2,000 episodes

Original BBC documentary storytelling, bringing award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and “unputdownable” audio. New episodes every week from The Documentary, Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, BBC OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

The Documentary Podcast BBC World Service

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.3 • 1K Ratings

Original BBC documentary storytelling, bringing award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and “unputdownable” audio. New episodes every week from The Documentary, Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, BBC OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

    Assignment: Armenia's lost garden

    Assignment: Armenia's lost garden

    For three decades Armenians ruled Karabakh – literally “Black Garden” – an unrecognised statelet inside neighbouring Azerbaijan. Many saw it as the cradle of their civilisation. But as Azerbaijan retook control last autumn, the entire population fled in just a few days. It was a historic catastrophe for Armenia. But the world barely noticed. How is Armenia coping with its loss? Can 100,000 refugees rebuild their lives? And will the cycle of hatred that caused the conflict ever be broken? Grigor Atanesian reports.

    • 27 min
    In the Studio: David Haig and Max Webster

    In the Studio: David Haig and Max Webster

    Philip K. Dick's novella The Minority Report was famously adapted into a science fiction blockbuster by director Steven Spielberg in 2002. More than 20 years later, it is now being adapted for the stage by writer David Haig and director Max Webster. Mark Burman goes behind the scenes of this bold adaptation, as the clock ticks down to opening night.

    • 26 min
    Bonus: What in the World: South Korea’s shamans are now online

    Bonus: What in the World: South Korea’s shamans are now online

    A bonus episode from the What in the World podcast.
    Korean shamans hold significant cultural importance in Korean society. They are often portrayed in Korean dramas and films, adorned in shiny and colourful traditional attire, dancing on sharp knives, summoning spirits, and banishing demons. They offer fortune telling services and perform rituals to help people with their personal issues.
    In South Korean media, shamans are often portrayed as deceitful characters who misuse their status to manipulate people and profit from others… but that negative image is slowly changing as young shamans are modernising their approach. They now have shrines in the busy centre of Seoul and they've become big on social media, even offering consultations online. BBC journalist Soo Min Kim has been speaking to shamans and their customers about why people go to see them and how social media is making them more accessible.
    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
    WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
    Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
    Presenter: Hannah Gelbart with Soo Min Kim
    Producers: Emily Horler and Adam Chowdhury
    Editor: Julia Ross-Roy

    • 15 min
    The Fifth Floor: My emergency kit list

    The Fifth Floor: My emergency kit list

    How do you prepare for the worst-case scenario? Juna Moon has been talking to young people in South Korea about how they perceive the threat of war in the region and how they’re planning for it. Growing up in Taiwan after the 1999 Jiji earthquake, Joy Chang has been trained on what to do in case another quake hit. So when the ground started to shake in early April, she knew exactly what to do. Plus Hernando Álvarez shares the life advice he received from Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, and the story behind a handwritten note listing the author's favourite books.
    Produced by Caroline Ferguson and Alice Gioia
    Gabriel García Márquez' list of essential classics:
    1. The Bible
    2. One Thousand and One Nights
    2 (a) Plato and Aristotle
    3. The Odyssey
    3 (a) The Illustrious Philosophers. Diogenes Laertius
    4. Sophocles: Oedipus
    5. The Twelve Caesars (Suetonius)
    6. Plutarch
    7. The Divine Comedy (Inferno)
    8. Horace (Poetry)
    9. El Cid (Ballads)
    10. Amadis of Gaul
    11. Don Quixote
    12. Poetry: Spanish Golden Age
    13. Gargantua and Pantagruel
    14. Paradise Lost - Milton
    15. Chroniclers of the Indies
    (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

    • 26 min
    BBC OS Conversations: Living in Israel

    BBC OS Conversations: Living in Israel

    The situation in the Middle East is being described as uncharted territory following strikes involving Iran and Israel. This is framed around the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month. Three people in Israel share their experiences with host James Reynolds. Avi, Lianne and Liah describe what it was like when Iran launched drones and missiles at their country and how the Hamas-led attack of 7 October continues to impact every moment of their lives.

    • 23 min
    Heart and Soul: Should I change my name?

    Heart and Soul: Should I change my name?

    What if you carry an inherited surname that you feel is profoundly un-Christian? Should you keep it or change it? Robert Beckford is going through this dilemma. His surname is a slave name, a brand of ownership passed down from his enslaved African ancestors in Jamaica. Over time, Robert has grown deeply uncomfortable with the meaning of this name and now wants to find a more spiritual alternative. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery, considering whether he should change or keep his inherited name.

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
1K Ratings

1K Ratings

Baal'sack ,

mixed bag

Podcasts in this series vary a lot in style, so it’s difficult to give a single rating. Some are great, especially when it’s an in-depth coverage of a topic (one about the conflict in Algeria stood out especially). I don’t like the more human-interest stories.

And I especially hate when they use fake foreign accents in translations.

EdPeters2 ,

A Real Mixed Bag of a Podcast

Some episodes are very informative, e.g. Capitol Building Insurection
then, you have the most recent episodes titled 'world of wisdom' - something of a misnomer, I didn't find anything wise about these two episodes. Just a bunch of people focused on themselves and their 'problems'.
Update (10/04/2024): Most recent episode 'Joselyn Bell Burnell' This in wrong podcast feed, it belongs in Womens Hour.

Brightlingseaboy ,

Very disappointing.

Four episodes of Murder in Mayfair that go nowhere? Thirty minutes maximum. What totally turned me off was all the fawning rubbish about Charles Windsor. By all accounts an unpleasant man sponging off our money. Time for a series about Republicanism with same kid gloves for balance.

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