The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2015

A fuzzy team photo from the 1980s sends Tim Whewell on a journey to track down football players from a small town in northern Syria who were once the champions of Aleppo province. In the last four years of war their hometown, Mare'a, has become a war zone – bombed by the Assad regime, besieged by Islamic State, subject even to a mustard gas attack. And the civil war has torn through what was once a band of friends – some now pro-rebel, some pro-regime. They’re scattered across Syria and beyond, some fighting near Mare'a, some in refugee camps abroad. What have they gone through since they won that cup? And do they think they can ever be reunited?

Shabnam Grewal producing.

The Dhnie family find themselves sleeping rough, getting caught up in riots and being detained as they try to reach Europe after their flight from Syria.

Shahidha traces the story of the sari, explores how it feels to wear one and asks what it meant for women like her mother. She discovers the unexpected ways in which clothing can be imprinted with feelings of nostalgia, love and loss.

Twenty three of Libya's finest technology graduates plan to rebuild their country

Meet the Dhnie family in Turkey as they prepare to make the journey to Greece, along with thousands of others, from Syria.

Marc Almond travels to Moscow in search of the marvelous Russian tenor Vadim Kozin, tango-singer and superstar. The darling of the Soviet Union, Kozin melted hearts by the tens of millions in the 1940s, playing to packed concert halls and rallying Red Army troops in World War Two. But he vanished one day in 1944 when the secret police arrested him and sent him to the Gulag for homosexuality

This year, the number of migrants reaching Europe has reached unprecedented levels. It is a crisis with roots in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with many people heading from sub-Saharan Africa, Eritrea, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to European shores. Paul Adams takes a look back at some of the key moments of 2015 that have shaped the situation facing Europe today.

Produced by Nina Robinson

The deaths of five school children in Malaysia have provoked an anguished debate about education and what it means to be Malay. The children ran away from their boarding school in Kelantan State and died of starvation in the jungle. They were afraid of harsh punishment from their teachers. Two girls survived eating grass and wild fruits but were found emaciated and close to death 47 days later. The children came from the Orang Asli community, one of the poorest and most marginalised in the country. For Assignment, Lucy Ash travels to the remote region where the children came from and talks to their bereaved parents. Many families are now refusing to send their children to school and campaigners accuse the government of not doing enough to protect rights of the Orang Asli community. Jane Beresford producing.

Produced by Jane Beresford

Amidst the slums of Kampala, MLISADA (Music, life skills and arts for destitution alleviation) is a success story. It is a children's home giving street kids a chance of a musical future. Sarah Taylor visits this remarkable children's home in Kampala, Uganda, to speak to teachers, former pupils and international brass players that help support it.

Shopping in India is traditionally an intensely hands-on experience, but many are now embracing the online shopping revolution. From motorbike delivery couriers to Amazon India, and bringing online shopping to rural towns, Mukti Jain Campion discovers how Indian businesses are innovating to meet the new challenges.