The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2010

How does the spread of ideas impact individual lives, shape millions of minds, fuel revolutions and alter world opinion? Afshin Dehkordi is on a quest to find out in the context of both Iran's recent media revolution and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979.

"Why do we like and dislike certain foods? The most important thing in the tasting process is not the tongue, nose or ears – it’s the brain." Barry Smith explores how the brain makes us capable of language, thinking and feeling.

Chess fanatic Simon Terrington goes on a wide ranging journey and asks the question, why does chess still have a place in the 21st century.

Angus Crawford reports from Senegal for Assignment on what the government there is doing to protect thousands of schoolboys whose teachers send them out to beg on the streets every day.

During operation Pedro Pan, 14,000 children were sent from Cuba by the parents for what was supposed to be a better life in the US. For some it was an adventure, for a great many others life away from home was hard. Many never returned.

"She walked in like a commander of the armed forces - despite the fact they had guns - she told them it was time for peace". Meet Sierra Leone's foreign minister Zainab Bangura, a remarkable woman who is trying to make poverty history in her nation.

Self-confessed chess fanatic Simon Terrington assesses how computer technology has affected chess at the highest level and what this means for its future. He looks at the moment when chess champion Garry Kasparov was beaten by the IBM computer Deep Blue and hears from experts about the impact that event had across the game.

There are frantic preparations underway in India's capital city, Delhi, for the Commonwealth Games which start next month. But as Rupa Jha reports for Assignment, the work is bringing out both the best and the worst of the city.

In Afghanistan women are not allowed to dance in public, but boys can be made to dance in women's clothing - and they are often sexually abused. In part three of the World Stories series, Rustam Qobil reports on this ancient but controversial tradition. Listeners may find this documentary upsetting.

Incompetence and corruption in Uganda's justice system is leading to countless numbers of prisoners being left to rot, and even die in Ugandan jails before their cases come to court. Meet the lawyers trying to get justice and freedom, amidst the chaos in Uganda.