes his look at the burgeoning microblogging trend in China and the profound effect it is having on society and culture.
Can a city retain a memory and if so what does it sound like? Francesca Panetta goes on an audio journey of London, away from the fanfare and voices of the Olympic venues, to listen to the city's murky and varied past.
How do people from different companies use psychological assessments in the workplace? Lucy Ash investigates.
Assignment's Rob Walker reports on the frantic gold rush in Peru that is threatening the Peruvian rainforest.
In the first of a two-part series, Duncan Hewitt investigates the impact of microblogging in China, where Sina's Weibo now has a greater membership than Twitter. He meets animal rights activists and mothers promoting breastfeeding as he finds out how social media is fostering a new civil society in China.
How do people from different companies use psychological assessments in the workplace? Lucy Ash investigates.
Rebecca Kesby investigates allegations of corruption within Russia's criminal justice system.
They are some of Zambia’s most courageous workers, quietly getting on with their job - a job which is shunned by most of their compatriots. Meet Mwanza and Kapemba, two mortuary attendants working in Lusaka. In this programme, they reveal what their work entails, but also what it feels like to deal with the stigma they face.
In this edition of Assignment Peter Marshall talks to the law enforcement officers who secured the conviction of James Ibori, one time governor of Nigeria’s oil rich Delta State. It is a dramatic story, involving years of detective work, attempted assassination, a high speed car chase and a sack full of cash.
The Chinese market is still dominated by large state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Is it time for the country to turn towards a more Western style of capitalism, or will China continue to follow its own economic model? In the second of two special documentaries, a top Chinese business journalist, Rui Chenggang, concludes his exploration of the big narratives affecting his country's economy.
For Assignment, Kate McGeowan reports on the heated debate over contraception in the Philippines.
The world is increasingly looking to China for help with the economy. But what are China's priorities? In the first episode in this two-part BBC series, the country's most prominent business journalist, Rui Chenggang, argues that for China to help the world, China must help itself.
Is science fiction coming to Africa? Or is it already here? Lauren Beukes, South African author and winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction, discovers an SF scene shaped by people's appreciation of both technology and magic.
For Assignment, Chloe Hadjimatheou tracks the meteoric rise of Syriza, the new force in Greek politics.
The final episode in our four-part exploration of British monarchy, as told through objects in the Royal Collection. The presenter is the BBC's Arts Editor Will Gompertz. This week, Will looks at objects that testify to the power of the monarchy beyond the British Isles, including a shard of wood from the coffin of George Washington.
In a country having kittens over its plummeting birth-rate, there are now twice as many pets in Japan as there are children. As the number of dogs has increased, so too has the number of childless women and couples, many of whom dote on their dogs in place of children. Roland Buerk seeks an explanation for this explosion in interest in all things canine, and explores the demographic time-bomb behind it.
Helena Merriman goes on the trail of Egypt's secret police files to find out the stories of those whose names were listed in them and to find out whether the files - now in the possession of the new state security police - will ever be made public.
The BBC's Arts Editor Will Gompertz continues his examination of 1000 years of British monarchy by discussing items in the Royal Collection. This week, Will looks at an idea as old as royalty itself: magnificence. How has the Royal family tried to project its wealth and status through its objects?
Sharon Mascall meets Australians from all walks of life who have met Queen Elizabeth II during her many visits to the country. The Queen's former Private Secretary Sir William Heseltine also sheds light on how the Queen's visits to Australia have changed over time.
Will Gompertz continues a four-part exploration of almost 1000 years of the British monarchy as told through the objects of art they collected. In part two, he examines items from the Royal Collection that are associated with war.
Presenter Dzifa Gbeho tours Accra with Chris Hesse - the then President's official photographer - who followed Queen Elizabeth II's every move during her first visit to Ghana in 1961. This visit is then contrasted with her second visit to the country in 1999.
More women are playing online video games than ever before, but life can be tough for them in this male dominated world. For Assignment, James Fletcher reports. Strong language throughout.
Will Gompertz begins a four-part exploration of almost 1000 years of the British monarchy as told through the objects of art they collected. In part one, he looks at some of the most personal images in the Royal Collection.
China's natural ageing process has been accelerated by the One Child Policy. For Assignment, Mukul Devichand asks whether Shanghai's ageing population could be undermining economic growth.
In the final episode, Ed Butler investigates the many internet stakeholders. What can governments do to protect the net? And what can we do?
The drowning of more than fifty people people in a small fishing boat in the Dominican Republic has left the local community in shock.
Is the Internet's original architecture and governance still fit for purpose? Or has it gone out of control and become hopelessly insecure?
Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. Linda Pressly profiles the People's Funeral Service - a unique organisation offering succour in a sea of violence.
Ed Butler assesses the ever-increasing threats from hackers and cyber weapons, and the challenges that today's most powerful countries face from threats in cyperspace.
Can soap operas around the world help people approach their lives with a more positive attitude? Your World examines the impact in Rwanda, Turkey, Brazil and India.
Sierra Leonean journalist Amara Bangura travels through Sierra Leone and Liberia to meet those who remember the brutality of the Charles Taylor era.
Nigeria is at a crossroads between chaos and a modern state. Can it become the pioneer for Africa? Mark Doyle investigates.
Can soap operas around the world help people approach their lives with a more positive attitude? Your World examines the impact in Rwanda, Turkey, Brazil and India.
Formula 1 returns to Bahrain this weekend. Last year's race was cancelled amid political unrest. Can the race heal wounds and allow the country to move on?
Nigeria is at a crossroads between chaos and a modern state. Can it become the pioneer for Africa? Mark Doyle investigates.
'Sugars' addiction in the township of Chatsworth near Durban and the hallucinogenic detox which gives addicts the chance to change their lives.
Natalia Antelava uncovers evidence that women are being sterilised, often without their knowledge, in an effort by the Uzbek government to control the population.
Nina Robinson reports from Texas on how the heavy hand of the law in some US schools is criminalising the very young.
Tim Franks looks at the case of two US inmates who have been held in solitary confinement in Louisiana for what will be 40 years this month.
Barbara Plett investigates how the conflict in Syria, and the future of the Assads, might reshape the Middle East.
Writer Bart Bull explores the extraordinary story of the Neon Cowboy at the Round Up Drive In, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Assignment investigates prescription drug abuse among Canada's First Nation communities.
Military service is mandatory for all Turkish men - they can only escape it if they are ill, disabled or homosexual. But proving homosexuality is a humiliating ordeal. Emre Azizlerli lifts the lid on the only country within the Nato military alliance to discriminate against homosexuals in this way.
Why secrecy for Catholic police officers in Northern Ireland can be the difference between life and death.
What's it like to be a graduate in Greece contemplating the future? Chloe Hadjimatheou reports for Assignment on the prospects for new graduates in Athens who are at the start of their working lives.
Allan Little looks at key moments and issues that brought the European Union to the current crisis. In part three he examines new resentments and divisions within the EU exposed by the crisis.
British citizen, Ruhal Ahmed, spent two years in Guantanamo Bay. After his release he returned home to Tipton in the West Midlands without ever being charged with a crime by the British or US governments. During his incarceration Ruhal was repeatedly tortured by his captors. The technique he feared most was being tortured with music. We chart Ruhal's progress as he attempts to silence torture by music.
Divided by conflict. The human stories behind Syria's uprising. Owen Bennett Jones reports for Assignment.
Allan Little looks at key moments and issues that brought the European Union to the current crisis. In part two, he focuses on the failure to enforce the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact.
Allan Little looks at key moments and issues that brought the European Union to the current crisis. In part one he focuses on the transformation of Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
We meet an ordinary Kenyan woman who has done an extraordinary thing and opened her home to 49 orphaned children. She is one of an increasing number of Kenyans who are stepping forward to adopt or care for children in need.
The BBC's Nina Robinson reports for Assignment from one of Rio de Janeiro's biggest urban slums, or favelas, to see whether drug gangs can be controlled for good.
A year after the fall of President Mubarak of Egypt, the army is still in charge of the country, and there's daily unrest on the streets. What happened to the revolution? Magdi Abdelhadi reports.
In the occupied Palestinian territories the rate of blindness is as high as ten times the norm in the West. We follow the story of different people whose lives converge through the work of St John Eye Hospital, which has been bringing modern medical care to a community in desperate need, regardless of ethnicity, religion or politics.
There's a crisis of culture in Bosnia Herzegovina. The guardians of the nation's heritage - the museums and libraries - are under threat of closure. Assignment's Rebecca Kesby reports from Sarajevo.
English has been the dominant global language for a century, but is it the language of the future in rising South East Asia? In part two, Jennifer Pak visits Hanoi in Vietnam to look at how the country, with a French and Russian colonial history, is now adopting English in preference to Mandarin, despite the growing neighbouring Chinese economy.
Mair Bosworth looks at conflict between generations in a small family business in London.
The Syrian city of Homs has seen some of the worst violence in the government's crackdown against opposition activists and armed fighters in the country. BBC reporter Paul Wood and his team managed to slip into Homs as the bombardment of the city was getting underway. In this special programme, Paul tells the story of his four days in Homs - how the story unfolded, how he reported it and what life is like for residents of a city under fire.
The BBC's Hilary Anderson examines what it means to be poor, in the richest country in the world.
English has been the dominant global language for a century, but is it the language of the future in rising South East Asia? In the first of two documentary programmes Jennifer Pak visits Malaysia and Singapore, two countries where colonial ties to the English language are loosening.
Alison Finch meets one of Ireland's last traditional matchmakers as he reigns over the great Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival.
Rob Walker investigates what’s happened to billions of dollars in oil revenues paid to the government of Equatorial Guinea.
To celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens' birth, Indian writer Ayeesha Menon explores India's love affair with Dickens.
In this documentary-fantasy we bring the danger back to Dickens. Slipping in and out of his weird and brilliant imagination, we see modern London as he might have done, travelling through the city's streets at night to crack dens and strip-joints as the police sirens wail. We meet characters from his novels and characters who would be in his novels if he were still alive today.
Undercover in Damascus for Assignment. Tim Whewell enters the dangerous world of the Syrian opposition to find out how strong they are – and what they really want.
Nina Robinson reports from two Olympic cities - Beijing who were hosts in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro, who will be hosts in 2016.
Australia's mining boom is proving lucrative for its so called Fly in Fly Out (FIFO) workers but as James Fletcher reports in Assignment, it can come at a cost.
The gap between the super-rich and the rest has grown sharply around the world. Michael Robinson examines its effects on London.
Nina Robinson reports from two Olympic cities - Beijing who were hosts in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro, who will be hosts in 2016.
Assignment goes inside the fast and furious world of North American ice hockey. Alex Capstick reports.
The gap between the super-rich and the rest has grown sharply around the world. Michael Robinson examines its effects on London.
Karen Bowerman retraces the route of Antarctic explorer Frank Wild - Sir Ernest Shackleton's second-in-command - as Wild's ashes are taken to South Georgia for burial next to Shackleton.
For Assignment Gabriel Gatehouse asks whether the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq should be a model for the Middle East to follow or avoid?
Farayi Mungazi looks at the role of sport in shaping the country's national identity and asks whether sporting success will always be part of Australia's soft power.
Women were at the forefront of the revolution in Egypt. Hanan Razek discovers why many are disappointed and angry at the Egyptian revolution's failures.
Allan Little investigates allegations of NGO inefficiency, political bias and lack of transparency in Haiti. Why, despite the vast effort and resources that flowed after the earthquake two years ago, are people still living in tents without basic amenities?
Farayi Mungazi explores the power of basketball to create a national identity in newly independent South Sudan, as well as give its people a sense of dignity and pride.