The Documentary Podcast

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Ukrainian life under Russian occupation Jun 22, 2025

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Currently about a fifth of Ukraine is under Russian occupation. Olga Malchevska of the BBC News team has spoken to 3 people from different cities in this area. She tells us about the threats they face for being Ukrainian and the small acts of resistance they carry out.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Irena Taranyuk. Produced by Caroline Ferguson, Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean. This is an EcoAudio certified production.

(Photo: Irena Taranyuk.)

Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast 2025 Jun 21, 2025

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It’s the 70th anniversary of this unique BBC radio programme aimed at just a few dozen listeners: The team of scientists and support staff isolated at British research stations in the Antarctic midwinter.

Hosted by Cerys Matthews, the show features messages from family and friends at home, music requests from Antarctica and a specially recorded message from His Majesty The King.

For decades this show has been part of the traditional midwinter celebrations and has also been enjoyed by listeners around the world.

Midwinter celebrations at the British research stations include a feast, exchange of presents, watching the 1982 horror film The Thing (where an alien monster terrorises an Antarctic base) and listening - on short wave - to the BBC’s Midwinter Broadcast.

Producers: Martin Redfern and Richard Hollingham

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production

Iranians and Israelis Jun 21, 2025

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Since Israel launched its attack on Iran, targeting the country’s nuclear capabilities, air strikes by both sides have killed and injured people in both countries. We hear from three Iranians living abroad who tell us about their concerns for family and friends in Iran. Two friends – one Israeli and one Iranian – join us to explain their search for common ground. We also bring together Israelis who share their experiences of Iran’s missile and drone attacks, and the rush to the shelters.

Reworking a future: Buddhist revival in Mongolia Jun 20, 2025

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Cambridge anthropologist David Sneath is in Mongolia to find out how Buddhism continues to make a comeback after years of persecution under Communism. David tells the story of how a young Mongolian boy has recently been recognised as the new reincarnation in a lineage of major Buddhist leaders, once known in the country as ‘Holy Emperor’. The 10-year-old boy will, when formally enthroned, be considered the 10th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in a lineage stretching back centuries. The Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (widely known to Mongolians as the “Bogd’) is a leader of the Gelugpa School within the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and the young boy was officially recognised by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan religious leader. David meets the boy’s mother, religious leaders and leading cultural figures to find out what is in store for the young Bogd. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

The copper kingdom Jun 19, 2025

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The world is electrifying, and central to our decarbonisation drive is copper. The red metal is second only to silver as the best conductor of electricity and it is critical in the manufacture of wind turbines, electric cars and solar panels. Reporter Robin Markwell travels through Chile, where the reserves of some of the world’s largest copper mines are starting to dwindle. Can supply keep pace with soaring demand?

What’s Iran’s IRGC? Jun 18, 2025

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The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds force and the Basij militias are back in the news due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. What are they, how do they operate and how have they become so influential? In this episode, we look at the origins, the branding and the ideological blueprint of the Tehran-led influence network that has been shaping events in the Middle East for decades.

This bonus episode of The Documentary, comes to you from the Global Jigsaw, Looking at the world through the lens of its media.

Could your colleague be a North Korean in disguise? Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

Recently several videos from recruiters on LinkedIn have gone viral. The videos appear to show recruiters conducting routine job interviews over a video call, but something is up with the candidates. Their faces are blurred, and they appear to be using some sort of a filter. After some strange interaction with the recruiter, they drop off the call. But these creepy videos are not isolated incidents – many recruiters are reporting that this has happened to them multiple times. Who are these candidates really? We expose the phenomenon of North Korean IT workers applying for remote tech jobs in the US, and how this has become a significant revenue raising scheme for Kim Jong Un’s regime. The FBI believes thousands of North Koreans have made millions of dollars using fake, stolen or borrowed identities to work remotely. And now, there is evidence that the scheme is expanding into Europe. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC Trending in-depth reporting on the world of social media.

The Ketamine trail Jun 17, 2025

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Ketamine was designed as an anaesthetic but its use as a recreational drug is growing fast, particularly among young people. In the UK, it’s doubled in less than ten years but it can cause serious side effects. The supply chain for the drug starts with pharmaceutical manufacturers in India then involves criminal gangs in Europe who use front companies to legally import vast quantities of the drug before flooding it onto the illegal market in the UK. Paul Kenyon investigates the trade.

This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Amoako Boafo: Creating space to celebrate Blackness Jun 16, 2025

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The Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo has attracted global fame for his bold and sensual portraits. He paints bodies and faces using his fingertips instead of a brush, capturing form through direct, tactile gestures. When he went to art school in Vienna, he was struck by the extent to which Black subjects had been overlooked in global art. Determined to change the status quo, he drew inspiration from early 20th Century Viennese artists like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and added his own techniques to invent a fresh new style of portraiture. Lucy Ash follows his preparations for a major new show at Gagosian in London. It involves a transformation of the gallery space into a full-scale recreation of a Ghanaian courtyard – just like the shared space in which he was raised. With the help of his collaborator, Glenn De Roché, an architect famous for community buildings and with an artist friend who produced a set of playing cards, especially for the event. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.

Australia's extinction crisis Jun 15, 2025

Show notes

Roughly a third of all global mammal extinctions in the last 500 years are thought to have occurred in Australia. At least 34 species have gone extinct since European colonisation, and over 2,000 species of mammals, birds and invertebrates are now listed as critically endangered or threatened. Without substantial and rapid change, this list is almost certain to grow. Ruth Evans investigates what can and should be done to prevent further casualties and turn things around.

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