The Documentary Podcast

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Zimbabwe's worker exodus Aug 17, 2023

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Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans are fleeing their country, looking for work in the West, especially in the United Kingdom.

Last year Zimbabwe was the third largest source of foreign workers for the UK, behind India and Nigeria, and ahead of the Philippines and Pakistan, which have much larger populations.

A popular social media post reads: “the Zimbabwean dream is to leave Zimbabwe.”

Many of those leaving their country are highly qualified. They’re taking jobs in the British care sector, where there is a huge shortage of workers. They send much of what they earn back to their families in Zimbabwe. For those back home it’s often the only way to survive in a country with hyper-inflation.

Zimbabwe is about to go to the polls but few expect things to change. The economy is in dire straits and the opposition hasn’t been allowed to campaign freely. Some activists have been imprisoned or even killed. The ruling ZANU PF party, which has been in power since independence in 1980, shows little sign of losing control.

Earlier this year the UK gave Zimbabwean teachers “Qualified Teacher” status, allowing them to work long-term in the UK. Zimbabwean parents fear their children’s teachers will be the next to leave.

Zimbabwe’s latest skills exodus could break the country’s healthcare and education systems, which are already crumbling after decades of under-investment and corruption. For Assignment, Charlotte Ashton hears from Zimbabweans who’ve left, Zimbabweans who want to leave and Zimbabweans who say they can only dream of leaving.

Presenter: Charlotte Ashton Producer: John Murphy

(Image: A well-used five US dollar note in Zimbabwe. Credit: KB Mpofu)

Directing disability Aug 16, 2023

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In the 15 years that Jordan Hogg has been a TV director, he has never worked with another disabled director. Whilst 18% of the population has a disability, this is not represented in many industries, but Jordan is attempting to change this in TV and Film. Jordan, who has cerebral palsy, speaks to those who are challenging and changing the industry from within. Alongside him is TV Producer (and close friend) Jules Hussey. They speak to Academy award-winning actors James Martin and Rachel Shenton, hear the impact their award wins have had on the communities they were representing and discuss the changes that they believe have the biggest positive effects on inclusivity in Film and TV.

Did big tech know I was gay before I did? Aug 15, 2023

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Journalist Ellie House is bisexual. But before she had even realised that, it felt like big tech had already worked it out, with sites like Netflix and TikTok regularly recommending her LGBTQ content. Years later, Ellie goes on a quest to understand how the powerful recommendations systems that big tech companies use really work. She reconstructs her digital fingerprint, and hears from LGBTQ people around the world who are conflicted about the risks and rewards of being queer online.

In the Studio: Christopher and Tammy Kane Aug 14, 2023

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Fashion designers and brother and sister duo, Christopher and Tammy Kane have been trendsetters in the fashion world since 2006. They’ve dressed celebrities and world leaders, blending a playful, sexy aesthetic with working-class realism. Now they're launching a brand-new club night in London, the More Joy Disco. But how does their upbringing in a small Scottish village inform the glitz and glamour of their event? And why is joy such a motivating factor for the pair?

The Engineers: Lunar exploration Aug 13, 2023

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Humans are returning to the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The multi-national mission is called Artemis and involves the most powerful rocket and capable spacecraft ever built, a space station in lunar orbit, and a permanent moon-base on the surface. At a special event at the Royal Geographical Society in London, Dr Kevin Fong speaks to three of the world-leading engineers who are making this possible: Howard Hu, Orion programme manager at Nasa, Sara Pastor, chief engineer at the ESA Ihab Gateway, Libby Jackson, head of exploration at the UK Space Agency.

BBC OS Conversations: Football in Saudi-Arabia Aug 12, 2023

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A new season of the Saudi Pro League is underway, now featuring some of the biggest names in football. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, among many others, have all signed-up to play in the country. It has shaken up the transfer window but it is not without its controversy. Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who signed for a Saudi club for example, was a vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights. But in Saudi Arabia, sexual activity with people of the same sex is illegal and can be punishable by death. Henderson’s rainbow armbands have been edited to grey in recent promotional videos. Host James Reynolds hears from three international football fans, Cassie, Alex and Evan.

Heart and Soul: Moscow vicar returns home Aug 11, 2023

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The Rev Malcolm Rogers has been in charge of the most extraordinary church.  St Andrews looks like an ordinary British Victorian church, but amazingly it’s just ten minutes from the heart of power in Russia, the Kremlin.   His flock includes local Russian people but also many English speaking ex-pats and members of Moscow's international community. This would have been an unusual posting at any time, but he’s been there during a remarkable period. It included the diplomatic dispute over the Salisbury poisonings, the Football World Cup staged in Russia, the Covid Pandemic and now the war in Ukraine.  It has put him in a sensitive situation at times, but it has also helped him to understand how the world is seen through Russian eyes.

When Wagner came home Aug 10, 2023

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Tens of thousands of Russian criminals – murders, rapists, robbers – were recruited from prisons by the mercenary group, Wagner, to fight in Ukraine. Now, after six months on the battlefield, the survivors have returned home, with official pardons. Many served only a fraction of their original sentences. And now, they're officially treated as heroes - protected by a new law which criminalises discreditation of anyone who fights on the Russian side in the war.

Already, some returnees are reported to have committed further serious crimes. One has confessed to the brutal axe-murder of his 85-year-old former landlady. In another case, an ex-convict believed to have served with Wagner has been charged with masterminding the killing of two children's entertainers, one of them a 19-year-old woman who was training to be a teacher. The murders in southern Russia provoked an outpouring of anger and grief, with thousands signing a petition demanding that the alleged ringleader - who denies any guilt - should get a life sentence if he is eventually convicted. But they know any punishment will probably be less severe, because the criminal records of former Wagner mercenaries have been wiped. They start their lives again from a clean slate, and if they re-offend, no previous convictions can be considered.

Reporter Arseny Sokolov talks to the mother of the murdered entertainer, to campaigners for prison reform - and to an ex-convict who fought for Wagner - to investigate what threat the returned mercenaries pose in their home towns and villages - and to assess the damage "legal nihilism" is doing to Russian society.

Producer: Tim Whewell Editor: Penny Murphy

(Image: A poster showing Wagner Group servicemen with a slogan reading “Join the winning team” in St. Petersburg, Russia, 24 June 2023. Credit: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Female founders: Green tech in the blue economy Aug 09, 2023

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Subsistence fishing employs hundreds of millions of people around the world. It’s an enormous business worth trillions of dollars. It’s also a dirty business. High-cost diesel motors and expensive, inefficient lights consume huge amounts of fossil fuels, leaving a considerable carbon footprint. But these lights are essential. Venturing out onto the high seas in a small boat is always dangerous, but night fishing is absolutely treacherous, so although good lighting saves lives, it also requires a lot of power. We follow the female scientists who are developing solar tech to help fisherfolk in South East Asia reduce their impact on the environment, improve their health and put money back in their pockets.

Inside Afghanistan's secret schools Aug 08, 2023

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In March 2022, seven months after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, second level education was banned for girls, leaving around 1.1 million of them without access to formal schooling. Then in December that year, all female students were refused access to universities and colleges. But across the country, Afghan women and girls are fighting back, and defying the Taliban government by continuing their education in secret. Founded and, for the most part, staffed by women, secret schools have started to emerge from the shadows, offering online and in-person classes to those brave enough to attend. BBC Afghan broadcast journalist, Sana Safi, takes us inside two such secret schools, and into the hearts and minds of those who, despite the risks, refuse to be denied an education. (Photo: A classroom with students. Credit: Getty Images)

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