The Documentary Podcast

Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are escaping states they no longer feel comfortable in. They are calling themselves ‘political refugees.’ And the sunshine state of Florida is at the heart of this political sorting. How can one US state be both a safe haven for Americans fleeing their homes in the north and a dangerous threat to liberal families? Lucy Proctor traces the journeys of America’s homegrown refugees, meeting progressives and conservatives making their move. Through their crossing paths, she explores what is behind this new wave of domestic migration, and what it might mean for America’s future.

In September 2020, Barbados announced its decision to become a republic, removing the British monarchy as head of state. November 30th, 2021 marked not only the 57th anniversary of the nation’s independence but a new beginning as a republic. Award-winning author Candice Brathwaite, explores Barbados’ transition to a republic two years after the official declaration. Through interviews with poet laureate Esther Phillips, historian Dr Pedro Welch, artist Oneka Small, journalist Krystal-Penny Bowen and socio-economics expert Professor Don Marshall, she gains insights into the Island’s evolving identity. With thanks to Barbados Today and Barbados’ Prime Minister’s Office.

Damon Galgut’s 2021 Booker Prize-winning novel, The Promise, chronicles the slow decline of a white family on a farm outside Pretoria, South Africa, and the ripple effects of a deathbed promise – made but not kept – to give the family’s Black housekeeper ownership of the small house in which she lives. Now, the stage adaptation of The Promise, written by Galgut and director Sylvaine Strike, is being readied to premiere at the Star Theatre, at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town.But how does a text so praised for its formal inventiveness – the narrative voice shifting from third to first person, and inhabiting multiple interior lives, sometimes within a single paragraph – get translated for the theatre and brought to life?Writer Bongani Kona goes behind the curtain to watch the rehearsal process unfold. We trace Galgut’s journey from the play’s conception, and follow the director and cast as they workshop scenes, experiment with sound and action, and navigate the unusual set design – all in the build-up to opening night. The Promise on stage is directed by Sylvaine Strike with stage adaptation by Damon Galgut and Sylvaine Strike. Original music composition by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder.Presenter: Bongani Kona Produced by Catherine Boulle and Bongani Kona A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service

The BBC’s Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests to discuss what happens when the Israel Gaza war ends. On the panel are Jeremy Bowen, BBC International Editor; Daniel Levy, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations; Lord Ricketts, former chair of the UK’s intelligence committee under Tony Blair and former national security adviser to David Cameron, former national security advisor and chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee; Ghada Karmi, Palestinian academic and author and joining from Washington Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for President Obama.

The war in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel continues to cost many lives. It is also increasing tensions and anger around the world.Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protest marches; there are reports of a rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism in some countries; and an increase in hate crimes.We hear from Muslims and Jews living in the United States and Europe. Some of our Jewish guests say they would feel safer in Israel and the war, than in the country where they currently live.“I don’t order anything, not an Uber, not a taxi, in my real name anymore,” says 20-year-old student Deborah Kogan, who lives in Berlin. “Not because I’m a Jewish activist, but also because my name sounds very Jewish, especially in Germany. So I’m afraid to get recognised as Jewish.”Host James Reynolds also hears about the impact of Islamophobia on three Muslims living in Germany and the United States. They talk of how some people perceive them with suspicion, associate them with Hamas and call them a terrorist.“I’m on a campus that an Arab-Muslim student experienced a hit and run and was told ‘F you and your people’, says Arab American University Lecturer Maytha Alhassen in California. “He was wearing a shirt that said in Arabic, Damascus. So that’s terrifying.”A co-production between the BBC OS team and Boffin Media.

The recent violence between Israel and Hamas threatens the survival of the hundreds of small-scale projects which aim to bring Jews and Palestinians together to work for peace, or at least share understanding. Now the flare up in violence threatens their future. To discuss the way forward and question the future of such projects, Caroline Wyatt brings together people from different faith backgrounds who’ve been working for years to build bridges in this volatile area of the Middle East. Presenter: Caroline Wyatt Producer: Julia Paul / Rajeev Gupta Editor: Helen Grady Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

Tens of millions of lives depend on the Mekong river for fishing and farming as it travels through China and South East Asia. But there are increasing signs that this river with one of the richest ecosystems on earth is being strangled. A cascade of dams, intensifying climate change, and sand dredging have scientists worried. Is this region harnessing the river’s power – or are they killing it? Laura Bicker visits communities whose livelihoods rely on the Mekong and meets a new generation trying to breathe life into the dying river.

Multiple gold medal-winning Paralympic wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson examines 50 years of changing attitudes to disability around the world. When Tanni was a child in the 1970s in Wales becoming an athlete with spina bifida was far from guaranteed. There was no support for her parents bringing up a disabled child and education for children with disabilities was minimal. Over the years Tanni has suffered discrimination including when she was pregnant being offered a termination. She meets others who have had similar journeys in India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil and New Zealand.In India she meets Abha Khetarpal, and both reflect on several shared experiences. They both had scoliosis and use a wheelchair and faced early challenges at school - Abha having to be home schooled. Meanwhile Lois Auta in Nigeria also uses a wheelchair. She was born in 1980 and tells Tanni how she managed to challenge the status quo and stand for parliament. ‘Disability is seen in our country as something that happens through witch craft," she says. Lois, who now acts as an advocate for women with disabilities says those prejudices still exist.She meets BBC war correspondent Frank Gardner who tells her how he adapted to becoming disabled after being injured during his work in a war zone in the Middle East.Producer: Ashley Byrne A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service

Why are all the bees dying? Simon Mitambo, an expert from Kenya's so-called 'Land of Bees', travels from his own affected community to huge industrial farms in search of answers. It is a journey both planetary and personal: without bees, can Simon's world survive?A Smoke Trail Production.

Taipei based fashion designer Jenn Lee is preparing her Spring Summer 2024 collection for London and Taipei Fashion Weeks. Inspired by the recycled materials she finds in local markets, by British designer Vivienne Westwood and the Punk movement, as well as the joy of her young son, the collection celebrates freedom, happiness and sustainability.Jenn is joined in her Taipei studio by Lucy Collingwood as she reaches the final stages of a collection that’s been many months in the making. Surrounded by sewing machines and a snooker table repurposed into a large fabric cutting table. Jenn shares her influences and attention to detail – from the running order of her catwalk show, finalising the looks on mannequins, to adding handmade accessories made of recycled zips and ribbons and choosing which eye catching creation should kick start the show.Jenn takes us to one of the places that informs her work, the Fu He Bridge Flea Market, where items from used bicycle chains to second hand motorbike jackets can end up as integral parts of her high end garments.For the catwalks of fashion weeks, Jenn is also planning something a little unusual. As well as her striking garments made in bold colours and hand-dyed fabrics, she’s also creating a digital version of her designs and collaborating on a game featuring characters who embody the themes behind her show.We share Jenn’s creative journey from Taipei to backstage at her London Fashion Week catwalk show as the audience reacts as her collection is finally revealed.Producer: Lucy Collingwood Exec Producer: Andrea Kidd(Photo: Jen Lee. Credit: BBC)

Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, thousands of lives have been lost in the war. While rolling news and live updates give us minute by minute coverage, we want to take the opportunity to pause, reflect and hear stories from the families of a few of those killed.Last week we heard from Palestinians. This time, Israeli families share their experiences and memories of those lost. During the surprise raid on Israel, Hamas killed 1400 people and took more than 200 hostages, including children.Keren and her husband Avidor were rescued that day, under gunfire, from the Kibbutz Kfar Azar. But a few days after, the family heard that both Keren’s parents, Cindy and Igal, had been killed. “She was just the biggest soul,” says Keren of her mother. “She was a humanitarian through and through, she was just all heart.”Host James Reynolds also speaks to Magen, a teacher from Israel who lives in London. His parents, Yakov and Bilha, were both killed in the attack. We bring Magen together with Elana, the mother of Yannai who was serving as a trainer in the Israeli Defence Forces. Yannai was killed defending his base, helping to save the lives of dozens of other young men and women. He would have celebrated his 21st birthday on the day before we spoke.BBC OS Conversations is a Boffin Media production in partnership with the OS team.(Photo: Keren with her baby, her sisters and her parents)

The Church of England prohibits same-sex relations. Even so, the debate on this position – in the UK and the worldwide Anglican Communion - continues. Should the Church allow and conduct LGBT blessings, and even marriages? And can the Church ever sanction sexual relations between two people who are not husband and wife, man and woman? These are the questions Anglicans tussle with.Most recently, bishops in England made a proposal that same-sex couples should be welcomed in church for a blessing. Opposition from conservative, Anglican groups has been noisy, including from some same-sex attracted Christians.Ahead of the General Synod, the Church of England’s regular gathering of bishops, and elected clergy and laity, Heart and Soul explores the most divisive and explosive issue facing Anglicans. Linda Pressly meets Christians who both accept, and struggle with, the Church’s teachings on sexuality.Producer/presenter: Linda Pressly Editor: Helen Grady Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno(Photo: Esther and Victoria were married in September, 2019 in Old Saint Paul’s Church in Edinburgh. The Scottish Episcopal Church is a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion, but it has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017. Credit: Marta Kacala)

Just over 20% of Israel’s population are Palestinian - or Israeli Arabs - making them the largest minority in the country. They are distinct from the Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza as most have citizenship and far greater freedoms. However, they complain of discrimination and even in “mixed” cities the Jews and Palestinians tend to coexist rather than interact. Following the attacks on 7 October by Hamas and the subsequent bombing and killing of Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli army, tensions are high. Standing Together, a peace movement comprising of Jews and Palestinians, are trying to jointly diffuse tensions on the streets of their neighbourhoods. Emily Wither talks to Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, about their different experiences of growing up in Israel and their hopes for the future.

Turkey hosts the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in the world. These include around 3.6 million Syrians, who fled there during the war in their country. Now many of those Syrian refugees feel forgotten, and again unsafe, and tensions with locals are higher than ever. Seven years ago, the EU handed Turkey 6 billion euros in a deal to stop Syrians heading to Europe. Since then, many Turks say their welcome has worn thin. And now, the Turkish government is deporting Syrians it says are in Turkey illegally, back to the warzone.Karam was 19 when the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, had security forces fire on peaceful protestors and arrest hundreds of citizens. Karam was one of those arrested, and after being released he eventually paid a people smuggler to take him to Turkey. He believes that he’ll be arrested and tortured if he returnsto Syria. But he’s also afraid to stay in Turkey, saying that local Police ask for his papers around five times a day.Hannah Lucinda Smith is in Esenyurt, a predominantly Syrian district around an hour's drive from the centre of Istanbul, speaking to both Syrians and Turks about why tensions have escalated. She's asking what’s next for Syrians living there, and whether or not it will ever be safe enough for them to return home.A Depictar production for the BBC World Service.

Carol Morley is known for films like The Falling, Dreams Of A Life, and her most recent work, Typist Artist Pirate King.Her next movie is an adaptation of her autobiographical novel Seven Miles Out. It’s about a teenage girl coming to terms with her father's suicide, and not one word of the book has made its way into the screenplay. Carol tells Stephen Hughes why she was surprised by how difficult it was to adapt her own work, and how it brought back thoughts and feelings she thought she'd learned to live with. Carol also reveals that selling a script is harder than writing one, as she waits patiently to hear back from film companies that she’d sent the screenplay to.Produced and presented by Stephen Hughes**This programme contains distressing content**During this interview, Carol speaks frankly about the effect of her father’s suicide upon her. If you need support following anything you’ve hear in this episode, there’s information at bbc.com/actionline and help is also available at befrienders.org.

The fighting and funerals in the Israel and Hamas war are constant. Thousands have been killed.The number of fatalities don’t tell the real stories though. In recent days, the OS team has been reaching out to people on both sides who have lost loved ones in the war; inviting them to tell the stories of those killed.Next week’s programme will feature Israeli families. This edition, hosted by James Reynolds, is a conversation with two Palestinians who now live in Scotland and Turkey.Yousef Almqayyad in Istanbul, had to have a heartbreaking discussion with his seven-year-old daughter about the deaths in his family.“Your grandfather, your grandmother, your uncles and aunts and your cousins, right now are in heaven, in a good place,” he said. “Better than Gaza, better than Turkey, better than any place in this world. I told her they are waiting for us.”Dr Ibrahim Khadra also shares his final conversation with a member of his family in Gaza, who said: “If we’ll survive, we’ll pray to God and if I’ll die just pray for me.”“It was our last call,” said Dr Khadra.A co-production between the BBC OS team and Boffin Media.(Photo: Yousef Almqayyad with his parents Yaser and Inshirah)

It’s been more than two decades since the Chinese government launched a crackdown on Falun Gong. The spiritual group claims practitioners face mass arrest, torture and are murdered by the state for their organs. The movement is seen as the most organised opposition group to the Chinese government. China calls Falun Gong an evil cult determined to bring down the Chinese Communist Party. Practitioners say the movement is non-political but critics claim the spiritual group is building an international fake news empire, are staunch supporters of Donald Trump and are sympathetic to far-right politicians. Banned in mainland China, Falun Gong believers once practiced and protested openly in Hong Kong. But since the introduction of a draconian national security law Falun Gong’s presence in the territory has all but vanished. The BBC’s Danny Vincent travels to the self-ruled island of Taiwan to talk to practitioners about their faith, persecution, the Chinese Communist Party and the future of Falun Gong. Producer: Danny Vincent Series Producer: Rajeev Gupta Editor: Helen Grady

In Kenya, corporal punishment in schools has been banned for over twenty years, yet young students are being beaten by their teachers on a daily basis, and the consequences can be fatal. In the last five years alone, it’s believed more than 20 children have died at the hands of their teachers. In this week’s Assignment, BBC Africa Eye’s Tom Odula, whose own school years were marked by brutal and degrading treatment at the hands of teachers, goes on a journey to investigate the extent of the problem and what can be done to address it.He speaks to young victims who bear the scars of vicious beatings, to families who are seeking justice for their children who have reportedly been beaten, one of whom died - and to teachers who have turned their back on the cane and are now trying to spread the message that violence in the classroom is wrong. Through all of this, Tom asks the question, why is this happening, and what is being done to protect the most innocent in our society?Reporter: Tom Odula Producer: Chris Alcock and Rebecca Henschke Africa Eye Editor: Tom Watson Assignment Editor: Penny Murphy (Image: Kenyan child looks out of a school window. Credit: BBC Africa Eye)

The ‘Raspberry Visa’ is the colloquial name given to the Portuguese passport that workers picking berries in Western Portugal can apply for after 7 years of work. Bhrikuti Rai and Fabian Federl visit Odemira, where the raspberries are grown, to find out what life is like for the workers here and whether their dream of earning an EU passport is worth the toil. Is this system the answer to the lack of workers in the West or simply another means for the unscrupulous to exploit the hopes of migrants with dreams of a better life?

Zoo designer Kieran Stanley has created some of the world's most impressive spaces to care for animals ranging from the Indian rhinoceros to the giant panda. He is passionate about animal welfare, wanting to inspire people to fall in love with wildlife in order to help protect nature.Originally from Cork, Ireland, Kieran now lives in Berlin where he plans and designs zoos across the globe. He lists milestone projects in countries including the UK, Denmark, South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, and Germany. From his studios in Berlin, we find Kieran overseeing multiple international projects including a major, and slightly mysterious, new zoo development in Gujarat, India, called simply ’Zoo India’.Working with a multidisciplinary team including architects, landscape architects, interior designers and communication designers, it quickly becomes clear that design is just one element of a complex and fascinating process. A Tandem Production for BBC World Service.

Observing the suffering on both sides of the Israel and Gaza war, are couples and families around the world in which individuals with Jewish and Palestinian heritage have come together and built a shared life. For some there will be conflicting and mixed emotions, and some difficult questions.We hear their conversations as they talk about the beginnings of romantic relationships, and the realisation of the huge complications and family disputes that might ensure. Emotions are shared, and the challenges and decisions they face because of the present and also the past.Leya and Thaer, a Jewish-Palestinian couple living in the US, describe how both of their families were happy with the match, and how they’re bringing their son up to understand and celebrate both sides of his heritage, and to make his own choices.Becca, an American-Israeli describes meeting her Palestinian husband-to-be Mohammed in Israel, and the moment she realised the impact this could have on both of their lives. “We kissed for the first time,” she says, “and afterwards I literally said, are we playing with fire here?” Despite unease on both sides of their family, they married in 2012. Years later, shocked by the events of October 7th, Becca found herself asking Mohammed, “’Is this the sort of operation that you support?’ And he was like, ‘of course not’. But I had to ask him that question, and I regret it.”We also hear from a family of four, whose two adult sons now find themselves being asked by friends “whose side are you on?”.(Photo: Leah and Thaer with their baby)

Rachel Freier was 30 when she started her training to be an attorney, and many people told her she was making a mistake. Growing up in an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, women having high-powered careers has not been the norm, and even discouraged. But for Rachel, a mother of six, she felt that she could be a good mother, a good housewife, stay true to her Jewish faith and beliefs, while still being able to have a career – even if she was a woman. With the support of her husband she graduated law school and became an attorney, and then made history becoming the first Hasidic woman to be appointed as a judge at the civil court. Now, she is making history again, having just been elevated to the New York Supreme Court. We pay a visit to her home in Brooklyn to hear how she balances everything in her life, while managing a hugely demanding career.

Tatiana Frolova wasn’t born to be a theatre director. She grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s in a cut-off part of a closed country, the Soviet Far East. She was a shy, nervous girl brought up by a silent mother in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the bleak “City of the Dawn” built on Stalin’s orders in the early 1930s and celebrated officially as a Communist “hero-project.” But in 1985, aged 24, as the first glimmerings of glasnost appeared, Tatyana founded the Soviet Union’s first independent theatre since 1927 – known as KnAM - in Komsomolsk. It was tiny – with only 26 seats. But it tried to push back the boundaries of what could be discussed, building new plays around the memories and experiences of local people. They dealt with fear and violence transmitted from generation to generation. The theatre survived for 37 years despite the narrowing of possibilities for free speech under Vladimir Putin. But when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last year, Tatiana realised she and her actors had to leave. Now, they’re touring Europe with a new play, "We are no longer.." It’s about who they were, and what they’ve lost. But what’s the future for Tatiana and her troupe - just a handful of the hundreds of thousands of Russians now in exile? And what image of Russia are they presenting to Western audiences? For Assignment, Tim Whewell goes to meet them. Image: A scene from “We Are No Longer” by KnAM Theatre (Picture copyright Julie Cherki)

Faced with the ever-quickening pace of urbanisation, what is the future for Africa's swelling cities? Experts predict that Africa could be home to forty percent of humanity by the end of this century, and that the twenty fastest-growing cities in the world will be in sub-Saharan Africa. Will the continent have the potential for a brilliant urban future – or for an increasingly bleak one? Much will depend, in large part, on how it’s managed. How can already highly pressurised African cities provide better opportunities for all their inhabitants?In the final episode of 'Africa's Urban Future', a four-part series from the BBC World Service, Mike Wooldridge considers the future - and nothing is more pressing than the combination of this rapid urbanisation and accelerating climate change. In many cities, climate change will only add to the challenges. How the continent manages this, will not only affect the daily lives of the millions of Africans, but shape everything from migration and global economic prosperity to the future of the African nation state and the prospects for limiting climate crisis. ‘Africa’s Urban Future’ is a Ruth Evans Productions series for the BBC World Service.

September 2023 sees the opening of PAC NYC – the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York. It’s the final building in the new piazza, situated on the site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, which was destroyed on the 11th September 2001, when hijackers seized US passenger jets and crashed them into the Twin Towers, killing thousands of people. Jeff Lunden follows PAC NYC’s artistic director Bill Rauch and his behind the scenes team, as they get the specially built, flexible theatres ready for their opening season.

Mothers from all over the world leave their families in search of economic opportunities elsewhere – and they often end up working as nannies, which means they spend their days with children while their own are far away.How does it feel to nurture other people’s children while someone else takes care of yours? How does it shape a family when the mother works abroad? What’s the impact on the children, and their relationship with their parents?Namulanta Kombo - host of the multi-award-winning World Service podcast Dear Daughter – explores the personal stories behind this “global care chain.”She speaks to women all over the world who’ve been in this situation, from the Philippines to Romania to Nairobi to Dubai.They tell her what led them to leave, and what it’s been like for them - the birthdays missed and late night phone calls.They talk about the thrill of watching someone else’s child take their first steps, and the challenges of keeping your family together when you’re thousands of miles apart.And she speaks to some of the people who stayed behind about the lasting impact on their families.

In recent days, there have been warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza amid continual bombardment. In Israel, the discovery of bodies continues in the communities near the border, following the attack by Hamas on 7 October. Many of those caught up in this conflict are young people. Host James Reynolds hears from teenagers, on both sides. In Gaza, roughly half the population is under 18, and although communications are very difficult, young people have been sending us voice messages when they have enough internet. Sanabel (16) is sheltering with her family. In her messages, she said: “No one cares about us.” In Israel, Neta (18) is preparing to be a solider for Israel.

A guide to the history and context of the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Katya Adler and guests explain the key players and set out the background to help you get to grips with what’s going on today. They explain the history of the creation of the state of Israel and look at the experience of Palestinians. They take a closer look at Hamas, the group responsible for orchestrating the recent attacks on Israel. They are regarded as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the UK, but how are they seen by Palestinians? Of course outsiders have also played a crucial role. We take a tour of this Middle Eastern neighbourhood to set out the relationships with Lebanon, Hezbollah, Jordan and Egypt and explain the role global powers like the USA and Iran have had at times of war and peace.

Following a dramatic train accident, David Ditchfield was dragged under a speeding train in Cambridgeshire and nearly lost his life. As he lay in hospital, just before being taken into surgery, he had an extraordinary spiritual experience characterised by overwhelming love, white light and spiritual beings The experience awakened a previously hidden talent for painting and music. Despite his vision of angelic beings and a white tunnel of light, he doesn’t view his life-changing spiritual awakening as a religious experience. He tells his remarkable story and meets the founder of Near Death Experience UK who too had a profound spiritual awakening while in a critical condition.

A village in northern Portugal is fighting to prevent what could be the first large scale battery grade lithium mine in Europe from going into operation on its doorstep. For Assignment, Caroline Bayley travels to Covas do Barroso - the remote farming community with World Agricultural Heritage status and a tiny population - where villagers have formed a protest group which has gained international support. Portugal has one of the largest deposits of lithium in Europe and the Government is in favour of exploiting these resources as part of the green transition as lithium is used in electric vehicle batteries. The mining company needs to lease common land jointly owned by the villagers to access the lithium but the residents are holding out against this, in spite of the compensation on offer. They fear that the four open pit mines would destroy their agricultural way of life. The Barroso mine has been given the green light by Portugal’s environment agency subject to certain strict criteria being met. Owned by Savannah Resources, a London listed company, the mine aims to produce enough lithium for 500,000 electric car batteries a year. Produced and presented by Caroline Bayley Producer in Portugal Alison Roberts Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman(Image: Aida Fernandes, farmer in Covas do Barroso. Credit: BBC/Caroline Bayley)

Apartheid may now be long buried politically but in and around South Africa’s main cities it has left a visible legacy. Those entrenched historical problems could be about to get worse as cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town continue to grow rapidly, as a result of both migration and the natural population growth. Persistent power cuts and creaking infrastructure are major challenges to the ever-quickening pace of urbanisation. Can an ambitious new plan for Stellenbosch, the place where apartheid was reportedly conceived, help to break down the post-apartheid legacy of urban planning?

Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf takes us behind the scenes of the making of Kandahar, his film about life in Afghanistan that captured the world's attention when President Bush asked to see it after the attacks on 9/11. He reveals how he managed to film on a smugglers' route between Iran and Afghanistan, and how he avoided the attentions of the Taliban.

“I’m in love with the mountains.” A special episode from Kalki Presents: My Indian Life. Savita Kanswal was an inspirational climber, who had scaled Mount Everest. At the age of 26, she was tragically killed in an avalanche in the Himalayas. Kalki Presents: My Indian Life explores stories of being young and Indian in the 21st Century. Presented by Bollywood actor Kalki Koechlin. www.bbcworldservice.com/myindianlife #MyIndianLife

This is an historical conflict with decades of bloodshed but the unprecedented violence of the past week has thrown the crisis into unknown territory. It was triggered by the Islamist militant group Hamas – which is designated a terror organisation by many Western governments – breaking through the barrier between Israel and Gaza and launching a range of surprise attacks. Israel immediately announced it was at war and made threats to destroy Hamas; firing rocket attacks into Gaza. We speak to Israelis and Palestinians living in Gaza.

It has been 100 years since a young animator sold his first film series, called Alice Comedies, to a distributor. Without knowing, he was starting what became one of the world’s biggest media empires. The company took his family name: Disney. The studio has led and shaped the animation industry for generations, and it’s now in the very heart of global culture. In this episode of The Cultural Frontline, we speak to animators responsible for some of Disney and Pixar’s most successful films. We also explore the creative, technological and cultural challenges Disney and the wider animation industry are facing today. Veteran animator Floyd Norman has worked with Disney since the 1950s, on films like Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book. His colleague Tony Bancroft was the co-director of Mulan and the creator of one of the most beloved Disney characters, Pumbaa the warthog, in The Lion King. They talk about the milestones of Disney history. Oscar-winning director Brenda Chapman reflects on the role of women on screen and in production, and talks about the inspiration for Merida, Brave’s anti-princess. Plus, Rebecca Sugar, and Frank Abney discuss how the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement are changing the animation industry.Presenter: Brian Sibley Producer: Constanza Hola

It’s more than 150 years since the end of the American Civil War. But the replacement of a monument dedicated to the Confederate Commander Robert E Lee with a statue of black icon Henrietta Lacks has proved an emotive issue in Roanoke, Virginia. In a region steeped in the history and trauma of that war, the unveiling of a new memorial has shone a spotlight on the hidden histories of the United States. As Elizabeth Gabriel reports for Assignment, how we remember the past remains a divisive issue.Produced by Ben Wyatt Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Studio mix: Rod Farquhar Assignment editor: Penny Murphy(Image: Statue of Henrietta Lacks on Lacks Plaza, Roanoke. Credit: David Hungate and the Roanoke Times)

Mike Wooldridge and Tanzanian development worker Mary Ndaro report on the opportunities and challenges for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial centre, and one of Africa’s fastest growing cities. Some six million people currently call Dar es Salaam home, but the city’s population has grown by a whopping 40% in just a decade. By the 2030s it is projected to become a megacity with a population of more than 10 million. Getting around cities like Dar es Salaam can be not only stressful but expensive, negotiating roads clogged with cars and choked with fumes, but the city is now investing in transport infrastructure to keep people moving.

Stay Online is the first film about the full-scale war in Ukraine. Young producer Anton Skrypets tells Antonia Quirke about the dangers and challenges of this groundbreaking production, through a series of interviews and diary entries interspersed by the sound of air raid sirens and drone attacks. Directed by his sister Yeva Strielnikova, Stay Online is a rare thing: a war movie made entirely in a war zone.

The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is at the centre of one of the world’s longest running disputes that goes back more than 100 years. The latest conflict involved a lightening military operation by Azerbaijan. It resulted in nearly 120,000 Armenians, virtually the entire population, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh and making a difficult journey across the border to Armenia Host Anna Foster hears from three women who took that single route.

Pope Francis has launched the biggest consultation in the history of the Catholic church. Since the process started three years ago, millions of Catholics worldwide have given their responses to the question: “What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our journeying together?” Caroline Wyatt brings three young Catholics together to discuss the future of their church. She also hears other voices from around the world, to explore just what Pope Francis’s revolution means to them.

Gabon is football crazy and it’s the dream of most young footballers to play internationally. But, in 2022 a long serving coach for youth national teams admitted to charges of raping, grooming, and exploiting young players. He faces up to 30 years in prison. For Assignment, BBC Africa Eye’s Khadidiatou Cissé travels to Gabon to investigate one of the biggest sexual abuse scandals in the history of football. She speaks with victims and eyewitnesses who reveal a shocking culture of sexual abuse and despair, with claims that many people knew, and many stayed silent. We follow a coach who, at personal risk, is determined to bring about change. Football’s world governing body, FIFA, is facing accusations of failing to take effective action over the scandal. Presented by Khadidiatou Cissé Produced by Stephanie Stafford and Suzanne Vanhooymissen. BBC Eye editors Rebecca Henschke and Tom Watson Mixed by Neil Churchill Assignment series editor: Penny Murphy(Image: Child holding football boots. Credit: BBC)

What is the future for Africa's rapidly swelling cities? The stretch of nearly 1,000 km between Abidjan and Lagos, is by 2100 projected to be the largest zone of continuous, dense habitation on earth - and home to about half a billion people. In Ghana alone, the population which was around six million at the time of independence could exceed 50 million by 2050. There has been unprecedented migration into Accra and other cities from rural areas, straining the city’s ability to provide basic housing and services to people, and exacerbating existing inequalities. Presenter Mike Wooldridge and Ghanaian architect Ruth-Anne Richardson report on the opportunities and challenges this rapid urbanisation brings in West Africa.

The term “narwhal” derives from the old Nordic for “nár + hvalr”, meaning corpse + whale, which, for these animals, is quickly becoming prophetic. Climate change, with its accompanying increase in human marine activity, has led to the Arctic Ocean becoming noisier. As narwhal rely on sound to communicate and navigate their surroundings, this could result in the extinction of populations like East Greenland's narwhal by as soon as 2025. Mary-Ann Ochota investigates how this issue is at once political, cultural, and environmental and speaks to the scientists, traditional hunters, and activists, who are seeking a solution.

After its award winning premier in 2020, a new production of The Visitors by Indigenous playwright Jane Harrison sees us on the eve of colonisation. The first fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour on the 26 January 1788 bringing with them convicts, disease and violence. The play asks, what if we saw this moment from the Aboriginal perspective? What if they could decide whether or not to let the fleet land? As seven tribal elders watch the fleet arrive they must decide whether to stop them, or welcome them. Regina Botros follows the director Wesley Enoch, the writer Jane Harrison and the cast through the challenges of the play as it reflects, quite poignantly, the current political climate in Australia.

It is a war with many names - The Yom Kippur War, the Ramadan War, the October War. What is clear 50 years after it was fought is that it was a conflict that really did change the world. Michael Goldfarb tells the story of the war that began on the 6 October 1973 and ended less than three weeks later - yet somehow the Israeli and Arab states combatants, as well as the rest of the world, still live with the aftermath today.

Winter is approaching once again in the war and, for all the combat in the summer, the situation remains largely unchanged for both Ukrainian and Russian forces. There is talk that the conflict could go on for many years. President Volodymyr Zelensky is still firmly focused on victory for Ukraine but he admits that the mood among some of his international backers appears to be changing. But on the battlefields, what are the attitudes of Ukrainians? Host Lukwesa Burak speaks to two Ukrainian soldiers, journalists and families caught up in the conflict.

Jake Emlyn’s musical talents were once hailed by international pop star Robbie Williams, who mentored the young English rapper. It lead him to feature on the albums of major stars and tour worldwide. However, 10 years ago, on the verge of signing a major record deal, Jake lost his father to cancer and it prompted a journey of reflection and self-discovery. A chance meeting with a Hare Krishna monk led Jake to visit the Radha Krishna temple in central London and from then on Jake was hooked to spiritual life. For the past decade, he has devoted his life to the Hare Krishna movement, combining his rapping skills with his religious life and becoming the world’s number one Hare Krishna rapper.

In Germany you can go to prison for travelling on public transport without a ticket. It’s estimated that 7,000 people are serving a jail sentence for this at any one time. Most of them are serial offenders, usually unemployed or homeless, the poorest people in German society. The law that enables courts to imprison people for not paying a fare dates from the early 1930s when it was introduced by the Nazi government. The public transport companies defend its existence. They say they lose hundreds of millions of Euros a year to people cheating on their fares and that it’s important to retain the threat of prison as a deterrent.As Tim Mansel discovers for Assignment, others disagree and are campaigning for the law to be abolished. Most eye-catching is a campaign run by the Freedom Fund, set up in Berlin in 2021, which has raised hundreds of thousands of Euros. Its founder, Arne Semsrott, describes the law as “deeply unjust,” saying it “discriminates heavily against people who don’t have money, against people who don’t have housing, against people who are already in crisis.”Produced and presented by Tim Mansel(Image: Gisa März, who served a prison sentence for fare dodging. Credit: Tim Mansel/BBC)

For many people around the world, donation of sperm or an egg can be the difference between becoming parents and not. But while this donation can make their dream of parenthood come true, what are the considerations for the end result, the child themselves? Donation and IVF can help jump the hurdles when it comes to the physical process of conception for would-be parents, but what about the emotional and psychological impact on the people who eventually find out they are not biologically related to one or both of their parents? Louise Mcloughlin, herself donor-conceived, hears from people around the world who have been faced with the news they are not the identity they assumed they were.

The shooting starts on The Old Oak and Sharuna Sagar is there to witness Ken Loach's unique style of directing. Throughout his career from Kes to The Wind That Shakes The Barley to I, Daniel Blake, the 87-year-old film-maker does not like to tell the cast what is going to happen in the next scene. He explains his reasons, while star Dave Turner reveals what it is like to be surprised every day on set.