The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2009

By BBC World ServiceSociety & Culture Personal Journals

The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2009 episodes

May 22, 2009 My world: The homecoming
Follow the story of Gemma Tracee Apiku, a former refugee who spent her teenage years in the camps of Sudan, as she returns to Africa to become a relief worker herself.
23 min
May 21, 2009 Assignment - The Bad Samaritan
Until the end of last year Bernard Madoff was a highly respected financial guru and long time advisor to America's rich and famous. Then on Thursday the twelfth December 2008 he was exposed as a major crook.
His 'Ponzi' scheme is probably the largest ever pyramid fraud in US history. Amongst his victims there were not only individuals and banks but also charities.
For Assignment, James Coomarasamy looks at the damage he has done to two charities in particular - The JEHT Foundation and the Picower Foundation.
23 min
May 19, 2009 The Lost Voices of Tiananmen Square - part one
James Miles, the BBC's China correspondent in 1989, was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests.
24 min
May 18, 2009 Freedom from Slavery in Mauritania
Mauritania is a country with a tradition of slavery, but in August 2007 owning slaves became a criminal act. David Gutnick visits Mauritania and finds out how entrenched the master/slave relationship still is.
23 min
May 13, 2009 On the brink - part 2
Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression. He visits Europe and Asia to identify the dangers that lie ahead and investigates how the present bail-out packages devised by leaders in rich countries will hit newly emerging nations.
24 min
May 12, 2009 My World - The Infidelity Agency
Vivek Kumar runs India's number one detective agency and business - investigating marital infidelities - is booming.
24 min
May 11, 2009 West African Journeys - Part Four
In the last of this four part series, Sorious Samura is in a fishing village near Freetown in Sierra Leone.
24 min
May 08, 2009 Friday Documentary: The Library Cart
Exploring the world of an extraordinary individual. This week, we travel to Colombia to experience a day in the life of Cartagena’s Martin Murrillo – mobile cart librarian and self-taught teacher.
24 min
May 05, 2009 On the brink - part 1
Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression.
He visits Europe and Asia to identify the dangers that lie ahead and investigates how the present bail-out packages devised by leaders in rich countries will hit newly emerging nations.
23 min
May 01, 2009 West African Journeys - part three
Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura heads back to his native West Africa for a trip through his homeland of Sierra Leone and other neighbouring countries.
In part three Sorious returns to Liberia to follow the journey of a 26-year old woman called ‘Black Diamond’ as she travels hundreds of miles across Liberia in search of the daughter she calls ‘Beloved’.
The child was born after Diamond, then aged 15, was raped by government soldiers. During the rape her parents tried to defend her and were killed.
Fuelled by anger, she joined the rebels to become one of Liberia’s most infamous child soldiers. She tells Sorious her version of the war.
24 min