The Documentary Podcast

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and, in the last 15 years, the Caribbean nation has had outbreaks of cholera, a devastating earthquake and continual political upheaval. Last year, its president was assassinated - a crime for which no one has yet been put on trial, and since then violence in Haiti has escalated. According to human rights groups, armed gangs now control at least 60% of the capital, Port au Prince. In October, the UN reported 200 killings and 100 kidnappings. Host James Reynolds hears from Haitians who are dealing with the threats and dangers affecting them.

In California, cannabis is legal for recreational use and it’s created a multi-billion dollar industry. But who’s been reaping the rewards? For decades people from Black and Latino communities have been disproportionately arrested and imprisoned on cannabis drugs charges – and yet few appeared to benefit from the legal cannabis boom. So to make amends, California has been pioneering a policy to give those targeted in the war on drugs, a chance to share in the new cannabis industry. But is it working? Sharon Hemans has been to the city of Oakland to find out. Photo: Local entrepreneur Julian Nelson at this cannabis delivery store in Oakland.

Presenter: Sharon Hemans

The railways are incredibly important to life in India and have connected the country since the first line opened in 1863. But now, nearly 160 years later, the Indian rail network is about to take the next step in its existence - going electric. In 2017, national rail body Indian Railways announced that 100% of India's rail network would be electrified by the end of 2023 and then achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. With just over a year to go, Bhakti Jain finds out if India can meet its ambitious targets.

Apart from football, the men’s World Cup in Qatar has also led to analysis and discussion around the country’s human rights, including its treatment towards LGBT people. Qatar is far from the only country where someone’s sexuality is considered an issue, so we decided to bring together members of the LGBT community from various countries - including Turkey, Russia, Jordan and the UK - to hear their experiences.

Sasha Koltun volunteered to fight in Putin's war against Ukraine, though his mother Yelena begged him not to go. Four days later, he was dead, one of several dozen new recruits from across Russia who never even reached the battlefield. What happened to him - and will his mother, battling official indifference and obstruction, ever discover the truth? With the Kremlin currently restricting access to Russia for Western reporters, Tim Whewell picks up the phone to talk to her and other people in and around the city of Bratsk, in central Siberia, about how the war has affected them. Many are afraid to talk. But others describe their anxiety as they wave goodbye to their menfolk, their confused feelings about the war - a mixture of patriotism and doubt - and the chaotic organisation of the call up. Some recruits have had to buy their own uniform and equipment. Others have suffered as discipline breaks down at some training camps. Tim talks to a former policewoman determined to encourage support for the war, who makes stretchers for wounded Russian soldiers - and to a young woman who believes it was her boyfriend's duty to be a soldier. But Yelena Koltun - who lost her son Sasha - cannot understand what her country is fighting for.

Presented and produced by Tim Whewell

The past few years have been the most politically turbulent for the State of Oklahoma and its Native American, or Indian, population in over a century. A Supreme Court ruling, McGirt v Oklahoma, in July 2020, reaffirmed treaties that have been in place since the early 19th Century. These treaties decreed much of eastern Oklahoma as reservation land, still belonging to the Native American communities who were forcibly moved there in the 19th Century. However an inevitable legal backlash followed the McGirt decision.

Why would anyone want to pay more tax? Film-maker, activist and multi-millionaire Disney heiress Abigail Disney presents a very personal introduction to the millionaires campaigning against their own wealth. From Morehead, Kentucky to Davos, Switzerland, Washington DC to Orlando, Florida, Abigail tells the story of contemporary wealth inequality, focusing particularly on the United States. What harm is wealth inequality doing to society and democracy and what can be done about it?

Millions of people in Ukraine are having to live with cuts to their electricity, water and heating, as official reports estimate that Russian missile attacks have damaged or destroyed almost half of the country’s energy system. Temperatures are already hovering around freezing in much of the country, and forecasts predict a drop to -20C as winter sets in. As engineers try to restore power, one of the country's biggest energy companies has warned Ukraine could be dealing with blackouts until the end of March. We hear from Ukrainians about the impact of these power cuts on their lives and work.

China’s President Xi Jinping says that Taiwan‘s reunification with the mainland “must and will be fulfilled.” The view from democratic Taiwan is somewhat different. It’s a threat the islanders have been hearing ever since the 1949 Chinese Civil War, when the Government of the Republic of China was forced to relocate to Taiwan allowing the Chinese Communist Party to establish a new Chinese state: the People’s Republic of China. But some sense that the increased rhetoric from China in recent months poses a real and present danger. Taiwanese billionaire Robert Tsao has pledged millions of pounds to train three million ‘civilian warriors’ in three years to defend the island should it be required. But will it come to that? John Murphy is in Taiwan to talk to people there about what they think about the threat from China and whether they’d be prepared to fight to protect what they have. Presenter: John Murphy Producer: Ben Carter Local producer and translator: Joanne Kuo Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond Sound Engineer: James Beard Series Editor: Penny Murphy

In the past couple of years, Fifa eased its rules on allowing players with mixed heritage the opportunity to represent a country, even if you have previously played on the international stage for a different one. But what goes into the tough decision of deciding who to represent? And how persuasive can some countries be? We explore the increasingly common issue of players having to decide who they really represent and why.