IFC Podcast -Latest Radio Docs

En nat i den Filippinske narkokrig. I Filippinerne har præsidenten startet en narkokrig, hvor 8.000 mennesker er blevet slået ihjel på bare otte måneder. Det er selvtægtsmænd og politiet, der dræber, mens det er de fattige i slumområderne, der bliver dræbt. Drabene er blevet hverdag og støttes af mange, men en lille gruppe af fotojournalister tager hver nat ud for at dokumentere de tusindvis af mord og de efterladtes skæbner, i håbet om at sætte en stopper for præsidenten og befolkningens blodrus. Tilrettelæggelse: Jannik Juel Krarup. Redaktør: Louise Witt-Hansen. (Sendt første gang 21. maj).

A journey up the 'suicidal' Pilcomayo river that separates Paraguay from Argentina... The Pilcomayo is the life-force of one of Latin America's most arid regions. But it is also one of the most heavily silted rivers of the world. As it courses down from the Bolivian Highlands in the months of December and January, half is water, half sand. This means it often causes flooding. Or, it changes course, failing to deliver water to those who depend on it. So in order to benefit communities, this is a river system that needs careful management, and a lot of human input to ensure the water flows. Compounding the fickleness of the Pilcomayo are 3 years of drought in the region. Gabriela Torres travels north from Asuncion up the course of the Pilcomayo during the dry season, visiting communities where the wildlife is dying and the economy under threat. How will the people - and animals - cope this year? (Photo: Feliciano Loveda standing in the dry channel of the Pilcomayo river next to his home – he hasn’t used his boat for five years. Credit: Gabriela Torres)

Before the end of a busy and exciting year for radio and podcasts, the Third Coast staff got together to recap and reflect on 2017. Johanna, Maya, Gwen, Dennis and Isabel discussed the shows and moments in the audio world from 2017 that they won't soon forget... and talked about what they look forward to hearing more of in 2018 and beyond. What we won’t forget from 2017: Johanna: How much everyone wanted to talk (debate, and reconsider, and take some more) about S-Town. Isabel: The rise of mini-series, often delving into the mind of one man (yep, mostly men), including: Missing Richard Simmons, Start Up’s series on Dov Charney, The Pope’s Long Con, Mogul: The Life & Death of Chris Lighty, Embedded’s “Trump Stories” Dennis: Podcast producers making limited series that can end, like Showcase & Heaven’s Gate. Maya: How inspiring it was — especially for public media newsrooms — when 74 Seconds won the Third Coast/RHDF Best Documentary: Gold. Gwen: This latest season of Heavyweight & the divisive set-up of Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel. What we’re looking forward to in 2018: Gwen: MORE OF THE THINGS I LOVE!!!! Johanna: More people re-thinking the podcast form — like in CBC’s Alone: A Love Story. Maya: A nightly, live on-air radio broadcast hosted by women about urgent, topical issues, like WNYC’s “A Reckoning in Our Own House” Isabel: More great Spanish-language and bilingual podcasts! Shout out to Martina Castro’s bilingual provocation. Dennis: Pieces without clear narrative arcs — and podcasts & radio stories made overseas, but NOT in Europe.

Leo Houlding is one of the most famous rock-climbers in the world. He tells adventurer Steve Backshall about the most bizarre and unforgettable experience of his life. In 2012, Leo travelled to a remote corner of Venezuela to make an attempt on the unforgiving table-top mountain Cerro Autana. It’s considered sacred by the local Pieroa people on whose land it stands. They were suspicious of Leo’s motives; they couldn’t understand why he would travel so far simply to climb. Leo says they suspected him of prospecting for diamonds. So, it was important for him to gain their trust - partly because he needed their help to carry equipment and break through the impenetrable rainforest that stood between his team and the mountain. Trust was gained by undertaking a frightening and dangerous ‘yopo’ ceremony. Yopo is a powerful hallucinogenic drug, used in shamanic ritual; it sent Leo on what he describes as a terrifying exorcism. Following the ceremony, Leo – in a fragile state – continued into the jungle on his expedition. The local people, who had been doubtful of him and his motives, were suddenly warm, friendly and helpful. Having battled plague proportions of insects, and hacked their way through almost impenetrable undergrowth, Leo and his team were finally able to attempt to scale this 1220 metre mountain. Image: Leo Houlding, Credit: Alastair Lee

An extraordinary ten days as Robert Mugabe stepped down after four decades as president. When it comes to holding onto power few can match the record of the Zimbabwean politician. He famously said, “I’ll leave the presidency when God calls me.” In the end it was the army, the people and his own party that forced him out. It didn’t go as smoothly as they hoped. Image: Robert Mugabe, Credit: Getty Images

An exploration of the mysterious, fragrant world of fortune-telling with Turkish coffee grounds, a practice popular across the Middle East. The BBC's Nooshin Khavarzamin discovers the history, culture, Sufism and the mystic world of coffee fortune tellers. As a young, stylish, modern and educated woman, Sengel might not fit the stereotypical image of a fortune teller but her accurate readings have made her one of the most famous coffee fortune tellers in Istanbul. Her clients include politicians and world-renowned celebrities. How does she do it? In a backroom of a local public baths, we meet a handful of women who are using their break time to drink Turkish coffee and read each other’s fortunes. This is where we learn that coffee cup reading is not exclusive to people with special powers, but is in fact a pivotal point to gatherings amongst almost all Turkish women - although there are some heated debates about the Islamic morals of this kind of 'superstition'. Meanwhile, Sufi master Musa Dede explains where the first coffee drinkers came from and how coffee cup reading came into existence. Produced by Sahar Zand for BBC World Service. Image: A coffee cup and saucer with coffee grounds, Credit: Getty Images

En envis tonåring från Filipstad blev på kort tid världsmästare, olympisk guldmedaljör och framröstad till Sveriges populäraste person. Men allt vände när han startade en proffsliga. Jonny Nilsson slog igenom som 19-åring efter att under flera år ha tränat på egen hand, utan instruktör, på en stängd och nedsläckt idrottsplats. Under sin aktiva karriär strömmade tiotusentals människor till arenorna för att se skridskokungen Jonny tävla. Han fick till och med ett eget teveprogram. Men Jonny Nilsson blev ett kontroversiellt namn då han trotsade amatörreglerna och startade en proffsliga där världens bästa skridskoåkare tävlade om pengar. Ett beslut som gjorde att de aktiva stängdes av från EM, VM och OS-deltagande. I efterhand fick Jonny Nilsson viss upprättelse då Internationella Olympiska Kommitténs ordförande Juan Antonio Samaranch ska ha tackat honom för att hans initiativ gav IOK mandat att börja skriva om amatörlagarna. En dokumentär av Martin Marhlo. Programmet gjordes 2016.

Et barn er født i Bethlehem...men der er uro i gaderne, og en mur adskiller byens borgere. Bethlehem anno 2017 er kampe mellem palæstinensiske stenkastere og sværtbevæbnede israelske soldater. Midt i Bethlehem mødes dog også fredelige palæstinensere, som udlever konflikter igennem rollespil. Tilrettelagt af Claus Vittus.

Stay or go? That's the choice facing Russia’s brightest and best. As the first generation born under Putin approaches voting age, many of Russia's young people are voting with their feet. Lucy Ash meets émigrés, exiles and staunch remainers in London and Berlin, Moscow and Saint Petersburg to weigh up the prospects for the ambitious in Putin's Russia. The push and pull of Russia's exit dilemma plays out in galleries and start-ups, architecture practices and universities. Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, is now campaigning for prison reform, and says her spell behind bars only fuels her sense of mission. "I really do love to be inside of this courageous community, risking their lives by trying to change their country. It gives sense to my life." But others - from Herzen to Lenin to Khodorkovsky - have tried to influence the Russian condition from abroad. Life outside the motherland isn't always the easy option; many struggle with feeling superfluous, with indifference or competition. Although the biggest country on earth, space for freedom of expression in Russia has been shrinking. Recently, a propagandist pop song has been urging students to mind their own business. Its lyrics include: "Kid, stay out of politics, and give your brain a shower!", a symptom of the claustrophobic atmosphere that is encroaching on public space and personal life. Some make an exit in search of a reliable environment for their business or propaganda-free schools for their children; others are fleeing homophobia or political danger. Contributors include best-selling author Boris Akunin; the rising star of Russian architecture Boris Bernaskoni; techno producer Philipp Gorbachev; exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky; Nonna Materkova, director of Calvert 22 Foundation; young entrepreneur Asya Parfenova; experimental linguist Natalia Slioussar; Nadya Tolokonnikova from Pussy Riot; Russia's best-known music critic Artemy Troitsky; and curators Dishon Yuldash and Alexander Burenkov. Producer: Dorothy Feaver Image: Lucy Ash in St Petersburg, Credit: BBC

There are 33 ways to dispel a mistress according to one of China's top love detectives. An unusual new industry has taken hold in some of the country's top cities. It is called "mistress-dispelling", and it involves hired operatives doing what it takes to separate cheating husbands from their mistresses. With the surge in super-affluent families in China, there has also been an apparent upsurge in the number of men choosing to keep a concubine. And for wives who see divorce as a humiliating option, almost no expense is sometimes spared in seeing off the rival. Ed Butler meets some of these private detectives and "marriage counsellors", heads off on a mistress "stake-out", and asks whether this is all a symptom of a deeper crisis in gender relations in China. Producer: Ed Butler. (Photo: Asian woman with red lipstick and finger showing hush silence sign, isolated on white background Credit: Shutterstock)