The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2009

Richard Dowden joins the greatest of all African novelists, Chinua Achebe, on his first trip back to his homeland of Nigeria for many years.

Richard Dowden joins the greatest of all African novelists, Chinua Achebe, on his first trip back to his homeland of Nigeria for many years.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In the final programme Jane hears from people who have dared to think the unthinkable in managing old age.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In the final programme Jane hears from people who have dared to think the unthinkable in managing old age.

During the cold war, more than thirty west German women were prosecuted after been tricked into handing over secrets to Romeo spies sent by the Stasi, the East German secret police. For Assignment, Angus Crawford asks if twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, they deserve to be forgiven.

During the cold war, more than thirty west German women were prosecuted after been tricked into handing over secrets to Romeo spies sent by the Stasi, the East German secret police. For Assignment, Angus Crawford asks if twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, they deserve to be forgiven.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud explores how terrorism, tourism and globalisation is affecting Bali's local politics.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud explores how terrorism, tourism and globalisation is affecting Bali's local politics.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older people become frail or ill.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older people become frail or ill.

Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century.

Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century.

In the run up to elections, Anita Barraud finds out why poverty and starvation are causing major problems for West Timor. Join her as she travels deep into the countryside and discovers malnutrition that rivals parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

In the run up to elections, Anita Barraud finds out why poverty and starvation are causing major problems for West Timor. Join her as she travels deep into the countryside and discovers malnutrition that rivals parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets people from four continents to find out. In part two, she hears from older people facing financial challenges in Kenya, Brazil, the UK and the US.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets people from four continents to find out. In part two, she hears from older people facing financial challenges in Kenya, Brazil, the UK and the US.

Anita Barraud explores how peace and democracy is working in Aceh, a region that has endured dictatorship, decades of war and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Trafalgar Square is a must-see destination on any tourist map of the UK. But beyond the statues and clicking cameras are the lives and stories of those for whom this space exists as an everyday environment.

Trafalgar Square is a must-see destination on any tourist map of the UK. But beyond the statues and clicking cameras are the lives and stories of those for whom this space exists as an everyday environment.

What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme one, Jane meets some extraordinary women who’ve given old age a whole new meaning.

It's a year since Kenya's political rivals signed a power-sharing agreement to end the violence which broke out after presidential elections there. In this week's Assignment Pascale Harter travels back to the scene of some of the worst violence to see if the power-sharing government really has reconciled Kenyans.

In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud travels to four different regions of the country to take a closer look at its politics and democracy.

Lucy Ash looks at a successful prison reform scheme in Kansas that is turning crack dealers into respectable businessmen. She also visits Italy where a maximum security jail has become Tuscany's most exclusive eatery. Join Lucy on the final stop on her global journey looking at innovative ways to cut crime.

As Beatlemania swept throughout the world in 1964, it seemed unable to penetrate the Iron Curtain. However, an underground culture grew which used ingenious ways to discover the Beatles' music. Paul Gambaccini reveals the extraordinary ways the Beatles' music was listened to in the Soviet Union during the 1960s. Did the music and spirit of The Beatles help to end communism?

Lucy Ash looks at why allowing prisoners to raise puppies has proved to be a successful way of bringing out their caring, and more emotive side. Join her on her global journey as she looks at innovative ways of cutting crime.

Worldwide, the illegal trade in wildlife is worth up to $25 billion US a year. Australia is one of the countries counting the cost as its rare birds and reptiles are targeted by international criminal gangs. Sharon Mascall tracks this trade across Australia and speaks to investigators, customs officers and dealers, attracting the attention of smugglers along the way.

Nadene Ghouri goes undercover to expose the trade in children by some charities registered in the United States and operating as businesses in Liberia.

As prison numbers in Britain continue to soar, what can be done to stop criminals re-offending? In part one, Lucy Ash finds out if creativity can help to cut crime.

This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. In programme three, two newspaper deliverers in New Delhi, India take us on their daily cycle route.

At the end of last year, violent clashes broke out in Jos in central Nigeria after a disputed local election. Christian and Muslim mobs took to the streets burning mosques, churches and homes. Hundreds were killed: in some of the worst incidents, children were burnt inside their schools. This is just the latest round in a cycle of sectarian violence that has killed at least ten thousand Nigerians over the past decade. Robert Walker travels to Jos, a town still under curfew, to find out what caused the clashes and to investigate why many residents believe more violence is likely.

Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part two, he looks at how President Bush's failures paved the way for Barack Obama.

This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. Programme two visits Kampala, Uganda where the bicycle is being used as a wheelchair for disabled users.

Is the UN's Human Rights Council fulfilling its role to protect the most vulnerable from human rights abuses or a cabal fixated on protecting itself?

This series features three portraits of the use of the bicycle around the world. The first programme looks at a new bicycle system in Paris, France called the Velib.

Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part one, he looks at how 9/11 changed American foreign policy and how the world viewed the US.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is one of America’s leading public intellectuals. In this investigative feature he is on a mission to find out what Barack Obama is like as an intellectual.

A US president has a constitutional and inalienable right to grant pardons. He usually does this just before he leaves office. It is a mysterious and controversial business - notorious past pardons include Jimmy Hoffa, Caspar Weinberger, Ford's pardon of Nixon, Patty Hearst and fugitive billionaire Marc Rich. Listen to Owen Bennett-Jones as travels to Washington to find out what the process involves and who might be getting one from President George W. Bush.

On 1st January 2009, Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of its revolution. All over the world, this Caribbean nation has cultivated a name-recognition and influence much greater than its size.

Peter White tells the story of Louis Braille, the founder of Braille, and the story behind his invention, in the light of new technology for the blind, which threatens to make it redundant.