The Documentary Podcast

When Barack Obama was sworn into office in January 2009 he promised to change the way America behaved abroad. His foreign policy objectives were clear. He would reset relations with Russia, extend a hand of friendship to the Muslim world, bring Iran in from the cold and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He promised action on nuclear arms and climate change. How the world will look back on Obama’s time in office?

The conventional treatment for chronic alcoholics is abstinence. Not in Ottawa. At the Oaks, a residence for those who were once homeless, occupants are given a measure of white wine at hourly intervals throughout the day. The ‘Managed Alcohol Program’ has improved the health of its participants, reduced their alcohol intake, and in some cases enabled them to stop drinking altogether. It’s also saved the city of Ottawa millions of dollars in public services – one man was hospitalised 191 times in the six months before joining the programme. Hours and hours of police time have been clawed back too – this is a population used to stealing to feed addiction, but the hourly ‘pour’ enables them to refrain from criminal activity. The Ottawa programme has been introduced in other Canadian cities, and it’s now attracting international attention. Linda Pressly spends time at the Oaks to find out how it works.

David McAlmont travels to San Francisco to tell the glittering and sad tale of gay black diva Sylvester James, famed for his disco hit Mighty Real. Sylvester's short life says much about US civil rights movements, the politics of the American music business and the devastating effects of Aids.

A fierce drought in Oklahoma’s ‘No Man’s Land’ – a region that was the heart of the 1930s Dust Bowl – stirs up dust storms, memories and myths. In this parched terrain of ghost towns and abandoned ranches, the wells are running dry, but the stories continue to flow.

A symphony for Syria is the story of how 50 Syrian musicians beat the odds to find their way to Holland to perform together. The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians first played with British songwriter Damon Albarn in 2008. Since then, a civil war has divided their country and forced many to rethink many aspects of their lives. Some have decided to live in Europe whilst others have stayed in Syria and continued to try and perform even as their compatriots have died and lost their homes around them. In a symphony for Syria, Amy Zayed explores their lives through music in Syria and their newly adopted countries. And it puts their music in a rich tradition of Syrian performances dating back three thousand years. We share their emotions as Damon Albarn and Africa Express attempt to reunite his old friends in Amsterdam. Can all the members make it to Holland? Is there time to get the music together? And we follow their first concert and what they hope will be an enthusiastic and emotional reception from a European audience as they attempt to persuade them that Syria is not just about war but amazing musical culture as well.

The former British colony of Belize is a tiny country that boasts rich Central American indigenous culture and a spectacular Caribbean coast. It also suffers a high rate of violent crime, and its one and only prison houses more than its fair share of murderers. The BBC’s Charlotte McDonald has gained rare access to the jail, and to inmates there who have faced capital punishment for their crimes – sometimes coming alarmingly close to being put to death. All have since been spared thanks to an ongoing legal campaign, led by a group of British lawyers. As this programme discovers, the reformists have not only saved lives in Central America, for their campaign has had consequences for prisoners throughout the world. Yet, enduring a rising murder rate and menacing gangs, many local people in Belize remain convinced that violent offenders should go to the gallows.

Producer: Mike Gallagher

The towns of east Lancashire in North-West England were among the worst hit by the massive loss of life on the first day of the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago. The Mayor of Accrington, a small textile town, had volunteered to form a battalion of 1,000 local men to help England’s war effort in 1914. Men from neighbouring Burnley and Chorley completed the new battalion, which became known as the Accrington Pals because friends, neighbours and workmates had all joined up to fight together.

What is motivating Ohio's volatile 'independent' voters who are not Democrats or Republicans? Michael Goldfarb travels to the key state of Ohio to meet independent voters. He explores the anger that is motivating independents and places their views in the deeper historical context of changes in American society.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this programme, we allow people to reflect on the situation in which they find themselves. We hear from Sam, who has stayed in his home city of Deraa. Alia lives in a rural area which is in the hands of rebel forces. Her son joined up to fight the regime, but was killed. And, Khadija Kamara came to Britain to escape civil war in Sierra Leone. Her son Ibrahim became the first British jihadi to be killed in Syria.

Lucy Ash meets Macedonia’s Special Prosecutors -three women who have become the scourge of the political elite and heroines of the street protests now rocking the tiny Balkan nation. Their job is to investigate claims of wrongdoing and corruption revealed in a huge wiretapping scandal. The former Prime Minister has called them puppets of the opposition but to protestors on the street the fearless trio are Macedonia’s Charlie’s Angels.

But will they succeed in their crime fighting mission when they have a tight deadline and most state institutions are either refusing to cooperate with them or dragging their feet.

Produced by John Murphy