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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 Trump’s new world order, to protests in Turkey, to the headphone revolution, The Documentary investigates major global stories.

We delve into social media, take you into the minds of the world’s most creative people and explore personal approaches to spirituality. Every week, we also 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, The Fifth Floor and Trending.

The Documentary Podcast

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, they introduced many controversial measures, including a ban on music. How do people celebrate special occasions, like weddings? BBC Pashto’s Payenda Sargand recently attended a wedding in the southern city of Kandahar and tells us about the other forms of entertainment that were on display, including poetry, singers performing without music and stand-up comedians. 

The tradition of ‘money spraying' is a major part of Nigerian wedding celebrations, but now you could face a hefty fine or even a prison sentence if you’re caught doing it. Make-up artist Abdullahi Musa Huseini, also known as Amuscap on social media, was recently sentenced by a high court in the northern city of Kano for throwing cash at his own wedding, and he’s currently serving a six-month jail sentence. Mansur Abubakar from BBC Africa has been reporting on this story. 

Tuareg communities in North Africa traditionally celebrate weddings with a 7-day party. The BBC Arabic's Xtra TV producers were invited to a wedding in Gath, in the south of Libya, and got to know the groom, Jamal, a young man who said he had to save for years to be able to afford such a feast in the current cost-of-living crisis. Saif Rebai reports. 

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. This is an EcoAudio certified production. 

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

Comedians and Afghan weddings

Few people in Sudan have been left untouched by the civil war. More than 150,000 people have died, 12 people million have been forced to leave their homes and millions face starvation. The conflict broke out in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Today, the front lines are in the south and the western Darfur region. We hear messages from people inside the besieged city of el-Fasher and bring together displaced families in conversation to share their experiences.

Messages from Sudan's war

Donald Trump will not be on the ballot in next year’s midterm elections, but his policies will be put to the electoral test. Sumi Somaskanda, Courtney Subramanian, and Bernd Debusmann Jr explore how the president’s latest actions on immigration and economy could shape Latino voter behaviour in the 2026 midterms.
 
Every Friday, The President’s Path explores the state of US politics in Washington and beyond. We dig into the key issues shaping America and uncover what is on the minds of those closest to power. You can contact us at: path@bbc.co.uk
 
Producer: John Ringer
 
Editor: Adrian Chiculita

The president’s path: Trump’s Latino base

During the annual World Series of Birding in New Jersey, US, teams compete to see who can identify the most bird species in 24 hours. For team Galbatross the goal is different and much harder - they only identify female birds. This self-imposed restriction is a form of activism, calling into question centuries of ornithology that has focused primarily on male birds, with their bright plumage, elaborate dances, and loud songs. We follow team Galbatross as they attempt to break their own record for the most female birds spotted during the World Series of Birding. We also hear from scientists and birders alike about how we got where we are, and how expanding science to be more inclusive of species of all genders can change our perspective on ourselves and the environment.

Birding the gender gap

Mo Salah is one of Egypt's biggest and highly influential footballing icons. John Bennett visit his home village of Nagrig to meet the people who helped shape his early career and see the impact he still has on his local community. He explores the journey Salah took from Nagrig to Cairo to help achieve his dreams and gain an insight from those who have worked with him closely about what has driven him to global superstardom. And with the Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup to come over the next 12 months, we assess whether Salah needs success with the Egyptian national team to cement his status in his homeland.

Mo Salah: Egyptian king

For decades, conservationists in Tajikistan assumed that the striped hyena – a shy, less vocal cousin of the spotted hyena – was extinct there. But in 2017 a motion-sensitive camera trap in the country’s south-western corner, near the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, detected the presence of a female with cubs. The discovery stunned local observers, and ever since, one man and his colleagues have struggled to find out more about the few remaining Tajik striped hyenas with a view to saving them from oblivion. The challenges are immense, including the international animal parts trade, competition between animals and humans for habitat, and often-negative public perceptions of the hyena itself. Eight years on, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travels to the grassy lowlands of Tajikistan to join the small team in their fight to save these elusive, persecuted mammals, and in doing so learns how vital hyenas are to both the ecosystem and human health.

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

Tajikistan’s last, lonely hyenas

Yoko Nishina likes to use black Japanese Sumi ink in her calligraphy work because of the variety of colours , from blues through to browns. Craftsmen still use traditional methods to create the ink from vegetable oil lamps with wicks made of reeds. She creates both large and small works - and is collaborating with photographer Kenro Izue for an exhibition in Osaka - as well as preparing a special exhibition for her upcoming 60th birthday, an age which is considered a "re-birth" in Japanese culture.
This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.

Yoko Nishina: Japanese calligraphy

Back in 2019, Ghana’s then president sent out an invitation to people with African heritage to come to Ghana. It was called the Year of Return - a campaign by Ghana's tourism board to mark 400 years since the first documented African slaves were taken to America. The campaign built on ideas of Pan-Africanism, a movement to promote unity and liberation on the continent. So five years on, how is it going? We hear from Lakeshia Ford, Roweena Habadah, and Mama Kexornyi, three women who made the decision to relocate and live in Ghana. They tell us about the challenges they faced and how life in Ghana altered their perspective on life. Plus, Kobby Mensah, chief executive of Ghana Tourism Development Company, discusses whether the Year of Return has benefited Ghana's tourism industry and led to increased investment in the country. We also question him about some of the tensions resulting from rising costs.

Has Ghana's ‘Year of Return’ been a success?

Secret billionaire husbands, blood-thirsty vampire lovers and being reborn as your great-grandmother: these are some of the outrageous plotlines that can be found in Chinese micro-dramas like My Royal Secret Lover, by producer Lin Yicheng. Micro-dramas are a Chinese short form video trend that has expanded globally, racking up hundreds of millions of downloads in the US, Asia, Latin America and Africa. It’s big business: in China last year, the micro-drama industry grossed the equivalent of seven billion US dollars, which exceeds the entire Chinese box office for 2024. A number of these series are now also being filmed overseas for English-speaking and global audiences, most of which are adapted from Chinese scripts. Mengchen Zhang from the BBC's Global China Unit explains what's behind the success of this format. 

Also on the show: two BBC Language Services coming together to tackle disinformation. The relationship between neighbours India and Pakistan is well known around the world for going through periods of extreme hostility and even aggression. A deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April led to the two countries exchanging missile and drone attacks in one of the biggest escalations for about 50 years. And in times of tension, disinformation is rife. Sana Gulzar of BBC Urdu and Jugal Purohit who reports for BBC Hindi join Faranak Amidi to talk about it.

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. This is an EcoAudio certified production. 

Clips are from Spoiled by My Vampire Uncle and My Royal Secret Lover. 

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

Why are Chinese micro-dramas so popular?

Israel faces growing international pressure to end the war in Gaza. But on Thursday night Israel's security cabinet approved plans to expand military operations, with the aim of defeating Hamas and returning the hostages. The decision has been criticised by world leaders, the United Nations and even the country’s own military leadership. In conversations recorded over the past week, we hear from people in Israel including 18-year-old David, who is shortly to join the Israel Defense Forces. He tells us why he believes the war is necessary. We also bring together the families of two hostages who were killed by Hamas. They want an immediate ceasefire so their loved ones’ bodies can be returned. And we hear from three rabbis grappling with a solution to the conflict.
This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC OS Conversations, bringing together people from around the world to discuss how major news stories are affecting their lives.

Israelis and the war in Gaza

Most Russians are getting a distorted picture of what Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Even the use of the words “war” or “invasion” is prohibited and state controlled TV does not acknowledge that Russian troops are attacking civilians. Yet news is filtering back to thousands of mothers of servicemen in the invasion force. Many say their sons were deceived about their mission and are being treated as cannon fodder. The Russian authorities and military commanders remain tight lipped. But Ukraine has posted pictures and videos of the dead and captured Russian soldiers on the internet.

For Assignment, Tim Whewell follows the story of one young prisoner of war. He looked so terrified during an interrogation that a Ukrainian woman took pity on him and helped his family to get in touch, even though her own home in Odessa was shelled by Russian forces. Will the 21-year-old soldier ever be able to return to his family and could the truth about Russia’s defeats and losses change attitudes to the war back home? 

Producers: Lucy Ash and Yulia Mineeva 

(Image: Pro-Russian service member in an armoured vehicle in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, March 2022. Credit: Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko)

The fate of Russia’s soldiers

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