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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

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

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, TB is humanity’s oldest contagious disease. It has become something of an afterthought in rich nations, but remains the world’s most deadly infectious disease. In 2024 it killed more than 1.2 million people.

South Africa has one of the highest TB burdens in the world, but it has also developed one of the most sophisticated scientific ecosystems for the study of the disease. Clinical trials conducted in the country have been crucial to the innovation of TB treatments, vaccines, diagnostics and prevention strategies.

Much of the funding for this research comes from American institutions. But since early 2025, streams of that money have been withdrawn due to a series of decisions by the Trump administration.

Sandra Kanthal visits Cape Town and discovers the story of two intertwined landscapes: the people in local communities struggling with the burden of tuberculosis, and the scientific institutions embedded in them trying to tackle the disease - and why at the moment both are struggling.

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

South Africa and the fight against TB

We follow the Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola—known simply as Ismo—as he performs in both English and Finnish. We explore his distinctive brand of intellectual humour and how he enjoys creating theories about the world around him. ISMO was once named the funniest person in the world, and we gain a sense of his celebrity status, particularly in his hometown of Jyväskylä. He also reveals why he avoids politics and talks about his love life on stage.

Produced and presented by Olga Smirnova

Ismo Leikola

Nostalgia. That sentimental feeling of the past. Memory is a powerful thing and we tend to look back on our firsts fondly. Your first phone, your first best friend, your first kiss… But it turns out you can also feel nostalgic for things you weren’t around for.

In the last few years, for Gen Z, there’s been a huge rise in things like y2k fashion, old school technology like flip phones and digital cameras, and even Kate Bush has made it back into the charts.

So why do we care so much about old things? 

Speaking of the past, let’s go way back and find out about the ancient origins of kissing! Scientists at Oxford University in the UK now think that kissing evolved more than 21 million years ago, and it wasn’t humans that started it.

Victoria Gill, our Science Correspondent, tells us all about the research and what we know about if animals can be romantic like humans can.

What in the World helping you make sense of what's happening in the world.

For more episodes, just search 'What in the World' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.

The power of nostalgia and a first kiss

In countries like Somalia and Iran, where women are largely expected to present themselves with modesty, what role can make-up play? Bella Hassan of BBC Focus on Africa is from Somalia and Mina Joshaghani of BBC Persian is from Iran. They tell us about how make-up functions in a conservative society. 

Produced by Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

The Fifth Floor: Make-up and rebellion

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