The Documentary Podcast

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Bonus: The Conflict Nov 27, 2024

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A bonus episode from The Conflict.

Jonny Dymond brings together a carefully assembled panel of experts, academics and journalists to talk about the conflict in the region. They assess what has happened in history to lead us to this point. And, look at what history can teach us about what might happen next.

Assignment: Afghanistan - our whole life is a secret Nov 26, 2024

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The Taliban edict that women's voices should not be heard aloud renders women up and down Afghanistan inaudible as well as invisible in public. Women are already denied most forms of education and employment. They are not allowed to go outside without a male guardian, and have to be completely covered up, including their faces. Now the new rules say they should be quiet too. Women singing together, or even raising their voices in prayer, is forbidden.

But there's more than one way to be heard.

Our Whole Life is a Secret records the day to day life of 'Leila', a lively, energetic Afghan woman aged 23, doing everything she can to navigate the rules. From behind the walls of her home, Leila reveals her vivid interior world, and that of her female friends and relatives. She and her sisters are the first women in their family to read and write, and before the Taliban returned to power in 2021, she was a university student. Now she teaches in a secret school and is part of a dynamic online learning community. From reading Emily Bronte to working out to Zumba, Leila is determined to keep stay sane and busy.

'Leila' is not her real name and all locations are omitted for safety reasons. Her words are read by Asal Latifi.

In the Studio: Brian Eno Nov 25, 2024

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Legendary musician, composer and producer Brian Eno has turned his attention to the climate crisis. In 2021 he founded the ground-breaking organisation EarthPercent, a charity which aims to raise $100m by 2030. The money - from royalties of partner artists - is being used to reduce the environmental impact of the music industry, as well as restoring nature, advancing policy change and securing "climate justice and fair environmental stewardship." Among the musicians with whom he is currently collaborating are Coldplay, CHVRCHES, Nile Rogers, Anna Calvi, Louis VI and Michael Stipe. A rare honour, listeners are welcomed inside the hallowed soundproofed walls of his London studio, where they experience first-hand the recording methods of his latest project.

Me and my digital twin Nov 24, 2024

Show notes

Ghislaine Boddington aspires to be interconnected with an AI digital companion that advises and supports her, keeps her healthy and represents her around the world. A twin that could live on after her death, or for as long as someone pays the subscription. In practical terms, a digital bio-twin is made up of continuously measured multiple biological signals from your body. These might include your heartbeat, breath, temperature and muscle tension, as well as food intake, exercise and mental health - all fed into an avatar body. By combining AI and, for example, scanning our bodies and faces, cloning our voice and mannerisms, our virtual twin will become more and more like us. In a journey that involves an MRI heart scan, dancing in a Belgium basement and a discussion about digital death, Ghislaine learns how to build her own digital twin.

(Photo: Composite image of Ghislaine Boddington. Credit: Ghislaine Boddington)

The Fifth Floor: How to apologise to a king Nov 23, 2024

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After publicly criticising the Ashanti King, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, journalist Afia Pokua had to apologise following a strict traditional protocol. BBC Africa's Daniel Dadzie explains how royal apologies work in Ghana, and why Afia didn't get a pardon. Plus, how to say 'I'm sorry' in Urdu, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Tajiki - and why some people in Hong Kong feel taxi drivers owe them an apology, with Martin Yip from BBC Chinese.

Produced by Caroline Ferguson, Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

BBC OS Conversations: Smog in Delhi and Lahore Nov 23, 2024

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Imagine waking up in the morning and going outside to discover that the air is so toxic that it makes your eyes water and can make it hard to breathe. This is happening to millions of people in South Asia right now, especially across Lahore in Pakistan and Delhi in India, and it is due to a thick smog that can be seen from space. Residents in both cities discuss the difficulties of trying to go about everyday life while negotiating lockdowns and also trying to get food and continuing to work. Host Mark Lowen also hears from three students aged 13-22 about the impact on their education, as well as their mental and physical health.

Heart and Soul: An African missionary in France Nov 22, 2024

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Father Michel was brought up in a devout family in a devout country. He witnessed the horrors of the Second Congo War but when he was sent to France he was nevertheless shocked to find so much material and spiritual poverty there. His first posting as a missionary was working with young people separated from the parents because of violence, addiction, abuse. Now he has a parish in Alsace, or rather 12 parishes. He tells us about the joys and pains of being an African missionary in Europe. We hear too about his experience of rejection because of his ethnic background. But above all the warm welcome he has received from active Catholics who have become dependent on these “missionaries-in-reverse” from Africa for the practice of their faith.

Amapiano: The sound of South Africa Nov 21, 2024

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South African DJ Legendary Crisp, charts the rise of the homegrown dance music genre Amapiano. She finds out where the hypnotising, jazzy, soulful sound emerged from, what it means culturally, and how it became South Africa's signature music genre of the 2020s. Radio Producer Tim Moorhouse travels to Johannesburg to meet Legendary Crisp and find out about Amapiano's cultural importance. Featuring contributions from Boohle, Josiah De Disciple, Lula Obiba, Madzadza Miya, Nimrod Pitso, Tman Xpress, Felo Le Tee, Chr B, Nkosazana Daughter, Rosey Gold and O.L. Shabba.

In the Studio: David Chipperfield Nov 20, 2024

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David Chipperfield is a world renowned, Pritzker prize-winning architect with major buildings in cities across the globe from Berlin to Beijing. But with a long career behind him he has changed the emphasis and ambition of his practice. Susan Marling joins him in Compostela in Galicia, northern Spain, as he opens a handsome new home for his foundation. The Casa Ria, in a converted health sanitorium in the centre of town, is about looking at architecture differently. It is not about designing and building new buildings, rather it is about improving people’s quality of life. Working in a series of coastal and rural towns north of Compostela David and the team address issues of town planning – to bring public space back into focus, to reconnect communities with the sea and to deal with traffic that pollutes town centres and makes them dangerous.

Life at 50°C: Syria's water wars Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

The autonomous north-east region of Syria, once regarded as one of the most fertile areas in the country, is today struggling to find enough water to survive. More than a million people in Hasakah have been left with almost no drinking water, and what little water they have has to be brought in by tanker. BBC Eye goes to Hasakah to investigate what lies behind this crisis. Namak Khoshnaw hears how, following Turkey’s incursion into the region in 2019, a critical water station is barely functioning, and Turkey has bombed the power station that supplies it along with other infrastructure. Namak talks to local people about their daily struggle to survive and to the engineers and local officials desperately racing against time to find new sources of drinking water.

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