The Documentary Podcast

For more than 15 months the Ukrainian armed forces have held out against the superior numbers of the Russian invasion force. But not every Ukrainian man subject to the draft is willing to fight. More than 6,000 Ukrainian men of military age have been granted protection in Romania since the beginning of the war, according to figures supplied by the Romanian immigration authority. Some left Ukraine in order to avoid the draft. Others served on the front before throwing down their weapons. Romania has a 600-kilometre border with Ukraine, which is difficult to cross. The choice is either a short swim across a fast-moving river or a long trek over snow-covered mountains. A number of those who’ve tried have died in the attempt. Nick Thorpe has been to the border region to meet Ukrainian men who do not want to fight in the war.

In 1872, Yellowstone became America and the world's first national park. Alongside erupting geysers, bubbling hot springs, canyons, and bison herds, we uncover the pivotal role of art in winning over the public and convincing politicians to set aside this unique landscape, which today spans 2.2 million acres. Shirl Ireland is a landscape and wildlife painter from Gardiner, Montana, and naturalist and guide Ashea Mills, tread the same terrain as painter Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson.

The Old Oak will be Ken Loach's last feature film and Sharuna Sagar was granted exclusive access behind the scenes of this landmark movie. She joins the 86 year old director on his swansong as he brings together his loyal team for one last time. As with his previous two films, I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You, Ken returns to the North East of England, to tell the story of Syrian refugees who have been housed in an ex-mining village. With him are his long-standing partners, producer Rebecca O'Brien and writer Paul Laverty, and they reveal the secrets of Loach's success.

It’s 70 years since a New Zealand mountaineer and his Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer guide reached the highest point on Earth. There have been celebrations in Nepal in recent days to mark the anniversary. Thousands of people have followed in their footsteps but this climbing season on Mount Everest is drawing international attention for the record number of climbers and the increased deaths on the mountain. James Reynolds hosts conversations that give us an insight into one of the toughest challenges on the planet, as well as the challenges posed by climate change and the overall impact on those who rely on the mountain to earn a living.

Jean Vanier changed Richard and Hazel’s lives. He founded the L’Arche movement – a global network inspired by Christian teaching – where people with and without learning disabilities live together in community. During his life, Vanier was hailed as “a living saint” and “a prophet”. But shortly after his death, a deep and disturbing secret emerged – that Vanier founded L’Arche to hide a mystical sex sect, coercing and abusing at least 25 women, all without disabilities. Richard and Hazel were stunned when they discovered the truth. Now they and 150 L’Arche communities are coming to terms with what has happened.

Russia is supplying the Myanmar military with advanced fighter jets and training their pilots how to use them in a war against their own people. More than two years on from the coup, the country’s military is facing a countrywide armed uprising and their troops are struggling to hold ground and recruit foot-soldiers. So, the strategy is turning increasingly to the air with devastating consequences. BBC’s Asia editor Rebecca Henschke follows those fighting back on the ground and in the air. And meets defectors from the airforce who give exclusive insight into the strategy and psychology behind those operating these deadly machines.(Photo credit: Free Burma Rangers)

For years the people of Evin-Malmaison in north-east France have lived and brought up children in a town which is dangerously polluted. The Metaleurop Foundry attracted workers and their families, it provided life to the area - but it has now killed it with the pollution, which lies deep in the soil. Twenty years after the factory closed, the scale of the scandal has only just emerged, thanks to a new residents campaign. But who will takes responsibility? Marine Hay meets the families here who say they can't live with lead seeping into their water supply, but can't leave because, who would buy their houses?

Alberta is an award-winning Barbadian-Scottish multi-disciplinary artist whose work encompasses drawing, digital collage, film and video installation, sculpture, performance and writing. In this edition of In The Studio, Antonia Quirke follows the progress of a new painting, commissioned specifically for the exhibition. All is going well with the painting, until Alberta realises that it might be upside down.

The exact cause is unknown, but the mental health condition ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) affects millions of lives around the world. Symptoms include hyperactive behaviour and maintaining concentration. To understand its effect a little more, we brought people together who are living with it. Two mothers in Kenya and the UK share their experiences of bringing up children with the condition. Host James Reynolds also hears from two couples living with ADHD in Nigeria and the United States, and rapper Jude MI Abaga.

One of the founding principles of the United States is that religion and politics, church and state, are separate. Yet today in America religious belief and politics have become inseparable. Self-styled "evangelical" Christians have become the dominant grassroots force in the Republican Party. "Evangelical" is not a denomination, it can mean different things to different people in terms of religious doctrine. The unifying principle seems to be in the political outlook of its adherents: deeply conservative in the 21st Century American political context. Michael Goldfarb explores the tension between a life of Christian faith and the dirty realities of secular politics.