The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2014

Mark Mardell examines America's Grand Old Party which has been engaged in a civil war; now the Establishment is fighting back against the Tea Party. Can the Republicans win again?

Egyptian author Tarek Osman examines the build up to the Arab Spring. As with the previous experiments with liberalism, nationalism and Islamism, the region's presidential hard men seek to consolidate their power by passing it onto their sons. At the same time, riding the wave of a population explosion which leaves two thirds of the Arab world under 25 years old, a new generation frustrated by the lack of jobs or political freedoms rises up to challenge the old order.

How is technology transforming education, and what will the classroom of the future look like? Sarah Montague turns her attention to universities, in particular, to MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). Some argue these free university online courses, presented by some of the best professors in the world, could - in cash strapped times - be the saviour of higher education and take university to people in some of the remotest regions of the world. Others argue they could destroy centuries of tradition

Neal Razzell spends days and nights in Lagos with the electricity teams who are working to literally bring power to the people.This programme was originally broadcast in October 2013.

Eyptian author Tarek Osman explores the events which converged and led to the rise of Islamism from the 1970s onwards, a force which came to fill the vacuum left by Arab Nationalism. He investigates the reasons for the re-emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood, the influence of the conservative, oil-rich Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, and the three pivotal events in 1979 which boosted Islamism.

How technology is transforming education. How do children learn best? And have traditional teaching methods outlived their usefulness?

The African quarter of Jerusalem, Ethiopian Jews returned to their ancient homeland and African asylum-seekers: Paul Bakibinga travels to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to explore the lives and experiences of people from three different communities.

Vietnamese now cross in their thousands to visit Cambodian border casinos. Ed Butler reports on (some of) the darker aspects of Cambodia’s gambling boom.

Tracing the history of the modern Arab world through some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the 19th Century to the Arab Spring. In part two of The Making of the Arab World, Egyptian author Tarek Osman explores the rise and fall of Arab nationalism.

Lu Olkowski reports on New York's growing 'prepper' movement - people who are fearful of the future and who are preparing for the next disaster that will strike the city. They train in self-defence, plan ways to escape, store food and water in their houses and have 'bug out' bags ready at a moments notice if they have to flee. Are these people simply paranoid? Or do they have genuine concerns that all of us should take heed of?