Renowned Danish chef Trine Hahnemann tells Sahar Zand how she combines the concept of hygge with her cooking. Hygge is a word that is embedded in the Danish language. It’s about relaxing and taking time away from the daily rush to enjoy life's quieter pleasures. And yet, Trine finds the time to write cookery books (over 20 so far), and run cookery lessons from the kitchen in her family home in Copenhagen. She tells Sahar how she does it, as she prepares a comforting meal of freshly harvested vegetables, and explains how she started her culinary career by cooking for rock stars on tour, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Rolling Stones and Elton John.

Potatoes are having a moment. Once dismissed as dull, stodgy or even unhealthy, they are now back, appearing on restaurant menus, in food magazines and across social media feeds. But the story of the potato goes back much further. Ruth Alexander traces the journey of one of the world’s most familiar foods. From its origins millions of years ago to its place in today’s global food system. AJ Shehata, senior sous chef at Fallow restaurant in London explains why the potato forces chefs to get creative. At the Natural History Museum, botanist Sandy Knapp explains how the potato may have been born from a chance encounter between two wild plants in the Andes, an event that made it possible for potatoes to grow underground and spread across new environments. Potatoes USA president Blair Richardson explains how demand continues to grow worldwide, and how the industry is working to reshape the potato’s image. Nutrition scientist Candida Rebello shares research suggesting potatoes may be far more beneficial, and more misunderstood, than many people think. And, at the International Potato Centre in Peru, scientist Julian Soto works with farmers to conserve thousands of native potato varieties. In the Andes, potatoes are not just a crop, they are part of culture, identity and family life.

For more than 80 years, no-one knew what happened to a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped from the Nazis on the Channel Island of Jersey and spent the rest of World War Two hiding from the German occupiers with a local family, the Le Bretons. Known only by his first name, Bokejon, or simply Tom, he was one of about 2,000 Soviet prisoners and forced labourers brought to the island of Jersey to build Nazi fortifications. After liberation, Tom and the other surviving PoWs were sent back to the USSR and the Le Breton family, particularly their daughter Dulcie, always wondered what became of him. That was until BBC teams tracked down his descendants. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina was one of the journalists who tracked him down.

Political violence has been a problem in Kenya for decades now. It is often carried out by gangs of young people, known as 'goons', who are sponsored by politicians to threaten, disrupt and attack rivals. After the general election in 2007 over 1500 people were killed and with another election planned for 2027, there are fears violence could erupt again. Wycliffe Muia of BBC Africa has been looking into these politically sponsored violent gangs and what can be done to stop them.

 Traditional fortune telling culture,  known as Saju, is popular in South Korea and has ancient roots. It uses data such as a person's birth year, month, day and hour to determine their future and in South Korea people still sometimes consult it before important life decisions like marriage, or seeking a new job. Now, the practice of Saju is beginning to be combined with AI technology and it's finding a wide audience both online and as a walk-in, more immersive experience. BBC Korean's Yujin Choi went to try it out.

The Fifth Floor is at the heart of global storytelling on the BBC World Service, bringing you the best stories from journalists in the BBC's 43 language services. We're here to help you make sense of the stories making headlines around the world; to excite your curiosity and to get to grips with the facts.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi.

Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

Three women come together to discuss a sensitive subject that is not often talked about: Injuries experienced during childbirth. While many of these injuries heal quickly, millions of women around the world sustain trauma that can impact their long-term physical, psychological, and social well-being. “You really have to struggle not to feel ashamed that your body has failed you,” Gill tells us. “You’re led to believe as a woman that this is what we’re here to do, to get pregnant and to give birth to babies easily and without any problems afterwards.” We also hear about the stigma surrounding birth injuries in some parts of the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, and bring together health professionals helping women rebuild their lives and educate their communities. Warning: our guests discuss the physical impact of childbirth, which will include some detailed biological descriptions.

David Eubank calls himself a missionary soldier. A former US Special Forces soldier, he is now an ordained Christian Reverend and founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian group working in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. He prays before missions, runs towards gunfire, rescues the wounded, and says love is what keeps him there. But David's story is also morally complicated. He has carried dying children from battlefields. He has watched friends and colleagues die. And he has killed. Rajeev Gupta speaks to David about what it means to follow Jesus in a firefight. David reflects on his upbringing as a missionary child in Thailand, his years in the US military, and the call that took him into Burma’s long-running civil war.

On the edge of a failing South African city, a disused power station hums once again - this time with beats, voices, and possibility. Makhanda is a divided place and, for the majority, opportunities are scarce and challenges are constant: poverty is grinding, houses and roads crumble, unemployment is overwhelming, violence is never far away and life can be cheap. But Makanda is also full of creativity and passion, and some of its young people are responding to the hardships they face with music. They are filling the gap where their futures should be with art rather than with drugs, alcohol or crime. The Black Power Station provides a stage for these musicians to do what they love as well as to get their message across. Their lyrics speak of poverty, inequality and violence but also of love, determination and hope. With one of the artists as our guide, The Black Power Station: Resistance Generation takes us into the world of backyard studios and mobile phone mixing desks. From total first-timers to those starting to make a name for themselves, we get inside the heads of these musicians as they write, record and perform.

Beyonce started out as a little girl competing in local talent shows, but over the course of a 30-year career in music she transformed herself into a mogul worth $1 billion. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Beyonce’s early years in girl group Girls Tyme, the turbulent rise of Destiny’s Child, and her breakout as a solo artist, before examining the strategic decisions that transformed her from performer to powerful businesswoman and entrepreneur. Beyonce’s rise to billionaire features conflicts with family and friends, brand battles, and questions around feminism, capitalism, and control. Is she a force for empowerment, a ruthless operator, or simply one of the most effective wealth-builders in modern entertainment?

In Italy, Georgia Meloni’s coalition government gained power on an anti-immigration political platform. But faced with low birth-rates and a dwindling workforce, the prime minister has had to be pragmatic. Over the next two years, hundreds of thousands of temporary visas are being offered to migrant workers, mainly from Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, to help fill the gaps. In the far south of Italy, one of the country’s poorest regions, Calabria, is famous for its citrus fruit, and thousands of farms need workers to pick their produce. Some of the migrant workers live in terrible conditions. Lizzy McNeill reports on what the reality is on the ground.

Football is an obsession for many Ghanaians and a route to fame and fortune for a talented few – and it can be a gruelling journey for the children dreaming of stardom in the world’s top leagues.

Against this backdrop, the country’s Right to Dream football academy aims to provide a safe passage to international game. Unusually, the school owns a number of top-tier clubs in Denmark, Egypt and the USA, which can act as stepping stones to the world’s top leagues, a path that stars such as Tottenham’s Mohamed Kudus and Atalanta’s Kamaldeen Sulemana have taken.

But while as many as 50,000 children try out for the school, just a handful win scholarships every year. Justice Baidoo meets the talented dreamers who hope to become the next generation of African superstars, from 10-year-olds attending their first trials in rural villages, right through to those taking their first steps as pro footballers in Europe.

Last week, the American government charged the former Cuban leader, Raúl Castro, with conspiracy to kill US nationals. They accuse him of playing a part in the downing of two planes in 1996, which were flying between Cuba and Florida. This comes after months of the US putting increasing pressure on the country. In January, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country who supplied oil to the island, resulting in huge energy shortages ever since, with some parts of the country being without power for 22 hours a day. But Cubans have been living under a strict trade embargo for decades, so they are not unfamiliar with such hardships. José Carlos Cueto López of BBC Mundo is from Cuba, and knows exactly what it's like for people living in such challenging circumstances.

 The UN says that at least 32 political prisoners have been executed in Iran since February this year. The UN's Human Rights Office has warned that the death penalty is increasingly being used to silence political dissent. Last year, Iran carried out 2,159 executions according to Amnesty International, the highest number since 1981. The Iranian government says that the vast majority are for drugs related offenses or murder. Ghoncheh Habibiazad of BBC Persian has been trying to find out more about the political prisoners who've been executed this year.

The Fifth Floor is at the heart of global storytelling on the BBC World Service, bringing you the best stories from journalists in the BBC's 43 language services. We're here to help you make sense of the stories making headlines around the world; to excite your curiosity and to get to grips with the facts.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi.

Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)