IFC Podcast -Latest Radio Docs

Colombia is a country of passionate cyclists. The first bike races took place in Bogota in 1894 and by 1898 it was one of the first countries to have two purpose built velodromes. In the 1950s the great Vuelta a Colombia, a tour of Colombia, was born - 35 cyclists covered an extraordinary 779 miles in 10 stages. All over the country people listened to the commentary on radios and it began to link up Colombians in a common cause.

We are all familiar with the picture of the Afghan man with his large beard and Kalashnikov rifle - now meet the men with secateurs and watering cans. Gardening is in their blood and it has been forever. You can see this in Babur’s Garden, which was laid out in the early 16th Century by the man who established the Mughal dynasty in India. Largely destroyed during the civil war of the 1990s, the garden is once more a notable feature of the city, its largest public space.

Parketten knarrar, en ensam diskoboll dinglar i förmiddagsljuset i den gamla damsalongen. Samtiden har trängt in också här i det sekelgamla Hotell Billingen i Skövde (REPRIS). Men en gång var det 40-tal med ransonering och korridorer fyllda av adelns leriga ridstövlar, och 50-tal med tyrolerorkestrar och handelsresanden. Då kunde kaffekokerskan ännu kasta kniv, och den hemlighetsfulle ismannen strök ostörd runt i källargångarna. Susanne Skog har sökt bland minnen av en försvunnen värld ett landsortshotell långt innan du-reform, rationaliseringar och konferenssällskap. Hotell Billingen i Skövde är stadens äldsta hotell från 1888. I dagens dämpade lobby lyser datorskärmar, mobiltelefoner piper och konferenssällskap drar förbi men om man skärper blicken kan man kanske ändå se spåren av Den Gamla Hotellvärlden med strikta uniformer, långa titlar och skor som skulle putsas i gryningen. Programmet är en repris från 2001. Av Susanne Skog

Echt Gebeurd: Rond de onafhankelijkheid in 1975 kwamen veel Surinamers naar Nederland. Tot hun teleurstelling bleek er nauwelijks huisvesting te zijn geregeld. Het kraken van de Bijlmerflat Gliphoeve werd een van de eerste uitingen van zwart activisme in Nederland. - Gliphoeve - een vergeten strijd: Rond de onafhankelijkheid in 1975 kwamen veel Surinamers naar Nederland. Tot hun teleurstelling bleek er nauwelijks huisvesting te zijn geregeld. Het kraken van de Bijlmerflat Gliphoeve werd een van de eerste uitingen van zwart activisme in Nederland.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, refugees and undocumented immigrants, already scared about deportation and the risks of interacting with government, must seek help from the same authorities they fear might seek to look into their immigration status. As Houston comes together, the city’s mosques and Islamic centres have opened their doors to all who need shelter. Volunteers from all backgrounds have been helping those who need rescue and immediate relief. For a brief moment, prejudices seem to melt away. But can it last through what will be a long process of rebuilding?

Poet and journalist Wana Udobang travels round her home city, Lagos, speaking to people who are lonely and isolated in Africa's most populous city. She meets a young gay man who opens up about his feelings of isolation in the light of strict laws on homosexuality, meets a group of displaced women who are coming together to combat loneliness in poverty, and visits a cycling club and an elderly community centre.

In 1967, the first two black students were enrolled at an all-white private boarding school in Virginia. The main reason they were there? To benefit the white kids. This week: stories about being enlisted to benefit another person’s educational experience. A version of this story appears in The New York Times Magazine.

What’s it like to live in the country with the fastest-shrinking population in the world? Ruth Alexander reports.

What’s the best way to spend $100 million to fix one huge problem in the world today? That is the challenge laid down by the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago, distributors of the “genius grant”. Ed Butler and a panel of expert guests hear the details of four of the final eight challengers, with ideas to transform the quality of the food we eat and to train eye surgeons to restore sight to vast numbers in Nepal, Ethiopia and Ghana. Is $100 million enough to tackle these challenges and what are the consequences, intended or not, of philanthropy on such a big scale?

In the summer of 2015 tens of thousands of Syrians left their war torn homeland and put their lives in the hands of the smugglers who would help them navigate the hazardous route to Europe. Among the new arrivals were Mohammed Dallal, a man in his late 40s and his 16-year-old daughter Noor. Amy Zayed and Laura Graen have accompanied Mohamed and Noor for nearly two years through the emotional and bureaucratic vagaries of the refugee life. In this programme, we hear whether the family is, at last, together again.