The Documentary Podcast

For World Radio Day 2022, we tune in to radio stations around the world that connect communities, spark conversations, keep traditions alive and give a voice to their listeners. From Aboriginal Koori Radio in Australia to a community station in India run by rural women from the lowest Dalit caste, the airwaves carry intimate wisdom, vital knowledge, beats and tunes that keep reminding us who we are.

For the past fortnight, the world has watched Canadian truckers block roads to protest against Covid restrictions. A rule that required any truckers entering Canada from the US to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or face a 14-day quarantine triggered the demonstations. The protests then grew to include different people who are angry at other Covid restrictions and also at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. Host Karnie Sharp hears perspectives on the protest in Ottawa, and brings together two residents on what it’s like to live and work in the capital, amid the trucks and the wailing horns.

Russia and some Nato member states, including the US, are at odds over the Ukraine crisis. Ros Atkins examines the dynamics at play between Russia and Nato.

Looking back over a long life can provide cause for regret. Incidents from decades past, seemingly forgotten, can suddenly provoke deep sadness. Richard in Malaysia is troubled by the way he acted as a young man. Writer and therapist Dr Shefali offers him guidance on accepting his flaws and living more in the present moment.

Lucy Ash catches up with a warzone bakery comforting people in an east Ukrainian town. She visited in 2017 to tell the story of a small enterprise that was bringing hope to a trapped community living near the frontline. The town of Marinka is in the buffer zone – the ‘grey zone’ - that separates Ukraine from the Dontesk region – now claimed and occupied by Russian backed separatists. For the town’s inhabitants the low-intensity conflict had become an unavoidable part of daily life. But there was one bright spot amidst the gloom – a bakery. It was Ukraine’s first frontline workplace-generating enterprise, and a haven from the politics, propaganda, and violence that had been tearing the town apart. But now, more than four years on, with Russian troops now massing along Ukraine’s eastern border, the threat of all out conflict looms. The bakery’s owner Oleg Tkachenko tells Lucy Ash he hopes there will not be an all out conflict. He fears an invasion could destroy everything that he and his community have built up over the past five years.(Image: Workers in the bakery in Marinka. Credit: Frederick Paxton)

Sex is everywhere – in popular music and TV programmes, in toothpaste adverts and on social media. Yet in real life, regular sex no longer seems to be such a big priority for people in their 20s. Research in countries including Britain, the United States and Japan has shown that young people are having less sex than previous generations. Twenty-one-year-old student Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty talks to people her own age to find out why. From situationships to demi-sexual or homo-romantic asexual, Anoushka discovers the different ways young people are navigating relationships.

Women working to help communities caught up in Ethiopia’s brutal war talk about the immense challenges they face on the ground, and we hear the story of "Tsega", who was brutally attacked after she was forced to flee from her home. A co-production by BBC and Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

The Winter Games are officially underway as Beijing becomes the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics. Host Karnie Sharp brings us a conversation between two competitors, who are from countries that don’t traditionally send large teams to snow sports.Manon Ouaiss is the only woman on the three person Lebanon team while Ornella Oettl Reyes is the sole member, and flag bearer, for Peru. Both are alpine skiers and both are aware of the importance of sending a positive message to those who are cheering them on from the countries they represent.These Games are impacted by the Covid pandemic and by politics. Several countries have declared diplomatic boycotts over China’s alleged human rights abuses. One protest concerns the treatment of the Muslim Uyghur population. While China denies any human rights violations, we hear from three Uyghur exiles and activists living in Germany, Australia and Switzerland. They discuss their objection to these Games.

The musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have asked Spotify to remove their music from the platform. They have criticised the music streaming service for publishing a podcast that spreads Covid misinformation. It’s sparked a debate about freedom of speech and corporate responsibility. Ros Atkins has been looking into the controversy.

The pandemic has caused many people to reassess their lives...but self-reflection is a journey that can bring challenges. Annie, from Australia, feels she has gained wisdom and a deeper insight into life but it has led to her living almost on 'auto-pilot', without the passion she had before. She speaks to Sufi teacher and interfaith minister Imam Jamal Rahman. He suggests ways we might connect with life more deeply.