The Documentary Podcast

Alle afleveringen

2.000 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud

1. Heart and Soul: How the Church’s role in Argentina’s dictatorship shook the nation’s faith

   22 maart 2024 · 27 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   Next Year will mark 50 years since the start of a seven-year violent military dictatorship in Argentina. During this period, many who opposed the fascist regime were detained, kidnapped, tortured – and in some cases they disappeared never to be seen again. The Catholic church has always been very powerful in Argentina, and closely linked to the state. While some in the church were victims themselves, the hierarchy of the Church has been accused of playing a role in the dictatorship. At best, it has faced allegations of knowing what was going on and not doing enough to stop it. At worst, it has faced allegations of being actively complicit in some of the abuse the military was perpetrating. A group of mothers and grandmothers during this period set up a campaign to try and find their missing children. The ‘Madres’ and ‘Abuelas’ of Plaza de Mayo movement started on a pilgrimage in 1977, where the women wore the white cloth of their missing children’s diapers on their heads to identify themselves. Today, many of them are still looking for their children, and still identifiable by the white headscarves they wear to campaign each week. In this episode of Heart and Soul, the BBC’s Ione Wells and Jessica Cruz travel to Argentina to speak to some of the victims of the dictatorship. These include people who were kidnapped, detained and in some cases tortured themselves – sometimes in the presence of Church officials. And one of the ‘Madres’, aged 93, who still hopes to find her missing son before she dies. How did this affect their relationship with the Church? And how did witnessing atrocities like this impact their faith? Presenter: Ione Wells Producer: Jessica Cruz / Ione Wells Researcher: Emma Smith Series Producer: Rajeev Gupta Lees meer

2. Assignment: Border Stories, part 2 - Coyotes and Kidnap

   21 maart 2024 · 28 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   Thousands of people every day are on the move across Mexico towards the border with the US. But for migrants, this is one of the most perilous journeys in the world: land routes are dominated by powerful drug cartels and organised crime groups. Lees meer

   In this episode of Border Stories, Linda Pressly hears terrifying stories of kidnap and extortion from those who have risked everything to enter the United States.

   The US/Mexico border has become the most important battleground for Americans in this year’s presidential election, but it seems no one can stop the men with guns who operate with impunity south of the border in Mexico.

3. Bonus: What in the World

   20 maart 2024 · 24 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   The Philippines is one of the most at risk countries in the world from the effects of climate change, with typhoons becoming more severe. At the same time, it has some of the most expensive energy in Southeast Asia. The country currently relies heavily on imported coal. But a recent report by the NGO Climate Analytics found that, by 2050, the Philippines could get its energy entirely from renewable sources. Lees meer

   In this episode Hannah Gelbart is joined by three Filipinos - a journalist, an activist and an engineer - to talk about the future of energy in the Philippines. Jhesset Enano, Mitzi Jonelle Tan and Joshua Miguel Lopez also discuss the importance of protecting indigenous communities, and they share examples of how localised solar panels have helped power rural communities.

   This programme was recorded in Manila, in the Philippines, and is an extended version of the What in the World podcast – a daily podcast which explain what in the world is going on.

   Producers: Mora Morrison and Emily Horler

4. A reckoning with drugs in Oregon

   20 maart 2024 · 27 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   In 2020, the people of Portland, Oregon - a famed city of progressives and counterculture - voted to pass Measure 110, the USA’s boldest drug policy reform yet. It came after years of campaigning, and was aimed at inverting the thinking of the war on drugs. Lees meer

   Measure 110 decriminalised possession of all illicit substances, including heroin, methamphetamine and oxycodone. The campaigners accurately predicted that the new law would ease tensions around racial disparities within policing, but it also coincided with the spread of the deadly and addictive drug fentanyl, and a tidal wave of homelessness.

   Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and is now the drug of choice for nearly all heroin users. It’s also more deadly - activists and the police now regularly carry the opioid-blocking drug Narcan to treat people overdosing on the streets. Homelessness also continues to rise as the cheap and available fentanyl spreads, creating an epidemic on two fronts.

   Local journalist Winston Ross explores the complex issues behind Portland’s fentanyl crisis, speaking across the political divide and to many of those in the eye of the storm.

5. Trapped in Oman

   19 maart 2024 · 27 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   A story of humanity in the face of inhumanity. Lees meer

   It starts with women from Malawi who travel to Oman in the hope of improving their lives. Instead, they find themselves trapped in servitude as domestic workers. BBC Africa Eye has spent months uncovering evidence of physical and sexual abuse through voice notes, videos, and texts. But as reporter Florence Phiri reveals, there’s a network of women working across continents, fighting to try to bring them home.

   Warning: Some people may find details in this story distressing.

   Presenter: Florence Phiri
   Producers: Nicky Milne and Rob Wilson
   Editors: Tom Watson and Rebecca Henschke
   Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar

6. In the Studio: Colm Tóibín

   18 maart 2024 · 24 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   Irish author Colm Tóibín is among the world’s most celebrated contemporary writers. His works includes novels such as Nora Webster and The Blackwater Lightship, but also journalism, criticism, drama and more. His book Brooklyn was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Saoirse Ronan, and his writing has been translated into over 30 languages. Alongside the release of his debut collection of poems, Vinegar Hill, Colm gives fellow Irish writer Helen Cullen an insight into how he works, taking her through his writing process, how he gathers his ideas and his approach to refining his work. Lees meer

7. Bonus: The Global Story

   17 maart 2024 · 25 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Panama Canal: It's running dry and it's going to cost us. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Lees meer

8. BBC OS Conversations: Haiti gangs and stray bullets

   16 maart 2024 · 24 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   Haiti is facing its most most acute humanitarian crisis for more than a decade. There’s been a surge in violence with armed gangs in control of most of the capital. The prime minister has resigned, there’s a month long state of emergency and a curfew has been extended. The gangs have destroyed police buildings and, after storming a prison in the capital Port-au-Prince, thousands of escaped prisoners are back on the streets. Hosted by Lukwesa Burak and Luke Jones, they hear from Haitians caught up in this latest violence Lees meer

9. Heart and Soul: Not even water?

   15 maart 2024 · 28 min

   Beluister deze aflevering
   They are the top questions asked to anyone who is fasting for Ramadan: no food or water? But what is Ramadan? Why Fast? And how do young Muslims manage Ramadan in their respective lives and work? Former teacher turned journalist Mehreen Baig goes in search of the answers by speaking to Muslims from different cultural backgrounds. She explores all aspects of fasting like abstaining from food, sex, music and of course…water. Lees meer

   this edition was first published in 2022

10. Assignment: Border Stories, part one - Zero Tolerance

    14 maart 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    In 2018 the US government under President Trump introduced a policy of “Zero Tolerance” at its border with Mexico. Anyone attempting to enter the US without documentation would be prosecuted, even if it was a first offence. If they were travelling with children, their children would be taken from them. The policy was cancelled within weeks but not before thousands of families had been separated. Six years on, several hundred are still to be reunited. Lees meer

    Migration is perhaps the most important battleground in this year’s presidential election. Both President Biden and his challenger, Donald Trump, have made recent visits to the border. And Zero Tolerance still resonates.

    Linda Pressly hears about the pain of separation as experienced by a man from Guatemala; speaks to the people still trying to put families back together; and asks if a new administration might turn again to Zero Tolerance in an attempt to deter would-be migrants to the United States.

11. Running out of sand

    13 maart 2024 · 50 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    It is hard to believe but the world is running out of sand. Our insatiable appetite for the substance that makes everything from skyscrapers to smartphones has led to environmental destruction in countries like Cambodia, where there has been a long history of illegal sand mining along the Mekong river. We are in the rapidly developing city of Phnom Penh to hear from the people whose lives and livelihoods have been threatened by the struggle for sand. Those who have fished the river for decades are finding that their nets are empty as the sand miners move in. People living alongside the Mekong have seen their houses crumble into the water as the riverbanks collapse. Lees meer

12. Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary

    12 maart 2024 · 42 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    A bonus episode from Lives Less Ordinary podcast. Miracle on the ocean floor. Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger and wondered, "What’s their story?" Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary stories from around the world. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/liveslessordinary or search for Live Less Ordinary wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Lees meer

    Producers: Eric Mugaju and Harry Graham

13. In the Studio: Peter Beatty

    11 maart 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    In 2021, with UK Covid restrictions putting plans for his creative collaborations on hold, British artist and musician Peter Beatty decided to take the plunge into animation. He wanted to create an animated film as a music video to accompany a song he had written called Tell Me Where to Go. To make things extra interesting (and complicated!) he decided to shun modern digital approaches and instead to build a multiplane camera – a meticulous, painstaking system for stop-motion animation invented by Disney Studios in the 1930s and now rarely used. He then set to work animating with his film-making/photographer friend Joseph Boyle. Neither had made a stop motion animation before, but their final film has won seven international awards - and counting! Lees meer

14. Bonus: The Global Story

    10 maart 2024 · 23 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Why young people are having less sex. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Lees meer

15. BBC OS Conversations: The cost of living crisis in Nigeria

    9 maart 2024 · 24 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Nigeria is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation. Over the past year the price of the staple food, rice, has more than doubled and a litre of petrol now costs more than three times what it did. Host Kupra Padhy hears what this means for people trying to make a living, feed their family or run a business. We bring together two women who run food businesses in the country. Onimba, a chef in Port Harcourt, tells us how on a recent visit to the market the price of a bag of sugar had doubled overnight. Plus, three health workers tell us how rising prices are not only having a direct effect on their families, but also their patients. Lees meer

16. Heart and Soul: I joined the Taliban after they kept me hostage

    8 maart 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Bara’atu Ibrahim speaks to Jibra’il Omar, formerly Timothy Weeks; an Australian educator who was held captive for three years in Afghanistan by the Taliban. However Jibra’il Omar made news six years ago, after he converted to Islam whilst in captivity and astonishingly became a full-fledged member of the Taliban after his release. For some months, Bara’atu built up a relationship with Jibra’il over a messaging service whilst he was in Kabul. She spoke to him on two occasions, where he shared his story and gives the reasons of why he decided it was right for him to become a Muslim and moreover celebrate with his captors once they came back into power.
    This podcast has been edited since it was originally published. Lees meer

17. Assignment: Educating Tibet

    7 maart 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Schools in Tibet are changing - and not for the better, say activists. Micky Bristow investigates China’s educational reforms: children as young as four separated from their families and forced into boarding schools, it’s claimed, learning in Chinese, not Tibetan. Is this an attempt at social engineering to undermine Tibetan culture, or is it, as China claims, a bold effort to bring progress to an underdeveloped region? Lees meer

18. Diving With a Purpose

    6 maart 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Diving With a Purpose is a collective of Black scuba divers who search for long-lost slave wrecks. They are on a mission to raise the silent voices of the captive Africans who went down with those vessels and bring them back into our collective memory. We join their youth diving program - YDWP - in Biscayne National Park, Florida Keys, as they head out onto the ocean in search of the Guerrero. The Guerrero was a pirate ship being chased by a British ship HMS Nimble when it ran aground in 1827. It had 561 captive Africans on board, of which 41 drowned. Lees meer

19. Trending - The anti-vax candidate?

    6 maart 2024 · 20 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    How is Robert F Kennedy’s long record of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation impacting on his bid to be elected US President in 2024?
    In 2024 yet another Kennedy is making a bid for the White House. Robert F Kennedy Jr - nephew of the late President John F Kennedy - is enjoying strong polling numbers for an independent candidate. He’s running on a platform of promising to take on powerful vested interests to create a better life for the average American.
    But away from his Camelot-infused stump speeches, he is facing questions about his long and controversial record of spreading misinformation about the safety of vaccines.
    In this episode, the BBC’s Health and Disinformation Reporter Rachel Schraer investigates how Kennedy is building a base from across the political spectrum, in spite of, or because of, his views on public health policy. Lees meer

20. Tumaini

    5 maart 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Tumaini (‘hope’ in Swahili) Festival is a unique refugee-led celebration of music, culture and solidarity in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi. Founded by Tresor Mpauni, who lived in the camp after being forced to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo, it uses arts and culture to build connections between refugees and the host community in Malawi. Each year it welcomes musicians and artists from all over Africa, and hosts guests from all over the world within the camp; providing a space to celebrate the artistic skills and organisational talents of an increasingly marginalised refugee community. Against considerable odds, they’ve created the largest festival in Malawi with over 50,000 people attending and over 115 artists performing in 2023. It is the refugee camp’s largest source of commercial income. Lees meer

21. In the Studio: Ghawgha

    4 maart 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Ghawgha is a singer-songwriter originally from Afghanistan. Growing up between Afghanistan and Iran, she now lives in Norway, as part of ICORN programme - a residency for artists at risk. However, the situation facing women and minorities in her native country still run deep in her music and her songs reflect the current situation in Afghanistan under a second Taliban rule. Ghawgha’s single of 2019, I Kiss You Amid the Taliban, celebrated the hard-gained freedoms of the new generation in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in 2021. Kawoon Khamoosh follows Ghawgha as she works on and records her new album called Qaf. Qaf refers to a mysterious mountain that exists in legends where the mythological bird Simurgh had her nest and Ghawgha has been working with both poets from Afghanistan, as well as writing her own lyrics. Lees meer

22. Bonus: The Global Story

    3 maart 2024 · 26 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Are you ever too old to have a baby?. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Lees meer

23. BBC OS Conversations: Beyoncé and the changing face of country music

    2 maart 2024 · 23 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    The latest Beyoncé song, Texas Hold ‘Em, has topped the charts in the US and UK. More significantly, however, this is the first time a black woman has gone to No. 1 in the US country music charts, provoking several talking points about diversity within the country music genre. Host James Reynolds brings together three African American women in country music, including musician Rissi Palmer who first reached the country charts in 2007 and has had several hits since. And, three people involved in country music on three continents, in Argentina, Nigeria and Sweden, tell James about their love for country. Lees meer

24. Heart and Soul: The new iconographers

    1 maart 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Dr Irena Bradley and Kelly Latimore are both iconographers taking the ancient tradition of iconography into the 21st Century. Both interpret their icons very differently. Irena is more traditional in her approach - creating an icon is an act of worship and to bring in the faithful who look at them in the presence of God. However Kelly’s approach maybe considered more modern, painting images that reflect modern day social injustices within biblical settings. Nastaran Tavakoli-Far hears from both of them. What drives them to do what they do and do they see their work as inspired by god? She brings them together to hear how they relate to and interpret one another’s work. Lees meer

25. Assignment: Botswana - living with elephants

    29 februari 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    The battle to keep the peace between people and elephants in northern Botswana.
    The earth’s largest land mammal, the elephant, is an endangered species. Poaching, habitat loss and disease have decimated elephant populations. But not in Botswana, which has the world’s biggest population of elephants. In the north of the country, in the area around the remarkable Okavango Delta (the world’s largest inland delta), elephant numbers are growing and they outnumber people. This can pose serious problems for the human population, particularly local subsistence farmers. A crop raid by elephants can destroy a family’s annual food supply overnight. Elephants also pose a risk to life in their daily commute between their feeding grounds and their water sources.
    John Murphy travels to the top of the Okavango Delta, to see what efforts are being made to keep both people and elephants safe, and to persuade locals that these giant animals are an asset not a liability. He also explores threats from further afield to this green jewel in the desert, the Okavango Delta, which animals and people alike depend on. Lees meer

26. Trending - The disinformation war in the Middle East

    28 februari 2024 · 20 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    "A flood of disinformation has erupted across social media in the online propaganda battle that’s being waged alongside the physical conflict between Israel and Hamas. Lees meer

    Everything from video game clips falsely presented as genuine combat footage, to the outright denial of civilian deaths, have been deployed to try to skew the online narrative and warp public perceptions.

    BBC Verify’s Olga Robinson and Shayan Sardarizadeh examine the trends in this alternative war over the Middle East with the help of Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, the independent investigative organisation."

27. Storm over a teacup

    27 februari 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    In the mountainous east of Nepal many communities are dependent on tea. The nitrogen-rich soil of the high-elevation estates allow tea bushes to produce a unique flavour, but the picking has to be done by hand. Phanindra Dahal talks to farmers, factory managers, tea estate supervisors and leaders in the business to find out how this small nation is looking to compete globally and the challenges they are up against. One challenge is a complex relationship with its neighbour, India. Lees meer

28. In the Studio: Claudia Piñeiro

    26 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Claudia Piñeiro is a multi-award winning novelist, with many of her books being adapted for television. She's one of Argentina's most translated writers, as well as being a popular screenwriter and playwright. The BBC's Andrea Kidd joins Claudia in her apartment in Buenos Aires, as she works on her latest, as yet, untitled novel. It follows the story of two step-sisters, one a radio journalist, the other an escort, both unaware of the other's existence, until a dramatic incident brings their lives together. But was it an accident or something more sinister? Lees meer

29. Bonus: The Global Story

    25 februari 2024 · 26 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Is #Me Too finally exploding in French cinema?. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Lees meer

30. Bonus: Hardtalk - Defying Putin

    24 februari 2024 · 24 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin. Lees meer

31. BBC OS Conversations: Ukraine war babies and returning home

    24 februari 2024 · 24 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    It is two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, left millions of Ukrainians as refugees, and wrought much destruction. When your home is invaded and everything is shattered and turned upside down, what happens to your life? Host James Reynolds hears from three women in Ukraine who, despite the dangers of war, chose to have a baby. At the start of the war, millions of women and children escaped to safety abroad. With the passing of time, some have decided to return. Three of those women come together to discuss their decisions to go back home. Lees meer

32. Three Million: 5. Ghosts

    23 februari 2024 · 29 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    The Bengal Famine, particularly the experiences of people in the rural areas who suffered the most, is not well remembered today. There is no memorial, museum, or plaque to the victims or survivors anywhere in the world. Lees meer

    One man has made it his life’s work to record their testimonies with paper and pen. Kavita hears from him, and tries to understand more about why the three million people who perished aren’t better remembered or memorialised in India, Bangladesh and Britain.

    Presenter: Kavita Puri
    Series producer: Ant Adeane
    Editor: Emma Rippon
    Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
    Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
    Original music: Felix Taylor

    With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee and Professor Joya Chatterji

33. Three Million: 4. The tapes

    23 februari 2024 · 31 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Kavita Puri discovers a set of cassette tapes containing rare interviews with Indian civil servants who were on the ground across Bengal during the famine, shedding new light on colonial responsibility. Lees meer

    And as the need for relief in Bengal becomes ever greater, more pressure is put on the British government from India’s new Viceroy. He asks for more food imports. Could the War Cabinet and Prime Minister Winston Churchill have done more to help alleviate the famine in the middle of the war?

    Presenter: Kavita Puri
    Series producer: Ant Adeane
    Editor: Emma Rippon
    Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
    Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
    Original music: Felix Taylor

    With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee and Professor Joya Chatterji

    Interviews conducted by Lance Brennan courtesy of University of Cambridge

    Interviews with GS Khosla courtesy of University of Cambridge

34. Three Million: 3. The f-word

    23 februari 2024 · 30 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Colonial authorities wanted to censor the famine. They were worried that Britain’s wartime enemies - the Germans and the Japanese - would use it as propaganda against them. Lees meer

    But as more and more starving people arrive in cities across Bengal, it becomes harder to suppress. Indian writers, photographers and artists document the humanitarian catastrophe, but it was risky, as the censor forbade mention of the famine. A British journalist and editor of the English language Statesman newspaper, in Calcutta, decides to challenge the censor and begins publishing photographs and scathing editorials about what was really going on in Bengal. It shocks the world. In London, the BBC reports on “famine conditions” and, as we uncover, the British government tries to pressurise the broadcaster to tone down its coverage.

    Presenter: Kavita Puri
    Series producer: Ant Adeane
    Editor: Emma Rippon
    Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
    Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
    Original music: Felix Taylor

    With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta

35. Three Million: 2. The cigarette tin

    23 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    A boy decides how much rice he can give from a cigarette tin to hungry people. A Christian missionary sets up a makeshift relief hospital. A small child watches through the gates of his house in Calcutta as emaciated women clutching children ask for food. Lees meer

    As the food crisis deepens, shocking testimonies from the countryside show the extent of starvation. Many thousands of hungry people begin moving from the rural areas towards the cities.

    Indians - including children - are forced into life-or-death decisions.

    Presenter: Kavita Puri
    Series producer: Ant Adeane
    Editor: Emma Rippon
    Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
    Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
    Original music: Felix Taylor

    With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.

    Interview with Alan McLeod courtesy of the University of Cambridge

36. Three Million: 1. War

    23 februari 2024 · 29 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    During the Second World War, at least three million Indian people, who were British subjects, died in the Bengal Famine. It was one of the largest losses of civilian life on the Allied side. But there is no memorial to them anywhere in the world - not even a plaque. Can three million people disappear from public memory? Lees meer

    From the creator and presenter of the award-winning series Three Pounds in my Pocket and Partition Voices, this is the story of the Bengal Famine of 1943. For the first time it is told by those who were there - farmers and fishermen, artists and writers, colonial British and everyday citizens. Nearly all of the testimony in the series has never been broadcast before.

    Eighty years on, those who lived through it are a vanishing generation. Time is running out to record their memories.

    We begin in 1942. As the Japanese sweep through South East Asia, Calcutta (now Kolkata) is inundated with hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers from all over the world. Fear of a Japanese invasion of British India provokes a consequential decision.

    Presenter: Kavita Puri
    Series producer: Ant Adeane
    Editor: Emma Rippon
    Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
    Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
    Original music: Felix Taylor

    With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.

    Interviews with American soldiers courtesy of The National World War II Museum, New Orleans: nationalww2museum.org/

    Interviews with G S Khosla and Debotosh Das Gupta courtesy of the University of Cambridge

    Major General Dharitri Kumar Palit interviewed by Gillian Wright, 1987, British Library reference C63/195/09. Audio © British Library Board and the interviewee. The British Library has been unable to locate the family of the interviewee. Please contact oralhistory@bl.uk with any relevant information.

37. Heart and Soul: Ladino - Saving Greece’s ancient Jewish language

    23 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    For centuries, the Judaeo-Spanish language of Ladino was spoken in the vibrant streets of Thessaloniki. But today, it is a language on the verge of fading away, its echoes becoming fainter with each passing generation. Journalist and language enthusiast Sophia Smith Galer heads to the city to find out what happened to Ladino, and where its traces may still be found today - hearing from the teachers, community members and even singers who do not want Greece to forget one of their linguistic jewels. Lees meer

38. Assignment: Pakistan - journalists under fire

    22 februari 2024 · 26 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Journalists in Pakistan say they’re under threat of abduction and even of being killed if they criticise the state authorities. Whoever is in power, legal action against journalists who’ve spoken out against the authorities is nothing new. Press freedom campaigners say that in 12 months 140 journalists were threatened or attacked with some saying that democracy itself is under attack. For Assignment Mobeen Azhar hears the allegations made by those who say they’ve been targeted to shut them up - allegations which the authorities deny. Lees meer

    Archive: AAJ News, May 2023 GNN, February 2023, Naya Daur February 2022, GEO TV October 2022

39. Trending: The new fight for land rights

    21 februari 2024 · 18 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    In Malaysian Borneo, indigenous people have struggled for land rights against companies and the state. Using new mapping technology, communities in Borneo’s rainforests are racing to prove their claims. We explore how technology and social media are being used and misused to shift the balance of power. Lees meer

40. Two Years of War: Voices from Russia

    20 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    As the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Oleg Boldyrev reports on how ordinary Russians are dealing with life in a country at war with its close neighbour. Are there new economic and social challenges, and what do we know of attitudes to the invasion? We talk to Russians across the country to gauge the mood. Lees meer

    Photo by ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (14329432c)
    People stand at a bus stop near an image depicting St. Isaac's Cathedral (back) on a sunny day in St. Petersburg, Russia, 02 February 2024. Temperatures in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, reached minus two degrees Celsius on the day.

41. In the Studio: Vik Muniz

    19 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Vik Muniz says he owes his artistic career to being shot as a young man, not because he had an epiphany about the meaning of his life, but because he won enough compensation from the accident to move to New York and kick-start his career in the art world. He is now probably one of Brazil’s most successful visual artists and his pieces can range from tiny specs that are photographed by microscopes to giant landscapes captured from helicopters. He is known for working with unconventional materials; some of his most famous works have been created out of sugar, chocolate and a plate of left over spaghetti. Andrea Kennedy went to New York to meet him as he prepared for an exhibition full of illusions. Lees meer

42. World Wide Waves '24

    18 februari 2024 · 50 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Radio can be a lifeline for women: a place to speak out in safety; a place to find their voices. We hear from women taking to the air and making waves in the cracks left by the Taliban in Afghanistan; in Fiji's scattered archipelago threatened by climate change; in the migrant farmworker community of the Yakima Valley in North America's Pacific north-west; and in the Ecuadorean Amazon, where indigenous women are coming together to save their land from pollution and destruction by oil companies. Lees meer

43. Bonus: The Global Jigsaw - Does Russia’s election matter?

    17 februari 2024 · 36 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Putin’s re-election is certain, but there is still a lot at stake for the Kremlin. We look into the efforts aimed at achieving unequivocal victory in what seems to be the most oppressive election in Russia for two decades. What are the stories state media can and cannot touch, how much of a headache does dissent from the mothers and wives of soldiers pose to the authorities and does Putin really have body doubles? We have the answers. Lees meer

    Producer: Kriszta Satori
    Presenter: Krassi Twigg
    Editor: Judy King
    Twitter handle of contributors: @VitalyBBC, @jen_mon1, @oivshina
    Original music: Pete Cunningham
    Sound engineer: Martin Appleby

44. BBC OS Conversations: The earthquake in Turkey and Syria – one year on

    17 februari 2024 · 24 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    When we first reported on the earthquake in February 2023, the scale was overwhelming. We heard from families who had escaped as buildings around them collapsed and rescue workers described the devastation as the worst they had ever seen. Each day the casualty figures mounted. It is now thought that at least 55,000 people died. Lees meer

    A year on, we have been catching-up with survivors to hear how their lives have changed. One family – Iman, Karim and their 7-year-old daughter Nada – had fled from the war in Syria to have a new life in Turkey. They lost family, friends and their home in the earthquake.

    When host James Reynolds called the family up in the last few days, they told him they were doing much better. Young Nada, however, is still having nightmares about the floor shaking and people she has lost.

    “I have a dream about my friend Iman, she died from the earthquake,” Nada tells James. “I’m so sad about her, and I have a friend who moved to Canada – I miss her so much.”

    We also hear messages from BBC listeners in Turkey and reunite with Harun, an English teacher in southern Turkey, and Bilal who is living in the east of the country and had his business destroyed last year.

    A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

45. Bonus: HARDtalk - Alexey Navalny: The interview

    16 februari 2024 · 25 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin. Lees meer

46. Heart and Soul: The killer's counsel

    16 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Doctor Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist working with the UK’s most violent offenders, many of them serving life sentences at Broadmoor Prison for murder. Gwen believes that empathy starts with a recognition that there is a capacity for evil in all of us. She believes that for her patients, “no matter what their history”, therapeutic treatment works. She speaks to the writer and convicted murderer Erwin James. Together they reflect on Erwin’s life story and how he came to commit the crime he did. Erwin asks Gwen about her relationship with Christianity and how it has supported her in her work. Lees meer

47. Assignment: Tempting fate - Istanbul's earthquake dilemma

    15 februari 2024 · 28 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Millions of residents living in Istanbul face the dilemma of whether or not to find out if the buildings where they live are resilient to earthquakes. Many cannot afford to do anything about it even if they are unsafe. A year on from the earthquakes in south-east Turkey that killed over 53,000 people, it is clear poorly built homes, hospitals and hotels that collapsed within seconds contributed to the high death toll. There are warnings that a similar fate awaits Istanbul, where scientists predict a major earthquake could strike any day now. Emily Wither looks at the challenges facing Istanbul and discovers a story of politics, poor urban planning and a struggle to find safe housing. Lees meer

48. Trending: The Mexican mayor and a deepfake scandal

    14 februari 2024 · 19 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    When an audio recording alleged to be from the Mayor of one of the world's largest cities started circulating online, reality was called into question. Mexico City's mayor, claimed the clip- which sounded like he was discussing a campaign against a political candidate- was AI generated. Others are convinced the audio is real. In this episode of Trending’s Power season, Jack Goodman and Laura García go on the hunt for answers. Using the latest AI detection tools, they explore the possibilities and limitations of verifying such content, and question how disinformation may shape Mexico's general election in June. Could AI disrupt elections around the world? Lees meer

49. Reporting Greece

    13 februari 2024 · 27 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Greece is the birthplace of democracy. But how free is Greece’s media? Nikos Papanikolaou travels to his home town, Athens, to speak to journalists who have had their phones hacked by an advanced new spyware, been sued for defamation, and been under surveillance by the Greek national intelligence agency. In the south of the city he visits the widow of the an investigative journalist – murdered just outside their family home. Nikos also hears from Members of the European Parliament – those who want the EU to withhold funds until Greece improves the position for journalists – and those outraged by the idea that Greece does not already have a free media. Lees meer

    Presented by Nikos Papanikolaou Produced by Giles Edwards.

    This podcast was edited after it was published

50. In the Studio: Jon Foreman

    12 februari 2024 · 29 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Jon Foreman is a land artist. He creates work in natural spaces using natural materials like stones, sand, leaves and driftwood. Known for his mesmerising sculptures that harmonise with nature, Jon’s work has captured the imagination of art enthusiasts worldwide. His artwork may last as little as 10 minutes before the sea washes it away, but his sculptures are not meant to last; his art is a testament to the beauty found in the ephemeral moment. From the ancient tools he uses to create his sculptures to the modern technology he employs to capture it, we follow Jon's creative process as he takes us to his favourite location to work - the pristine beach of Lindsway Bay on the Pembrokeshire coast, west Wales. Lees meer