The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2009

It's straight out of the pages of a thriller novel: a cargo ship, lost without trace; pirates working the seas at the heart of Europe; whispers of arms smuggling and the scent of international conspiracy. The mysterious disappearance of a Russian-operated cargo ship off the coast of Britain in late July sparked furious speculation that's never been resolved. For Assignment, Sarah Rainsford tries to shine a light on what really happened on board the vessel, the Arctic Sea.

Presenter Jenny Cuffe sets out to find Fereinatu, a teenage girl who was trafficked for sex. She had returned to her impoverished home in Benin City, but she is missing once more and relatives fear she may have been sucked back into prostitution.

This week's Assignment looks at the much-vaunted crackdown on tax havens announced by the G20 earlier this year. The drive is aimed at getting tax havens to agree to yield up information on tax cheats. But is the G-20's weapon of choice, shooting blanks? Is its approach cumbersome and ineffective in the fight to get every dollar that's owed to tax authorities? Lesley Curwen investigates.

The second of this three-part series that examines the boom before the bust of 2008 looks at how our attitudes to risk and debt changed with disastrous consequences.

Can we build our way out of the recession? The Empire State Building was started just weeks after the Wall Street Crash, giving Americans hope in times of depression. Jonathan Glancey, architecture correspondent for the Guardian newspaper in London, looks at the economic and social policies of the 1930s and the parallels we can find today.

Two years ago, Jenny Cuffe followed the journeys of migrants trying to leave Africa and find a better life in Europe. Innocent Akibor left Nigeria to get to Spain. As exploitation greets him at almost every step of his journey, listen to find out if he made his dream come true.

What were the key moments that led to financial meltdown, and what happened in the aftermath? The first of a three-part series that looks closely at the turbulent events in the autumn of 2008.

If my dog is tough then I'm tough. Killer dogs give teenagers status in Chicago. For Assignment, Nina Robinson, goes right to the heart of the cruel sport of dog fighting that is attracting so many young people in the run down areas of Chicago's south side.

Just weeks after the Wall Street Crash in 1929, work began on the Empire State Building. The Guardian's architecture correspondent Jonathan Glancey assesses the economics of building out of a recession.

President Barack Obama has famously written of the influence exerted on him by his father in his memoir Dreams of My Father, but what of his mother, Ann Dunham? Listen to Judith Kampfner as she unveils more about this unconventional and idealistic woman.

enjamin Jealous is the leader of America's oldest and largest black civil rights group. In a USA fronted by Barack Obama, what are the future battlegrounds for African American human rights?

Bermeja Island is missing. This strategically important island was clearly visible on maps of the Gulf of Mexico until the middle of the 20th century but it's now gone. BBC Mundo's David Cuen goes in search.

What role did the business schools play in last year's financial crisis? In this week's edition of Assignment, Ed Butler investigates whether, as the chair of Harvard's MBA programme insists, the schools were guilty only of teaching a deficient assessment of risk in the business world, or whether something more fundamental was at fault. Some inside the system tell Assignment that there had been a growing disconnect between the schools and society, with insufficient attention being paid to the ethics of the business world, and the sole focus of the programmes being on maximising shareholder value and personal enrichment.

n the second episode Michael Buerk visits Cairo and experience for himself how bloggers - arguably among the most hounded anywhere in the world - are taking on the Egyptian government.

Enterprise, money, innovation are all there. Is tapping into a continent's optimism the key to Africa's future? Mark Doyles looks at the solutions to solve Africa's poverty.

Rachid Sekkai from the BBC's Arabic Service talks to Muslims currently serving in the Israeli Defence Force and also to former soldiers and hears about the conflicts they face, at home and on duty, and the pride that military service sometimes brings them.

Colin Yu is a teacher who lives in Shanghai. He has a job but still struggles to support his parents on his modest income. Colin would like to spend more money and the Chinese government is offering incentives to people like him to go out and buy Chinese goods. They're hoping that by doing so it will help the country to survive the current global economic downturn. Average savings rates in China stand at around 30% and, as Chris Hogg discovers, most of that money is spent on healthcare. For Assignment he follows the story of Colin's family as they face difficult decisions over how to spend their money and how to match their savings to their healthcare needs.

Michael Buerk analyses the potential – and the dangers – of citizen journalism. In part one, he talks to bloggers and critics from Sri Lanka, Iran, Burma, and Iraq.

Accusations of tribalism, corruption and complacency have all been offered as explanations to the question of Africa's poverty. Mark Doyle looks at each of these and asks why the status quo persists.

Violent footage from the Kashmir conflict has been shared almost in real-time by citizen-journalists on video sharing websites. Suvojit Bagchi tells the story of the impact of new media communication in a conflict zone.

Six months ago there was a short military revolt in Bangladesh that threatened to push the country into nationwide armed conflict. But some things remain mysterious. Why was it so brutal? Who was really behind it? What did they hope to achieve? In this week’s addition of Assignment, Mark Dummett has tracked down key participants and eyewitnesses in search of some answers.

Nick Rankin explores how we assess the value of gold.

Mark Doyle crosses the continent of Africa and finds a place rich in natural resources and human potential, which begs the question, why is Africa poor? Outsiders have been coming to Africa for centuries for its raw materials and potential. It was an exploitative relationship that has contributed to Africa's poverty, but can foreigners now turn the fortunes of a modern Africa?

Ko Ko Aung from the BBC's Burmese Service, travelled to Burma to find out why a rebel army of 100 men is taking on the 400,000 strong Burmese army.

Fran Abrams is given rare access to the US base in Djibouti questioning military chiefs, local leaders and ordinary Djiboutians as she explores the role and impact of America's African outpost.

Nick Rankin descends into the deepest goldmine in the world – Tau Tona in South Africa for part two of this series. Five thousand miners extract gold up to four kilometres under the surface but for every tonne of ore they take out, there is only 8 grams of gold to be found. Nick talks to miners about their lives underground and learns about the real price of gold.

Mukul Devichand tells the story of the Europeans who are trying to persuade China's expanding middle class to ditch their noodles and soya in favour of pricey European fine foods.

American physicist Richard Feynman fell in love with the remote Russian region Tuva through his hobby of stamp collecting. He died just before his visitor's visa arrived but his daughter Michelle went to the land of throat singers in his honour.

The Afghan drugs mafia is rich, powerful and entrenched, with connections running into the heart of the Afghan state. But a new, multi-million dollar counter-narcotics justice system has started to get results and is putting senior traffickers in prison. So when people heard that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, had pardoned five traffickers, they were stunned. This week’s Assignment looks into allegations that the pardons were part of a political deal, ahead of presidential elections on the 20th August. Kate Clark reports.

Man's long-term obsession with gold and the lengths we have gone to to get it. From the ancient myth of King Midas, through Alexander The Great and the Spanish Conquistadors to the massive mines of South Africa, Nick Rankin unlocks the history and enduring fascination of the rare yellow metal that has been integral to economic exchange systems for millennia.

Navid Akhtar examines the influence of Islamic design and values in the life of Victorian designer, poet, and craftsman William Morris.

The World Health Organisation has warned that the worldwide spread of the so-called Swine Flu virus is now unstoppable. As cases continue to multiply, reporter Julian O'Halloran investigates the origins of the H1N1 virus and examines claims that it is linked to factory style pig farming.

Iran in the post 9/11 era, a time of friction and unrest over its nuclear ambitions.

A slice of life at a shabby but popular tenement in Hong Kong's teeming commercial district.

Colin Grant reflects on the BBC’s role in boosting Caribbean writing in the region 60 years on from the original broadcast of Caribbean Voices.

The inside story of Iran's war with Iraq, and how the US viewed the conflict - ultimately a battle for control and influcence in this most vital, but unstable, part of the world.

Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community on a rocky island which is too windy for trees to grow on.

In this week's edition of Assignment, Jill McGivering travels through Pakistan, hearing the stories of some of the two million people who fled their homes as a result of the fighting between government forces and the Taliban in the country’s North West – and assesses the consequences of the humanitarian crisis for Pakistan and its people.

Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura drops into the middle of an undercover investigation of a Chinese brothel in Accra, Ghana, where 16 women have been trafficked to work as prostitutes.

For the first time, the BBC tells the story of Iran's relationship with the West over the last 30 years - as seen by the key insiders on both sides.

A soundscape of memory, loss, regret and hope from men who have been living with HIV for over 20 years in New Zealand.

In this series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In the final programme, she meets Egyptian scientists experimenting with techniques to make the desert bloom.

The story of four imprisoned Uyghur men transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the wealthy paradise of Bermuda.

South Africa's wealthy are retreating to high-security gated communities to protect themselves from violent crime. In Islands of Security we explore why the issue of keeping people out is a sensitive one in post-Apartheid times.

150,000 Cambodians are reported to be facing eviction from their land. Huge tracts of the country have been granted to private companies for large scale agriculture or other purposes. Some of those who have tried to resist say they have been attacked or threatened. Rob Walker reports for Assignment.

In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme two she visits the Desert Research Station in Namibia. Can they increase the water available in arid areas such as the Namib?

Teenagers on the island of Alert Bay, British Columbia, talk openly about the beauty and frustration on living in a remote place.

Thembi Ngubane’s Radio Diary about living with Aids in a South African Township.

It's widely regarded as one of the most secretive religious organisations in the world. It makes heavy demands on its members - and has been accused of cult-like practices. It's also an influential movement within Roman Catholicism. Opus Dei, made famous by Dan Brown's bestselling novel the Da Vinci Code, has many critics - but few have found out what life is like on the inside. The BBC's religious affairs correspondent, Christopher Landau, has been granted exclusive access to the movement's extensive headquarters in Rome. He meets both priests and lay people who devote their lives (and their money) to this movement which, though less than 100 years old, exerts powerful influence over both its members and the wider church.

In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme one she asks, what are the implications for traditional nomadic desert communities?