The Documentary Podcast

Women’s football is on an incredible high around the world after a month of five international tournaments with record breaking crowds. Those tournaments have delivered new champions, new interest and new hope. The new champions are Papua New Guinea, South Africa and England. Perhaps more predictably there have also been trophies for the USA and Brazil. The success has created a discussion about how this is a significant moment in the development of the game. Stacey Copeland who was in England Under-18s, former England defender Fern Whelan and BBC World Service Digital and Sport Editor, Anna Doble discuss how Euro 2022 can change the course of women’s sports.

Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to retake Kherson, the largest city captured by Russia in this year's invasion. But the occupiers are redoubling their efforts to integrate the city and surrounding region into Russia - and they need the help of local collaborators. A few Ukrainians are eagerly serving the invaders. But many key workers - teachers, doctors and other state employees - are forced into a cruel choice. They must agree to work according to Russian rules, betraying their country - or else lose their jobs. Tim Whewell reports on life behind Russian lines in Kherson - and talks to some of those who've thrown in their lot with the occupiers, including the eccentric former journalist and fish inspector who's now deputy head of the region's Russian backed administration.

Writer Claire Hynes goes on a personal journey to uncover the story of an Antiguan foremother, who is thought to be one of the first women to flee a slave plantation in the Caribbean island of Antigua. Claire grew up learning a 200 year-old story passed down through generations about her enslaved ancestor known as Missy Williams. As a young woman Missy risked her life to escape the physical and sexual brutality of plantation life, hiding out in a cave. Inspired by her courage and intelligence, Claire travels to the island of Antigua to find out about Missy’s life, the extreme challenges she faced and how she managed to survive.

Parts of the world, such as Europe, have experienced record temperatures and, amid the heat, wildfires are burning. In the United States, there are several fires across large parts of the country. We bring together three specialist wildland firefighters to share what it’s like to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Whitney Lindsay, in Texas, became a firefighter four years ago as part of a special program involving military veterans. Jonathon Golden in Utah retired in 2019 after firefighting for 12 years. Chris Ashby in Oregon is both a firefighter and a crew boss. They discuss with host James Reynolds the impact of climate change, the rewards and the strains of the profession.

Tigers are making a remarkable comeback in Nepal. The small Himalayan nation is on track to become the first country to double its wild tiger population in the last decade. A new census will be released on International Tiger Day (29th of July). The recovery is the result of tough anti-poaching measures that have involved the military and the local community. Other iconic species including rhinos and elephant populations have also increased. But this has come at a cost, there has been an increase in tiger attacks on humans. Rebecca Henschke travels to Bardia national park, to find out what’s behind the conservation success and what it means for the community living with the Tigers.

(Photo Credit: Deepak Rajbanshi)

Presented by Rebecca Henschke

The 2022 Commonwealth Games is being hosted by the UK’s central city of Birmingham - ethnically diverse and where the age profile is younger compared to other British cities. It is home to many people with familial links to commonwealth member countries such as India and the Caribbean. As Birmingham welcomes 4,500 athletes from around the world, Nina Robinson talks to the city’s ‘Hometown Heroes’ - locals who have been recognised for their contribution to sport.

As temperature records are broken around the world. People around world share with host James Reynolds how to negotiate the warm weather and how the heat is affecting their lives. “It’s 37 degrees here right now,” says Allison in Doha, Qatar, “but we’re at 59% humidity so it’s feeling like 52 degrees outside. If you can imagine just stepping outside into a sauna, that’s basically what it’s like.” Allison discusses her experiences with Julia in Brittany, France, and Alia, a doctor in Lahore, Pakistan.

After two months of a gruelling strict lockdown, Shanghai has emerged a changed city, some residents say. During the 65 toughest days, some were reduced to begging for food and pleading for access to their young children from whom they’d been separated. The regime wasn’t just brutal, some claim, it was largely fruitless, as the omicron strain of Covid continues to spread now. What’s more the economic fallout for China’s commercial capital, and key supply chains across the country and internationally, are only gradually becoming apparent. What’s the legacy of Shanghai’s zero-Covid experiment?

Producer and Presenter Ed Butler

In Zambia, at the Lusaka College of Nursing and Midwifery, college head Dr Priscar Sakala-Mukonka is training the next generation of nurses in their new Critical Care department. Once qualified, her students will join a health care system that is critically short-supplied and short-staffed - not due not to a lack of new nurses, but due to a shortage of paid positions. Despite decades of investment, there is still only 13 nurses per 10,000 people in Zambia, compared to 175 in Switzerland. Many qualified nurses are officially unemployed, and those with jobs do the work of many. Feeling demoralized and undervalued, many have left to pursue nursing careers overseas. What can be done to reverse this trend?

In a week where protestors stormed the residences of its leaders, forcing the president to resign, Sri Lanka continues to face its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. There have been months of shortages - from fuel and cooking gas to food and medicines. We hear from three doctors in the capital Colombo about running out of essentials such as HIV testing kits. Host James Reynolds also hears from two Sri Lankans about coping among constant shortages.