The Documentary Podcast

Until 2021, Uganda had only four paediatric surgeons and a just a few children’s hospital beds for the entire country. In 2020, the mortality rate for children under five was 43 per 1,000 births, compared to three per 1,000 in the UK. The Children’s Hospital of Entebbe, funded by the Italian NGO, Emergency, and designed by world famous architect Renzo Piano, was established in 2021 to change the situation. Ugandan Journalist Lulu Jemimah visits the hospital, on the shore of Lake Victoria, to ask whether one hospital is enough to reset the future for Uganda's children.

Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – former owner of one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. For the full investigation, search for World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is a story of power and control at the very top of British society. At the time of many of the alleged attacks, Mohamed Al Fayed was the owner of London’s luxury department store Harrods, and also the iconic Ritz Paris hotel and English football club Fulham FC. The BBC has heard testimony of over 20 women. Harrods has condemned Al Fayed’s actions “in the strongest terms” and has told the BBC that “as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.” Harrods says the organisation is different today to the one owned by Al Fayed, and it “seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”

A wave of criminal activity in Japan has been blamed on social media. Yami Baito – meaning “dark part-time jobs” in Japanese – refers to job ads posted by criminal gangs on social media and encrypted messaging platforms including Telegram. Jobseekers are blackmailed or enticed with the promise of getting rich quick to commit a range of crimes from scamming elderly people to, at its most extreme, armed robbery. Japanese police have attempted to crack down on Yami Baito by taking down these ads and launching public awareness campaigns. But BBC Trending explores evidence that these recruiters are still operating online. We hear from someone who got sucked into Yami Baito, and a criminal mastermind in charge of recruitment.

Singapore’s drug laws are severe. The penalties for trafficking illegal narcotics range from a prison term to execution. And if you’re caught using any illicit narcotic, including cannabis, you may find yourself in compulsory rehab. In this double edition of Assignment for The Documentary, Linda Pressly’s given access to the state’s austere Drug Rehabilitation Centre. She also explores how the law on trafficking is applied, meets the sister of a man who was hung after a heroin conviction, and learns that it’s also illegal for a Singaporean to consume drugs overseas.

The Los Angeles river has been a concrete channel since the 1930s, when the US Army Corps of Engineers decided to concrete over the original river for flood mitigation. Ever since then, the river has been regularly used as a symbol of dystopia and was the backdrop in a famous scene in The Terminator. However, landscape architect Mia Lehrer wants to transform its reputation and to revitalise the river, because it is still a waterway shared by millions. This will be not be an easy task, however, as the river itself is still the property of the US Army Corps, and the river course crosses numerous bureaucratic boundaries at both the local and state level. Presenter Alan Weedon meets Mia as she describes her vision to breathe new life into an American icon.

Over the four decades since the pandemic took off, we have seen around 40 million people worldwide killed by HIV. Today, around the same number of people are living with the virus, and many of them are long-term survivors. In 2015, an end to the pandemic by 2030 was adopted as one of the ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goals and signed up to by all member states. Sue Armstrong and Noerine Kaleeba report on the impressive progress made in controlling the spread of HIV and ask whether the goal of an end to the Aids pandemic by 2030 is really possible.

The Grey Wolves, a Turkish far-right political movement, is getting increasing attention worldwide. So is their hand gesture, depicting a wolf’s head. But what makes them so controversial? Selin Girit from BBC Turkish explains. Produced by Alice Gioia and Caroline Ferguson. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

Commemorations took place in Israel this week to mark 7 October, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed by Hamas gunmen and 251 were taken hostage into neighbouring Gaza. Twelve months later, the bloodshed in the region has also spread to Gaza and Lebanon and Iran has been drawn into the conflict. Host Luke Jones hears from Eylon in Tel Aviv and Adam in England who are frustrated that the plight of the hostages can sometimes appear to be forgotten, especially on the global stage. He also hears what life is like for three young Israelis in their 20s and the anxiety of daily rocket strikes, explosions and gunfire.

With a global market worth more than $100 billion dollars a year, yoga is a massive industry. With its origins in India, Yoga is often considered to be part of the Hindu tradition, as well as being influenced by other religions including Buddhism and Islam. Yet with modern studios and teachers offering a plethora of styles from fitness to beer yoga, has it become disconnected from its spiritual roots? And is the surge in social media trends diluting its authenticity? Geeta Pendse meets the women on personal missions to ‘reclaim yoga’ whilst balancing the demands of business with the spiritual roots of this ancient practice.

Female con artists are exploiting superstition and family love to swindle women with Chinese heritage living in the west. The blessing scam is an elaborate piece of criminal street theatre, which over the last few months has claimed victims across North America and the UK. It begins with an apparently random meeting with a stranger in the street, and very quickly escalates from there. Victims are tricked out of their money and possessions, after being terrified into believing that a relative’s life is threatened by evil spirits. Are the criminals just master manipulators, or could something even more sinister be involved? Now a social media activist is fighting back and trying to put the crooks out of business.

Joining Mishal Husain are Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's International Editor; Lord Ricketts, who served as a British diplomat for many years including being on the Foreign office Middle East desk during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982; Afif Safieh, former Palestinian Head of Mission in London, Washington, D.C. and Moscow; Ehud Olmert, who was Israeli Prime Minister from 2006 to 2009; Ambassador David Satterfield, who until earlier this year was US Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues and Dr. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

A bonus episode from the People Fixing the World podcast. Concerns are growing about the effects of smartphones on both adults and children, so we're looking at ways to reduce our dependence on these ubiquitous devices. Presenter Myra Anubi attempts to ditch her smartphone for a week, while she finds out about a fast-growing campaign in which local parents get together to agree to delay buying them for their children. But Myra and her own daughter don't quite see eye-to-eye on the topic. Plus Anna Holligan visits an innovative project called The Offline Club in Amsterdam, where people hand in their phones in exchange for a dose of good old real-life interaction. People Fixing the World is a weekly programme looking at common challenges around the world and the creative ways people are trying to tackle them. Discover more of the people and projects trying to make the world a better place at bbcworldservice.com/peoplefixingtheworld or, just search for People Fixing the World wherever you got this podcast. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: William Kremer Netherlands reporter: Anna Holligan Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Hal Haines

Lyse Doucet reflects on some of the biggest moments from this conflict with BBC colleagues Jeremy Bowen, Anna Foster and Rushdi Abualouf, who have been reporting from around the region and they discuss what could happen next in the Middle East. for more search The Conflict wherever you get your BBC podcasts

Gary O'Donoghue meets local newspaper editors in America to hear about the challenge of reporting during a divisive presidential election campaign. In Kansas, Gary visits Eric Meyer, the owner and editor of the Marion County Record. In August 2023 the paper’s offices, and the home of its 90-year-old owner, Eric’s mother Joan, were raided by the town's five person police department. A "good old fashioned newspaper war" has been playing out in Westcliffe, Colorado, where Gary meets Jordan Hedberg, editor of the Wet Mountain Tribune. In the same town, the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel, promises “a different view from the same mountains”. Gary also hears about how trust in local news, which has traditionally played a big part in local politics, is being eroded.

Rampant abuse and 'mafia' style intimidations: these are the conditions thousands of women working in one of India's film industries allegedly faced for years. Following a damning report into Kerala’s Malayalam-language movie scene, BBC India reporter Sumedha Pal has been talking to actors, directors and producers to understand what's going on, and how the MeToo movement has changed the working environment for women in the wider Indian film industry. Produced by Alice Gioia and Caroline Ferguson. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

On 7 October 2023, Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 more hostage. Israel responded with airstrikes and by sending troops into Gaza. The aim was to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and to secure the release of the hostages. The impact in Gaza has been devastating. Thousands of people have been killed. The United Nations estimates that around 90% of Palestinians have had to leave their homes and are now living in temporary accommodation. We begin with the stories and words of three Palestinian women, whose lives we have been tracking through voice messages.

Peter Adamski seemed to have it all. At 19, he had met Kathy, the love of his life and the woman he would marry. In his 20s, he landed a prestigious job with the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, jetting around the world in first class for business meetings. He had a healthy baby boy, John, his wealth soared into the millions, and he owned three houses. He was living the American dream. But everything changed when he and Kathy received the news from a doctor: "Kathy, you have early-onset Alzheimer’s." The future they had envisioned together was abruptly replaced by the prospect of a long, painful farewell. After Kathy’s passing, Peter felt as though he had lost all sense of meaning - until one night, he felt a profound call from God. At 65, he became a Catholic priest, and he believes his life has never been more fulfilling.

A bonus episode from the Lives Less Ordinary podcast. British-Iranian Anoosheh Ashoori spent years in one of Iran’s toughest prisons after being snatched off the street by security forces. He was falsely accused of espionage, but realised he'd become a pawn in a game of global politics. For more extraordinary personal stories from around the world, go to bbcworldservice.com/liveslessordinary or search for Live Less Ordinary wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Harry Graham

In May, riots broke out in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia - a group of islands in the South Pacific. Protesters were calling for independence from the European nation that has ruled the archipelago for more than a century and a half. Amid the violence came an unusual claim - that Azerbaijan, a seemingly disconnected nation thousands of miles from both Paris and the Pacific Ocean - was stoking the violence online. BBC Trending asks if there is any truth to the claim. And if so, what might Azerbaijan be hoping to achieve?

Jakarta is facing all sorts of problems - deadly floods, land subsidence, extreme pollution, notorious traffic and overcrowding. Indonesia’s outgoing president has come up with an extreme solution: moving the country’s capital a thousand kilometres away, to the middle of the rainforest. Will the new city be a futuristic utopia and a model for sustainable urbanisation - or an eye-wateringly expensive, ecologically disastrous ghost town? BBC Indonesia reporter Astudestra Ajengrastri travels to the island of Borneo to find out if the ambitious plans will live up to reality.