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BBC World Service

A window into our world, through in-depth storytelling from the BBC. Investigating, reporting and uncovering true stories from everywhere. Award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and global issues. 

From China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, to the frontline of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines.

Every week, we take you into the minds of the world's most creative people and explore personal approaches to spirituality. And we bring together people from around the globe to discuss how news stories are affecting their lives. 

A new episode most days, all year round. From our BBC World Service teams at: Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, OS Conversations and The Fifth Floor.

The Documentary Podcast

*** This programme contains very strong language ***
Over the past year, BBC Eye has followed the journeys of young men from Syria, Egypt, and Yemen who travelled to Russia in search of work, only to end up on the frontlines in Ukraine. Why are these men risking their lives in a war that is not theirs?
 
Many, including students, say they were tricked into fighting for the Russian army by a recruiter.
 
BBC Eye investigates their stories, meeting a family grieving the loss of their son and a young Yemeni man now trapped in a prisoner-of-war camp.

Watch the film Into the Void Putin's Foreign Fighters on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y7ruSvJfn_g

Putin's foreign fighters

'Start by lighting a candle every morning.’ In other words, pray. That’s the advice on one social media platform to those looking for a rented property in the Netherlands. The pressure on housing is immense: an estimated shortage of 400,000 homes. It was the number one issue in the recent Dutch general election, with the winning D66 party promising to build '10 new cities'.
 
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Squatting was made a criminal offence over a decade ago, but with an estimated 90,000 homes standing empty, the squatters – krakers – are back. And there are thousands of people breaking the law by living year-round in holiday or recreation parks deep in the Netherlands’ countryside.
 
The authorities are trying to change the dynamics. The city of Amsterdam is cracking down on second homes and owners who leave a property vacant. And last year, in an effort to cool an overheated market and limit the exploitation of tenants, the national government strengthened rent controls. But this has only encouraged landlords to throw in the towel and put their properties up for sale. 
 
There’s also a question mark over plans to build thousands of homes - and new cities - because of an obstacle few seem to have foreseen... Electricity. The Netherlands has enough power, but it doesn’t have the infrastructure to transport it to proposed new developments. 
 
Of course, the Dutch are known for innovation – especially in their management of water. Could floating apartment blocks be one of the answers? 
 
For Assignment, Linda Pressly meets both those at the sharp end of the Dutch housing crisis, and those working to mitigate its fallout.

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

The Netherlands: 10 new cities?

Bianca Raffaella is a partially sighted painter based in Margate. Working entirely by touch and memory, her flower and figure paintings emerge from a world of blurred vision, visual static, and sensory recall. Raffaella paints what she perceives in flickers, dappled fragments of colour, flashes of form, shaped through instinct, fingertips, and palette knives. Sahar Zand meets Bianca in her studio, as she works on her latest project.
This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.

If you are affected by an issue raised in the programme you could speak to a health professional or an organisation that offers support. If you are suffering distress or despair, details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org

Bianca Raffaella: A world of blurred vision

Humans have spread to every corner of the globe, transforming ecosystems and reshaping landscapes. Is there anywhere left on Earth that is unaffected by humans? Anywhere we haven’t changed – at all? Presenter Caroline Steel and producer Florian Bohr begin their mission to find No Man's Land, if it exists.

Looking for No Man's Land

A recent BBC Persian documentary, Taraneh, has recieved millions of views online. It features an Iranian actress who is considered an icon in the country and has been starring in films for nearly 30 years. Her name is Taraneh Alidoosti and in 2022 she was arrested for taking a photograph of herself in her home, not wearing a hijab, and holding a sign showing support for the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests that are currently spreading across Iran once more. The film's director is BBC Persian's Pegah Ahangarani and she explains why the documentary had to be filmed in complete secret. BBC Monitoring's Sarbas Nazari reflects on why the film resonates so much in the contect of the protests now taking place in Iran. 

In November 2025, Cyclone Senyar caused devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia, resulting in widespread destruction and loss of life. The extreme weather has also been catestrophic for the Tapanuli orangutan population. Only discovered as a separate species in 2017, the Tapanuli orangutan is found in a small area of North Sumatra and haven't been seen or heard since the landslides. BBC World Service Environment Correspondent Navin Singh Khadka explains the importance of the Tapanuli orangutans and their environment. 

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 Faranak Amidi. 

Produced by Laura Thomas and Caroline Ferguson

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

Taraneh: Iran's defiant actress

After the dramatic US military operation that saw Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife taken from the country and placed in a New York prison, what, if anything, has changed for Venezuelans? We speak to Venezuelans about their experiences of living in Venezuela – the good and the bad. Vanessa tells us that even liking social media posts that appear to oppose the government could land people in jail. Donald Trump said the US would “run” Venezuela and he has plans for the country’s crude oil reserves, which are the largest in the world. Despite this relatively untapped wealth, half the population lives in poverty and there have been shortages of food, fuel, water and medical supplies. Our guests talk about the difficulty of earning money, while millions have decided to flee the country, due to economic challenges and political persecution. We also bring Venezuelans together in the US, UK and Brazil who have moved abroad. They discuss what they miss about home and what might make them return.

Life in Venezuela

Relations between Jews and Muslims in Morocco have historically been strong unlike elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. Although now relatively small, Morocco’s vibrant Jewish community is still regarded as an important part of the country’s history and culture. In Casablanca there are a number of functioning synagogues, kosher butchers and Jewish schools. More than a million Moroccan Jews now live in Israel and travel freely back and forth between the two countries. So how has the North African country managed to maintain a peaceful harmony while many other nations in the region have failed? And what could unsettle the balance? Mike Lanchin hears from some of the Moroccans from both faiths who have embraced this coexistence.

Living side by side: Morocco’s Jews and Muslims

Clint Buffington is a hunter. He hauls his trophies back to his lab, covers himself in PPE and studies each specimen with pathological scrutiny. However, Clint is not the sort of hunter you might think. Based in Utah USA, the self-titled 'Message In a Bottle Hunter', Clint hunts for bottles on beaches all over the world.

Returned to sender

In a programme which first aired in November 2025, Jonny Dymond chairs a debate about the future of Greenland. 
Leading Greenlandic and Danish politicians discuss questions of American territorial ambitions, independence, mining and human rights on this Arctic island.

World Questions - Greenland

How poetry is used by Persian-speaking leaders to build legitimacy and shape the political narrative. Across Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, millions share a language — and passion for poetry. But with its abundance of lovers and wine, Persian poetry sits uneasily with Iran’s theocratic leaders. We explore their complicated relationship with this facet of Persian identity and how they occasionally turn to verse to secure popular appeal.

Persian poetry and politics

For a period earlier this month, the historic city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand had the worst air of any city in the world.

The city gained the same unwanted accolade last year. The practice of agricultural burning in the hills around Chiang Mai renders the air so toxic from February to April that it becomes unsafe to breathe. Respiratory problems and allergies caused by PM2.5, a type of pollution, led to more than 12,000 people being admitted to hospital in 2023.

The bad air affects everyone, including the young and physically fit. In December 2023, Krittai Tanasombatkul, a 29-year-old doctor and basketball fanatic, succumbed to lung cancer. Like 40% of people with the disease in the city, he was not a smoker.

Assignment: Choking in Chiang Mai

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