The Documentary Podcast

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A bad business Aug 21, 2021

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Twenty years ago, the brash Texan energy company Enron collapsed after its massive fraud was finally exposed. Investors and pension funds worldwide lost billions of dollars. The case was meant to signal a sea-change in the way businesses were policed. How difficult would it be to weave a similar web of financial deceit today? Lesley Curwen travels to the dark side of business to find out whether it is still just as easy to fleece investors – which in the end means us – out of our money.

World of Wisdom: Bereavement and acceptance Aug 21, 2021

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Akinkunmi has lost both his mother and his sister. Dr Shefali Tsabary helps him come to terms with bereavement, and discusses the idea of 'acceptance' and how we can learn from brutal realities.

In a series of intimate one to one conversations presented by the BBC’s Sana Safi ,three spiritual advisers – Sister Dang Nghiem, Dr Shefali Tsabary and Eckhart Tolle offer guidance to members of the public from across the world as they ask for advice and inspiration.

Trying to flee Afghanistan Aug 21, 2021

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As the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan, thousands are attempting to leave the country, fearful for their safety. During the 20-year conflict, some Afghans worked as translators, interpreters and support staff with international armies and foreign organisations. Taliban officials have been keen to allay widespread safety fears but reports suggest the militant group are intensifying their hunt for such residents. Some of those who are afraid managed to immediately relocate to other countries, but many who want to leave find themselves stuck in their homes or their access to the airport prevented. Hosts Karnie Sharp and Nuala McGovern hear from three Afghan interpreters who fear for their lives, as well as military veterans in the US and the UK.

India's living dead Aug 19, 2021

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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 error, the end result for Bihari was to lose his business and all the land he was hoping to inherit. It took him more than two decades to reinstate himself among the living during which time he tried everything from going on hunger strike to kidnapping someone in the hopes that the police would be forced to concede that a dead man could not be arrested. Today, more than a quarter of a century later, Bihari runs the Association for the Living Dead of India through which he says he has helped thousands of people who have fallen victim to the same thing. He tells his extraordinary story to Chloe Hadjimatheou for Assignment.

Production Team in India: Ajit Sarathi; Kinjal Pandya; Piyush Nagpal and Praveen Mudholkar Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Lal Bihari holding a banner for the Association of the Living Dead. Credit: Piyush Nagpal/BBC)

The Fake Paralympians: 1. Gold Aug 17, 2021

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Ex-Paralympic swimmer Dan Pepper investigates the cheats who won gold and left a devastating legacy for learning disability sport.

Ray Torres used to get beaten up every day at school. He stood out because he had a learning disability. But when his dad gave him a basketball, he found an escape and a kind of friend that didn’t hit him or call him names. He took the ball everywhere - even using it as a pillow.

When Spain started an intellectual disability basketball team, Ray was picked as one of the best players in the country and within a few years he was made captain. And when he found out the team had qualified to take part in the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, it was beyond his wildest dreams…

OS Conversations: Afghanistan Aug 16, 2021

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This audio was updated on 16th August.

The Taliban is advancing towards Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as foreign forces prepare to fully withdraw from the country. Thousands of people are being displaced and many more are fearful about what lies ahead. Reporting the news in the country can result in death threats and loss of life, and host Nuala McGovern hears from Afghan journalists who are determined to continue working despite the dangers, including losing colleagues. Two women also share their fears for the future, concerned that their rights will go back two decades, to a time when women were not allowed to work or leave the house without an escort.

World of Wisdom: Self-help for the spirit Aug 13, 2021

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Life presents many personal challenges. Three spiritual advisors – Sister Dang Nghiem, Dr Shefali Tsabary and Eckhart Tolle offer guidance to members of the public from across the world on coping with anxiety, the pressures of parenting and how to learn life-lessons from the pandemic.

What’s Killing Israel’s Arabs? Aug 12, 2021

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Israel’s Arab population is in the grip of a violent and deadly crime wave. Since the start of the year, scores of Arab citizens have lost their lives and increasingly, even women and children are victims of drive-by killings, point-blank shootings and escalating gang warfare. Arabs account for only around one in five of all Israelis, yet they are now the majority of the country’s murder victims. Many say the problem of organised crime has grown out of control within their communities; others argue that the police do little to combat it. Some claim that Israel’s Jewish majority simply does not care. With a new coalition government now in office, which includes an Arab party, the BBC’s Yolande Knell meets victims’ families and those in authority to find out what is going on, and what hope there is for an end to the carnage.

Producers: Quique Kierszenbaum in Israel and Michael Gallagher in London Editor: Bridget Harney

Hiroshima successors Aug 10, 2021

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When photographer Haruka Sakaguchi set out to Hiroshima to document atomic bomb survivors' stories, she discovered they were far more difficult to find than she expected. Stigmatisation and survivor’s guilt discourage many from disclosing their past, and with dwindling survivors left to tell their story, memories of the atomic bomb are fading.

But a new generation has developed an unusual method of keeping those memories alive. Denshosha are the designated guardians of survivors’ memories. They act as storytellers, working with survivors to record their story and pass it down to future generations, embodying the survivor in a deeply personal way, so they do not permanently disappear.

Two smiley faces: Episode six Aug 07, 2021

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In the future, 10 years from now, will our fingers still reach for a laughing face with crying eyes? Will Unicode and its strict approval process for new emoji be relevant at all? Possibly not. We travel to Zimbabwe to hear how some designers are bypassing Silicon Valley by building their own emoji and sticker sets that reflect life in Africa. And we end the series in Shanghai, where we hear how in some parts of Asia, emoji have already been forgotten.

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