The Documentary Podcast

Humans are returning to the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The multi-national mission is called Artemis and involves the most powerful rocket and capable spacecraft ever built, a space station in lunar orbit, and a permanent moon-base on the surface. At a special event at the Royal Geographical Society in London, Dr Kevin Fong speaks to three of the world-leading engineers who are making this possible: Howard Hu, Orion programme manager at Nasa, Sara Pastor, chief engineer at the ESA Ihab Gateway, Libby Jackson, head of exploration at the UK Space Agency.

A new season of the Saudi Pro League is underway, now featuring some of the biggest names in football. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, among many others, have all signed-up to play in the country. It has shaken up the transfer window but it is not without its controversy. Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who signed for a Saudi club for example, was a vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights. But in Saudi Arabia, sexual activity with people of the same sex is illegal and can be punishable by death. Henderson’s rainbow armbands have been edited to grey in recent promotional videos. Host James Reynolds hears from three international football fans, Cassie, Alex and Evan.

The Rev Malcolm Rogers has been in charge of the most extraordinary church.  St Andrews looks like an ordinary British Victorian church, but amazingly it’s just ten minutes from the heart of power in Russia, the Kremlin.   His flock includes local Russian people but also many English speaking ex-pats and members of Moscow's international community. This would have been an unusual posting at any time, but he’s been there during a remarkable period. It included the diplomatic dispute over the Salisbury poisonings, the Football World Cup staged in Russia, the Covid Pandemic and now the war in Ukraine.  It has put him in a sensitive situation at times, but it has also helped him to understand how the world is seen through Russian eyes.

Tens of thousands of Russian criminals – murders, rapists, robbers – were recruited from prisons by the mercenary group, Wagner, to fight in Ukraine. Now, after six months on the battlefield, the survivors have returned home, with official pardons. Many served only a fraction of their original sentences. And now, they're officially treated as heroes - protected by a new law which criminalises discreditation of anyone who fights on the Russian side in the war.Already, some returnees are reported to have committed further serious crimes. One has confessed to the brutal axe-murder of his 85-year-old former landlady. In another case, an ex-convict believed to have served with Wagner has been charged with masterminding the killing of two children's entertainers, one of them a 19-year-old woman who was training to be a teacher. The murders in southern Russia provoked an outpouring of anger and grief, with thousands signing a petition demanding that the alleged ringleader - who denies any guilt - should get a life sentence if he is eventually convicted. But they know any punishment will probably be less severe, because the criminal records of former Wagner mercenaries have been wiped. They start their lives again from a clean slate, and if they re-offend, no previous convictions can be considered.Reporter Arseny Sokolov talks to the mother of the murdered entertainer, to campaigners for prison reform - and to an ex-convict who fought for Wagner - to investigate what threat the returned mercenaries pose in their home towns and villages - and to assess the damage "legal nihilism" is doing to Russian society.Producer: Tim Whewell Editor: Penny Murphy(Image: A poster showing Wagner Group servicemen with a slogan reading “Join the winning team” in St. Petersburg, Russia, 24 June 2023. Credit: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Female founders in the green tech sector are developing solar tech to reduce the carbon footprint of subsistence fishing in South East Asia. They aim to improve the health of fisherfolk, preserve marine ecosystems, and boost incomes. The podcast also discusses the challenges faced by female founders in a male-dominated industry and emphasizes the importance of promoting STEM education and green technology for a better future.

In March 2022, seven months after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, second level education was banned for girls, leaving around 1.1 million of them without access to formal schooling. Then in December that year, all female students were refused access to universities and colleges. But across the country, Afghan women and girls are fighting back, and defying the Taliban government by continuing their education in secret. Founded and, for the most part, staffed by women, secret schools have started to emerge from the shadows, offering online and in-person classes to those brave enough to attend. BBC Afghan broadcast journalist, Sana Safi, takes us inside two such secret schools, and into the hearts and minds of those who, despite the risks, refuse to be denied an education. (Photo: A classroom with students. Credit: Getty Images)

The Indian-born crime fiction author, Ajay Chowdhury, is writing the fifth instalment of his Detective Kamil Rahman series, set between India and the UK. But Ajay is also a leading digital tech entrepreneur and this side of his life influences how he writes his fiction. Join fellow author Paul Waters as he watches Ajay completing the first draft of his latest book with the help of artificial intelligence tools. Some authors – including Paul - fear that AI is an existential threat to human creativity, so why and how does Ajay use it to make his books better?

DJ and writer Lynnée Denise marks hip-hop’s 50th year by speaking to leading names about the music, the art and the creativity of this global cultural movement. Legendary hip-hop producer Pete Rock reminisces over the last five decades, celebrating the artform, exploring its social impact and ask what lies ahead in hip-hop’s story. Artist and rapper Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 tells us how the social realism of Grand Master Flash and the Furious 5 inspired him to write rhymes.

Niger has been the focus of international and diplomatic attention over the past week after its democratically elected president was removed from power by the military. In recent days, we have seen hundreds of foreign nationals leave the West African country. For most people in Niger though it is about trying to get on with life – amid the uncertainty – in a country that consistently ranks as having the lowest standards of living anywhere in the world. Host James Reynolds hears from two friends in Niger, Sadissou and Sidien, who share their different perspectives on events.

A doctor in New York, Anjoli has been longing for a space to practise spirituality within a like-minded community, but she does not want to go to her parents’ Hindu temple. Whilst she likes the rituals and the sense of community, she feels torn over the teachings about race and caste. She's one of a flock of people signing up to an online community called The Nearness - a group brought together by people with Divinity School backgrounds who yearn for a community where they can explore big spiritual questions, but outside the confines of tradition religion. Research suggests that many millennials are hungry for spiritual communities but wary of mainstream religious ones, so they are trying to create their own. But is it possible to do this in a lasting way, without the history, traditions and rituals of an established faith?