The Documentary Episodes Episode guide
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America's first black bank
Szu Ping Chan looks at the the history and collapse of The Freedman鈥檚 Bank and its legacy
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World Wide Waves '23: The sounds of community radio
How Rumphi FM in Malawi and Inuit radio in Canada are supporting marginalised communities
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The travelling speech therapist
Travelling speech therapist Mary Weinder travels to the Turks and Caicos islands
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The Night Witches of World War Two
The all-female Soviet combat unit which terrorised German forces using wooden biplanes
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Brexit: Three years on
Three years after leaving the EU, what does Brexit mean for Britain's place in the world?
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A short history of sadness
Author Helen Russell explores a history of gloom, and how different cultures tackle it
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This Cultural Life: Abdulrazak Gurnah
Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah on his cultural influences
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Sierra Leone's children of war
What happened to Sierra Leone's child soldiers?
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The Black Book
Why was the Black Book, a chronicle of the Nazi extermination of Soviet Jews banned?
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Yiddish glory: Jewish refugees in Central Asia
A journey to discover Yiddish songs confiscated by the KGB
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This Cultural Life: Akram Khan
Dancer and choreographer Akram Khan on the cultural turning points of his life
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What do you think you are? Part two
Are animals 'sentient' beings? Sue Armstrong reports on the latest scientific evidence
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The price of citizenship
What does it mean to be a citizen? Is it about belonging, or about convenience?
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This Cultural Life: Florence Pugh
Actor Florence Pugh talks to John Wilson about her career and formative influences.
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What do you think you are? Part one
The scientific evidence that animals are not only conscious but also have a sense of self
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This Cultural Life: Sting
Sting reveals the experiences and influences that shaped his songwriting
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Kids who care
Orits茅 Williams hears from children who are unpaid carers for family members
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Women pro surfers: Battling the waves
How women surfers fought the sexism of the 1970s to create the first pro-surf world tour
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Escape from the Taliban: Point of no return
Sana Safi returns to the story of two Afghan women judges trying to escape the Taliban.
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Happy news of 2022
A look back at the most uplifting, joyous, positive news stories of the year
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The people v J Edgar Hoover: Part two
The life and legacy of J Edgar Hoover, who ran the FBI for almost five decades
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The people v J Edgar Hoover: Part one
How J Edgar Hoover built and then ran the FBI for almost five decades
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Nelson Mandela: A legacy in music
Joan Armatrading gives an account of Mandela's life as a lover and an inspirer of music
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Sweden's green power struggle
The indigenous Sami people who say carbon-cutting technology is harming their way of life
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The World Service is 90
Calling the world since 1932. Meet the journalists and hear the treasured archive
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First contact
Farrah Jarral on preparing for first contact with extra-terrestrials
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Asylums of Japan: Makiko's story
What is being done to change Japanese attitudes toward mental health?
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Living in space
Human beings will soon be living in space - but who will go and what will it be like?
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India: Our trains, electric
India aims to have electrified the entirety of its rail network by the end of 2023
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Tribal justice
The legal battle that could transform life for Native Americans in the US
