The Documentary Podcast

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Coronavirus Front Line: The search for a vaccine - part two Feb 09, 2021

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The medical teams at Bradford investigate the hesitancy over the Covid-19 vaccine. A team of young ambassadors is recruited to help build trust locally and medical teams follow up with those who appear reluctant for a variety of reasons. Abdul Majeed is one of those doubters, even though his uncle, Nawab Ali, has died from Covid and his father, Abdul Saboor, had been gravely ill in intensive care with Covid-19 for two months.

Coronavirus: Guilty mums Feb 06, 2021

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Many parents are finding it hard to be a teacher and a parent at the same time during this pandemic. Two mums - Priya in India and Mputle in South Africa - share their experiences. Host Nuala McGovern also hears the urgent appeal being sent to medics to help in Portugal’s intensive care units, as the country undergoes a worrying spike in cases. “We need you,” is the message sent to one nurse, who is being drafted into ICU for the first time. Plus, three women in Germany, Australia and the United States come together to explain why the pandemic has led them to sell naked images and videos of themselves online.

Trump impeachment: The Republicans' dilemma Feb 06, 2021

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As Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial approaches, Ros Atkins looks at the decisions that Republicans face over the former US president’s role in the storming of the Capitol and in the future of their party.

Europe’s most dangerous capital Feb 04, 2021

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Bucharest, in Romania, is arguably Europe’s most dangerous capital city. It’s not the crime that’s the problem – it’s the buildings. Many of them don’t comply with basic laws and building regulations. Permits are regularly faked. And yet Bucharest is the most earthquake prone European capital. A serious quake would cause many of the buildings to collapse, with a potential loss of life into the thousands. Some years ago a red dot was put on a number of buildings in the city which were in danger of collapse. Nothing else has happened since. A microcosm of the problem is a type of building called ‘camine de nefamilisti’, or ‘homes for those without families’. These were built during the Ceaucescu era to temporarily house workers brought in from the countryside and people who were still single after university. The single room flats, the size of a prison cell, with a communal shower and toilet on each floor were never meant for families. But after the fall of Communism many of these ‘matchboxes’ ended up in private hands and conditions deteriorated, with whole families moved into spaces designed for a single person. Simona Rata grew up in one of these buildings. For Assignment, she returns to the ‘camine de nefamilisti’ and finds little has changed since her childhood.

Reporter and producer: Simona Rata Assistant editor: John Murphy Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Abandoned building on Calea Mosilor, a busy street in the centre of Bucharest. Credit: Simona Rata/BBC)

Coronavirus Front Line: The search for a vaccine Feb 02, 2021

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Over the last few months the race has been on to create and test a vaccine for Covid -19. Over 200 are in development and some are now licensed and given to protect some of the most vulnerable in society and those caring for them. Winifred Robinson has been alongside medical teams at a UK hospital recording as events unfold. She tracks vaccine development through the trial stages and examines what happens when it comes to eventual distribution.

Compassion fatigue Jan 31, 2021

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Compassion fatigue has long been an issue for people in the medical and humanitarian professions. People often enter those worlds because of a desire to care, and to be compassionate towards others, but often compassion is tested to the limits. What does compassion fatigue mean for both those suffering from emotional burnout, and those on the receiving end? We hear from doctors, humanitarians, and experts who explain why compassion is a finite resource.

Coronavirus: Vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minorities Jan 30, 2021

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Millions of people across the world are currently being vaccinated against Covid-19. Black, Asian and Latino groups have been the hardest hit by the first wave of the pandemic and yet people within these groups are more reluctant to take up the offer of the coronavirus vaccine. Two doctors in the United States and the United Kingdom counteract the misinformation and share their experiences of patients’ vaccine mistrust with host Nuala McGovern.

The exiles: Hong Kong at a crossroads Jan 28, 2021

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Over a year ago, two young men who met over the internet as Hong Kong was gripped by months of pro-democracy protests. They shared a common interest in martial arts and a burning desire to resist China’s tightening grip on their lives. Now in the wake of a sweeping national security law, imposed by Beijing, they need to decide… are they going stay and continue to protest or flee to the United Kingdom, a country offering them a way out. In a move that infuriated China, Britain has introduced a new visa that will give 70% of its former colony’s population – 5.4m people - the right to live in the UK, and eventually become citizens. So what will they decide? Grace Tsoi, Wei Wang and Rebecca Henschke follow their story.

Produced and presented by Rebecca Henschke in London and Grace Tsoi in Hong Kong Sound recordings by Wei Wang Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: A Hong Kong pro-democracy protestor who has decided to flee to the United Kingdom. Credit: BBC/Wei Wang)

Donald Trump and me Jan 26, 2021

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In one of America’s reddest states, Idaho, local Republicans reflect on Donald Trump’s rise to the White House. What were their hopes for the most unconventional president in living history, what was gained over the past four years – and what has now been lost? Presenter Heath Druzin is a reporter with Boise State Public Radio who covers conservative politics, guns and far right movements in the American West. How are the 74 million people who voted for Donald Trump now coming to terms with the fact that the person who championed their vision of America has now been dethroned?

Voices from the Ghetto Jan 24, 2021

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Codenamed Oyneg Shabbat (Joy of the Sabbath), a team of 'researchers' wrote and collected documents detailing life and death inside the ghetto. The secret project was conducted inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War Two. Led by the historian, Emanuel Ringelblum, the archive included surveys on schooling, smuggling, the life of the streets, the bitter jokes, the price of bread. Members of the project gathered posters, songs, newspapers, pamphlets and even tram tickets that together convey the essence of the Ghetto.

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