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Throughout the week BBC World Service offers a wide range of documentaries and other factual programmes. This podcast offers you the chance to access landmark series from our archive.
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Owner of this Channel? Claim it! or grab your chicklet Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/documentary_archive/
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Available Episodes (395)
Enterprise, money, innovation are all there. Is tapping into a continent's optimism the key to Africa's future? Mark Doyles looks at the solutions to solve Africa's poverty.
Rachid Sekkai from the BBC's Arabic Service talks to Muslims currently serving in the Israeli Defence Force and also to former soldiers and hears about the conflicts they face, at home...
Colin Yu is a teacher who lives in Shanghai. He has a job but still struggles to support his parents on his modest income. Colin would like to spend more money and the Chinese government...
Michael Buerk analyses the potential – and the dangers – of citizen journalism. In part one, he talks to bloggers and critics from Sri Lanka, Iran, Burma, and Iraq.
Accusations of tribalism, corruption and complacency have all been offered as explanations to the question of Africa's poverty. Mark Doyle looks at each of these and asks why the status...
Violent footage from the Kashmir conflict has been shared almost in real-time by citizen-journalists on video sharing websites. Suvojit Bagchi tells the story of the impact of new media...
Six months ago there was a short military revolt in Bangladesh that threatened to push the country into nationwide armed conflict. But some things remain mysterious. Why was it so...
Nick Rankin explores how we assess the value of gold.
Mark Doyle crosses the continent of Africa and finds a place rich in natural resources and human potential, which begs the question, why is Africa poor? Outsiders have been coming to...
Ko Ko Aung from the BBC's Burmese Service, travelled to Burma to find out why a rebel army of 100 men is taking on the 400,000 strong Burmese army.
Fran Abrams is given rare access to the US base in Djibouti questioning military chiefs, local leaders and ordinary Djiboutians as she explores the role and impact of America's African...
Nick Rankin descends into the deepest goldmine in the world – Tau Tona in South Africa for part two of this series. Five thousand miners extract gold up to four kilometres under the...
Mukul Devichand tells the story of the Europeans who are trying to persuade China's expanding middle class to ditch their noodles and soya in favour of pricey European fine foods.
American physicist Richard Feynman fell in love with the remote Russian region Tuva through his hobby of stamp collecting. He died just before his visitor's visa arrived but his daughter...
The Afghan drugs mafia is rich, powerful and entrenched, with connections running into the heart of the Afghan state. But a new, multi-million dollar counter-narcotics justice system...
Man's long-term obsession with gold and the lengths we have gone to to get it. From the ancient myth of King Midas, through Alexander The Great and the Spanish Conquistadors to the
Navid Akhtar examines the influence of Islamic design and values in the life of Victorian designer, poet, and craftsman William Morris.
The World Health Organisation has warned that the worldwide spread of the so-called Swine Flu virus is now unstoppable. As cases continue to multiply, reporter Julian O'Halloran investigates...
Iran in the post 9/11 era, a time of friction and unrest over its nuclear ambitions.
A slice of life at a shabby but popular tenement in Hong Kong's teeming commercial district.
Colin Grant reflects on the BBC’s role in boosting Caribbean writing in the region 60 years on from the original broadcast of Caribbean Voices.
The inside story of Iran's war with Iraq, and how the US viewed the conflict - ultimately a battle for control and influcence in this most vital, but unstable, part of the world.
Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community on a rocky...
In this week's edition of Assignment, Jill McGivering travels through Pakistan, hearing the stories of some of the two million people who fled their homes as a result of the fighting...
Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura drops into the middle of an undercover investigation of a Chinese brothel in Accra, Ghana, where 16 women have been trafficked to work as pr
Colin Grant reflects on the BBC’s role in boosting Caribbean writing in the region 60 years on from the original broadcast of Caribbean Voices.
For the first time, the BBC tells the story of Iran's relationship with the West over the last 30 years - as seen by the key insiders on both sides.
A soundscape of memory, loss, regret and hope from men who have been living with HIV for over 20 years in New Zealand.
In this series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In the final programme, she meets Egyptian scientists experimenting with techniques to make the desert...
The story of four imprisoned Uyghur men transferred from Guantanamo Bay to the wealthy paradise of Bermuda.
South Africa's wealthy are retreating to high-security gated communities to protect themselves from violent crime. In Islands of Security we explore why the issue of keeping people
150,000 Cambodians are reported to be facing eviction from their land. Huge tracts of the country have been granted to private companies for large scale agriculture or other purposes....
In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme two she visits the Desert Research Station in Namibia. Can they increase the...
Teenagers on the island of Alert Bay, British Columbia, talk openly about the beauty and frustration on living in a remote place.
Thembi Ngubane’s Radio Diary about living with Aids in a South African Township.
It's widely regarded as one of the most secretive religious organisations in the world. It makes heavy demands on its members - and has been accused of cult-like practices. It's also...
In this three part series, Ayisha Yahya explores climate change issues in the African desert. In programme one she asks, what are the implications for traditional nomadic desert c
In this special edition of Assignment, John Simpson reveals how the protests, and the police reprisals that followed, are intricately linked to the rivalry inside the clique of clerics...
When the dried blood of Naples' patron saint fails to liquefy, Neapolitans believe great misfortune will descend upon them. With Mount Vesuvius overdue for a major eruption, Malcolm...
After 28 years in power, President Mubarak's promise of shepherding his country into a stable democracy has all but dissipated.
In a programme first broadcast in April, Ed Butler reports from New York on how the super rich have been dealing with the impact of the financial crisis.
In the final part of this series, Mike Gallagher meets a British farmer working vast landholdings in Hungary and Serbia. Does 'going global' in agriculture really offer a better fu
After 28 years in power, Mubarak's promise of leading Egypt into stable democracy has dissipated. Magdi Abdelhadi reports.
Listen to the story of Suzanne, a single woman in her forties who opted for a trans-racial adoption and became the mother of an African-American baby.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled from Somalia since civil war broke out there in the early 1990s. Many of them go to refugee camps in Kenya, others to Tanzania - and many have...
In this series, Mike Gallagher meets two farmers working outside their own countries. In programme one, a young Ecuadorian visits Hawaii. What farming techniques can he take back to...
Justin Webb goes beyond his role as a journalist to explore the issue from the perspective of a parent who is desperate to know what the future holds for his child.
The final programme in the My World series explores the story of Pornthip Rojanasunan, Thailand’s leading forensic scientist who has turned a straightforward autopsy into a battleground...
In this series, David Goldblatt charts the rise of Twenty20 cricket. In the final programme he asks, can the Twenty20 revolution help to make cricket become a truly global game?
A poetic story of survival set against the soundscape of the Mathare slums in Kenya. Meet Kades, a teenage poet who has escaped poverty.
Martin Wolf, of the Financial Times, predicted that the global downturn would be much worse than anyone had reason to believe.
Since the beginning of last year, pirates have succeeded in seizing more than 70 ships off the coast of Somalia. Hundreds of crew members have been held to ransom, and millions of dollars...
David Goldblatt charts the recent arrival and rise on the sporting scene of Twenty20 cricket. David meets those who run the game, former and current players, and seasoned commentators....
Tracing the profound physical and emotional toll on all those involved in the wake of a single collision on a road.
Every year, 15 million people will suffer from a stroke, five million of them will die and a further five million will be left permanently disabled.
This documentary tells the story...
James Miles, the BBC's China correspondent in 1989, was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests.
Abraham Lincoln's legacy and political influence is more powerful today than it ever was. Allan Little looks at how movements and leaders from very different political perspectives
Follow the story of Gemma Tracee Apiku, a former refugee who spent her teenage years in the camps of Sudan, as she returns to Africa to become a relief worker herself.
Until the end of last year Bernard Madoff was a highly respected financial guru and long time advisor to America's rich and famous. Then on Thursday the twelfth December 2008 he was...
James Miles, the BBC's China correspondent in 1989, was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests.
Mauritania is a country with a tradition of slavery, but in August 2007 owning slaves became a criminal act. David Gutnick visits Mauritania and finds out how entrenched the master/slave...
Assignment this week investigates just who was responsible for the toxic dumping in Ivory Coast, and what it was that caused one hundred thousand people to become so ill there.
Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression. He
Vivek Kumar runs India's number one detective agency and business - investigating marital infidelities - is booming.
In the last of this four part series, Sorious Samura is in a fishing village near Freetown in Sierra Leone.
Exploring the world of an extraordinary individual. This week, we travel to Colombia to experience a day in the life of Cartagena’s Martin Murrillo – mobile cart librarian and self-taught...
Continuing his award-winning reports for the BBC World Service, Michael Robinson looks at the increasingly desperate efforts to stave off a global economic slump and depression.
He...
Award-winning journalist Sorious Samura heads back to his native West Africa for a trip through his homeland of Sierra Leone and other neighbouring countries.
In part three Sorious...
Just one year ago Wall Street bankers enjoyed widespread regard, even veneration, in American public life, respected as people who understood the world of money and finance. Twelve
Professor Jim Al-Khalili looks at the legacy of scientists from the Islamic world. In part three of The Secret Scientists, he talks about the work of Abu Rayhan Biruni, who calculated...
Jim Al-Khalili looks at the scientists from the Islamic world who created a legacy for scientists in the European renaissance.
Sorious Samura takes four journeys that explore the challenges and contradictions of life in modern West Africa. In Part One, we hear about Cletus Anaaya and his efforts to stop the...
Jim Al-Khalili looks at the scientists from the Islamic world who created a legacy for scientists in the European renaissance.
After one of Africa's most vicious conflicts - a war that claimed the lives of more than 200 thousand people and displaced a million others - can Liberia keep its peace?
The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to new report released by Human Rights Watch. For this week's Assignment Pascale Harter travels to Sicily,...
In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered. They contained evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's civil war. In programme 2 of this series, Gerry Northam...
In 2003 peace was declared between the Liberian government and rebel groups.
Ten years after the war in Kosovo, Michael Montgomery returns to the region for Assignment. He investigates allegations of torture, kidnap and murder by the Kosovo Liberation Army
In Guatemala four years ago, 80 million documents were discovered in a warehouse. They contain evidence of police atrocities during Guatemala's 36 year long civil war. Gerry Northam...
Jared Thomas is an Aboriginal Australian. Born of mixed race parents. We follow his search for the nature of identity and see how it relates to a generation of young Aboriginal Australian...
For twenty five years, Turkey fought a dirty war with Kurdish separatist insurgents. Atrocities were committed on both sides but most of the 40 000 people killed were Kurds. Many thousands...
Mark Urban asks if Barack Obama's presidency will see substantial reform at the Pentagon.
Richard Dowden joins the greatest of all African novelists, Chinua Achebe, on his first trip back to his homeland of Nigeria for many years.
What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In the final programme Jane hears from people who have dared...
What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older...
What has become of Yiddish and how much of the language survives today?
During the cold war, more than thirty west German women were prosecuted after been tricked into handing over secrets to Romeo spies sent by the Stasi, the East German secret police....
In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud explores how terrorism, tourism and globalisation is affecting Bali's local politics.
What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out.
In programme three, Jane explores what happens when older...
Yiddish was the language of the Jewish Diaspora, the language of a people on the move across Europe. It has suffered a dramatic decline over the last century.
In the run up to elections, Anita Barraud finds out why poverty and starvation are causing major problems for West Timor. Join her as she travels deep into the countryside and discovers...
What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets people from four continents to find out. In part two, she hears from older people facing financial challenges...
Who’s responsible for our current economic meltdown? Financial institutions around the globe are now sitting on mega losses – they hold assets worth a fraction of what they paid for...
Trafalgar Square is a must-see destination on any tourist map of the UK. But beyond the statues and clicking cameras are the lives and stories of those for whom this space exists as...
Anita Barraud explores how peace and democracy is working in Aceh, a region that has endured dictatorship, decades of war and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
What is it really like to be old? In this four part series, Jane Little meets Third Agers from four continents to find out. In programme one, Jane meets some extraordinary women who’ve...
It's a year since Kenya's political rivals signed a power-sharing agreement to end the violence which broke out after presidential elections there. In this week's Assignment Pascale...
In the run up to the Indonesian elections in April, Anita Barraud travels to four different regions of the country to take a closer look at its politics and democracy.
Lucy Ash looks at a successful prison reform scheme in Kansas that is turning crack dealers into respectable businessmen. She also visits Italy where a maximum security jail has become...
As Beatlemania swept throughout the world in 1964, it seemed unable to penetrate the Iron Curtain. However, an underground culture grew which used ingenious ways to discover the Beatles'...
Lucy Ash looks at why allowing prisoners to raise puppies has proved to be a successful way of bringing out their caring, and more emotive side. Join her on her global journey as she...
Worldwide, the illegal trade in wildlife is worth up to $25 billion US a year. Australia is one of the countries counting the cost as its rare birds and reptiles are targeted by international...
Nadene Ghouri goes undercover to expose the trade in children by some charities registered in the United States and operating as businesses in Liberia.
As prison numbers in Britain continue to soar, what can be done to stop criminals re-offending? In part one, Lucy Ash finds out if creativity can help to cut crime.
This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. In programme three, two newspaper deliverers in New Delhi, India take us on their daily cycle rout
At the end of last year, violent clashes broke out in Jos in central Nigeria after a disputed local election. Christian and Muslim mobs took to the streets burning mosques, churches...
Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part two, he looks at how President Bush's failures paved the way for...
This three-part series looks at the impact the bicycle has had on people's lives. Programme two visits Kampala, Uganda where the bicycle is being used as a wheelchair for disabled
Is the UN's Human Rights Council fulfilling its role to protect the most vulnerable from human rights abuses or a cabal fixated on protecting itself?
This series features three portraits of the use of the bicycle around the world. The first programme looks at a new bicycle system in Paris, France called the Velib.
Justin Webb explores the domestic and international legacies of President George W Bush as he leaves office. In part one, he looks at how 9/11 changed American foreign policy and how...
Kwame Anthony Appiah is one of America’s leading public intellectuals. In this investigative feature he is on a mission to find out what Barack Obama is like as an intellectual.
A US president has a constitutional and inalienable right to grant pardons. He usually does this just before he leaves office. It is a mysterious and controversial business - notorious...
On 1st January 2009, Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of its revolution. All over the world, this Caribbean nation has cultivated a name-recognition and influence much greater than its...
Peter White tells the story of Louis Braille, the founder of Braille, and the story behind his invention, in the light of new technology for the blind, which threatens to make it r
As leaders in Europe and America struggle to re-write the rules of international finance following the credit crunch, we investigate the roots and role of risk.
In Brand Cuba, Allan Little analyses some of the factors that have kept Cuba alive in the public imagination over such a long period.
Throughout much of the Christian world Christmas is the time when Santa Claus dominates – a fat jolly chap who is our friend.
There are more than 10 million Palestinians living around the world, more than half of whom are stateless. In this year when Israel has been marking its 60th anniversary many Palestinians...
While China's economy has boomed over the past 30 years, many of its 700 million farmers have been stuck in poverty. Their only hope of a wage has been far from home in the factories...
Timeline is the programme where the past sheds light on recent events though use of archive material.
In this four part series, using archive recordings and music from the time, Sir John Tusa examines what made 1968 such a climactic year. Programme four focuses on the Prague Spring
Last year our correspondent Jill McGivering reported from Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan on the constant violence and the struggle to bring development to the region. Now
While China's economy has boomed over the past 30 years, many of its 700 million farmers have been stuck in poverty.
In this four part series, using archive recordings and music from the time, Sir John Tusa examines what made 1968 such a climactic year. Programme three looks at how race and nationalism...
In this topical and lively series, contemporary stories and events are explored through the examination of archive material of events that have gone before.
And now Assignment asks whether Bolivia is on the brink of civil war. In the run-up to next month’s crucial vote on a new constitution, Daniel Schweimler reports from the wealthy and...
Over the past two-and-a-half years, former BBC Beijing correspondent Carrie Gracie has been witnessing the upheaval as White Horse village in rural China is turned into a city.
In...
In this four part series, using archive recordings and music from the time, Sir John Tusa examines what made 1968 such a climactic year. Programme two captures the student unrest around...
Five years after doing a series of reports on HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, Emma Joseph retraces her steps for Assignment to find out whether the region still has one of the highest...
In this topical and lively series, contemporary stories and events are explored through the examination of archive material of events that have gone before.
Father Henri Des Roziers is a Dominican priest and human rights lawyer working in Pará, one of Brazil's most violent regions.
Nick Maes is given a privileged insight into the life...
In this four part series, using archive recordings and music from the time, Sir John Tusa examines what made 1968 such a climactic year. Starting with the Vietnam War and the assasination...
This series looks at the growth of street art. Programme two focuses on Sao Paulo, Brazil through the eyes of a street artist, Nunca. Can Nunca transfer his counter-cultural message...
Rupa Jha explores what ex-militants in Kashmir and their families expect from the future.
This series looks at street art in two very different cities: New York and Sao Paulo. Each episode profiles a rising artist, and speaks to people on the street to discover how attitudes...
The Neapolitan crime syndicate, the Camorra, has said it wants a young writer dead by Christmas, because he has exposed how they really do business. Increasingly it's brave individuals...
Rupa Jha talks to former militants in Kashmir and their families about why they took up arms and the reasons behind giving up violence. What are the challenges of returning to normal...
You might think that copper is just another metal, but in fact it is a vital substance. Discover why, without this metal, even the evolution of life itself would be radically diffe
Hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless when Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the southern coast of the United States in 2005. Many survivors were rehoused by the federal...
Former Kabul correspondent Alan Johnston reflects on decades of turmoil in Afghanistan, from the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the intervention by the West.
Animal Migration in a Climate of Change is a special four-part series that explores the way environmental change is affecting the natural movement of animals all around the world. In...
Animal Migration in a Climate of Change is a special four-part series that explores the way environmental change is affecting the natural movement of animals all around the world. In...
Animal Migration in a Climate of Change is a special four-part series that explores the way environmental change is affecting the natural movement of animals all around the world. In...
Discover just how important cows have been civilisation, all around the world.
Former Kabul correspondent Alan Johnston reflects on decades of turmoil in Afghanistan, from the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the intervention by the West.
Animal Migration in a Climate of Change is a special four-part series that explores the way environmental change is affecting the natural movement of animals all around the world. In...
The South Ossetian conflict not only sparked a military war between Russia and Georgia, but a propaganda battle. James Rodgers examines this ongoing media war between Georgia and Russia...
Neil McCarthy pieces together a story of rats, famine and insurrection from the 1950's to present day, in remote hills of North East India.
Andrew Purcell investigates the growing homelessness crisis among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the United States. The programme looks at how these 'lost veterans' struggle to reintegrate...
Allan Little presents an appraisal of the man described as America's Apostle of Freedom: Thomas Jefferson, author of the founding document of the American Republic.
As the global banking crisis deepens, a flood of multi-million dollar lawsuits is beginning to shed light into some of the darkest corners of international finance. The BBC's Michael...
The Saudi Interior Ministry and the US Military in Iraq have offered al - Qaeda sympathisers and detainees therapy and job training. Owen Bennett-Jones asks if this can really prevent...
This special documentary exploring life in Chicago's inner city is based on Ghetto Life 101, an acclaimed 1993 documentary featuring LeAlan Jones and LLoyd Newman, two teenagers who...
A series of protests against Indian rule in Kashmir has left more than 30 people dead since August. Thousands of people have died in the violence there since 1989. For Assignment
Owen Bennett-Jones tests the big promises governments have made about the financial war on terror.
What is the state of health of the Italian nation today? Is Italy in crisis or undergoing a new Renaissance? Italian journalist Annalisa Piras returns home to find out.
In Mexico, the government has deployed thousands of troops in an attempt to break up the powerful drug cartels operating in the country. Emilio San Pedro travels to the border city
In Iran, the constant drugs crisis and loss of skilled workers contrast with a lively internet scene which harbours poets, political dissidents and religious leaders.
Owen Bennett-Jones looks at al Qaeda's hard power and military capabilities in its chosen key battlegrounds: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius are all popular tourist destinations. Robin White tells the stories behind the tourist facades, visiting Mauritius for part four of...
In Assignment, Robert Walker travels to East Africa to investigate a secret detention programme - involving the transfer of suspected terrorists across three countries: Kenya, Somalia...
This series explores what life offers to Iran's burgeoning young population who are trapped by conservatism and an ailing economy. In the first programme, we hear how the war with Iraq...
Seven years into the global war on terror, is al-Qaeda winning? It's a deceptively simple question, one Owen Bennett-Jones asked in Riyadh, Peshawar and Baghdad, as well as London,
The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius are all popular tourist destinations. Robin White tells the stories behind the tourist facades, visiting the Seychelles for part three...
Pakistan's government is locked in an intense battle with Islamist militants for control of areas on its northern border with Afghanistan. For Assignment Owen Bennett-Jones visits the...
Robin Lustig travels to Phoenix, Arizona, the home of Senator John McCain, to ask two ordinary voters about their most pressing concerns in the forthcoming US presidential election
A tale of a tiny painting, set against a large canvas of war, politics and looted art in Charle's Wheeler quest to solve a 50-year mystery.
The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius are all popular tourist destinations. Robin White tells the stories behind the tourist facades, visiting Sri Lanka for part two of
As the insurgency in Afghanistan grows, Kate Clark travels undercover to investigate who's arming the Taleban. Meeting commanders and arms dealers, she finds the Taleban are getting...
We know the two US presidential candidates and what they would do in office, but what does the electorate itself want? Robin Lustig travels to the candidates' home states to meet four...
How are the Marwari traders managing as India goes global? Can a business culture based on traditional values survive as India's economy changes?
The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius are all popular tourist destinations. Robin White tells the stories behind the tourist facades, visiting the Maldives for part one
Mukhul Devichand finds out how the Marwari trading caste from India's western deserts has become a major global economic and political force.
Ruth Evans tells the extraordinary story of 11 women brought together on the internet by one man's sperm.
Haiti, one of the very poorest countries in the world, has been hit hard by soaring food prices. Earlier this year riots led to the sacking of the prime minister. In Assignment, Orin...
John McCain: a profile of the man who talks of honour and patriotic duty and admits having a legendary short fuse.
Win Scutt finds out how the maritime treasure hunting industry has boomed in recent years.
Following recent legislation in Spain the government has agreed to offer support to families wishing to find the remains of their loved ones killed during the country's brutal civil...
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner talks to former allies of Osama bin Laden who are now engaged in countering the terrorist leader's agenda.
Barack Obama:the profile of one of the two individuals who are the presumptive nominees in the US presidential election.
International seas are largely unregulated, meaning most underwater archaeological wealth can be retrieved and sold without any obstacle. Can a new UNESCO convention bring some ord
The experience of growing up in a socially deprived, inner city neighbourhood is a common one, no matter where you may live in the world. In Britain's main cities, police and politicians...
BBC World Affairs correspondent Mark Doyle continues travelling from the west to the east of the DR Congo on a journey to find out why so many people have died and continue to die in...
The extraordinary US military base at the heart of a vast shift in American military strategy, aiming for nation-building and peacekeeping.
What do Freedom of Information laws actually achieve? Are they sometimes more symbolic than practical in their impact?
During Argentina's Dirty War of the seventies and eighties thousands of leftists and dissidents vanished after being abducted by the security forces. Many of the women detained gave...
BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mark Doyle explores why over five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past decade.
Prestigious job. Exotic location. Stately home, fine food and wine, and many other perks thrown in. Yours for only $200,000. The position a US ambassadorship. Around a third of all
Freedom of information is well on the way to being seen as an essential prerequisite for a modern democracy. But there's almost always a backlash from politicians and officials.
In the United States a small but increasingly vocal group of people believe that members of the country's Muslim community are working from within to turn America into an Islamic state....
Will there be a return to the dreaded days of "stagflation" with weak growth and rising inflation. Can economic policymakers find a way to deal with this double danger? Or is further...
The United States is due to have the first billion-dollar election in its history. The BBC's Steve Evans presents this two-part investigation into election spending done in collaboration...
After the ending of apartheid in South Africa, the transfer of land from white to black was a key ANC promise - a proud calling card to correct the injustices of apartheid. But many...
With the world's economy now threatened by what some believe is the most dangerous crisis since the depression of the 1930s, Michael Robinson looks at the deepening international financial...
In this two-part investigation, Matt McGrath sets out to expose corruption, drug use and cover-ups at the highest levels in sport.
In May violence against African immigrants exploded across South Africa. Two months on thousands are still displaced, living in camps and shelters. Robert Walker travels to one of the...
Jill McGivering explores whether China is doing enough to provide healthcare to 1.3 billion people and what it can learn from the struggles of the developed world.
Russell Fuller follows the difficult journeys of six hopefuls from around the world in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.
In this two-part investigation, Matt McGrath sets out to expose corruption, drug use and cover-ups at the highest levels in sport.
An undercover BBC investigation has exposed how young African footballers are being defrauded by conmen posing as talent scouts from English Premiership clubs. Victims are duped into...
Part One: Jill McGivering compares two very different free health systems in the developed world: the British NHS and that of the US state of Massachusetts.
In the second part of this series, Kate Clark reports from those provinces where an opium ban is in force, but farmers are feeling the pressure.
The dynamics of the old world and the new world are changing and the balance of economic systems is shifting. Martin Wolf of the Financial Times asks leading economists how important...
In a multi billion dollar deal China has promised to rebuild DR Congo's crumbling infrastructure in exchange for a valuable slice of Congo's vast mineral wealth.
What's being called...
China says hosting the Olympics has accelerated national reforms, technological advances and greater freedoms overall but Gerry Northam investigates claims that life has gotten worse...
Kate Clark gains rare access to the fight against the Afghan opium trade and asks how effective attempts to control it have been.
Campaigners for improving maternal health have been lobbying the G8 to get the topic on the agenda for the next meeting in Japan. In programme two of the series Health for All, Uduak...
As the world counts down to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Gerry Northam investigates China's claims of 'vigorous growth in the public practice of religion' but he discovers people
In the third part of this series, Audrey Brown travels to Atteridgeville, a township outside the capital, Pretoria, to explore what really lay behind the recent attacks by South Africans...
Is health for all a fact or just fiction? Helen Sharp asks if the world has the will, people and money to deliver basic good health to everyone.
This week's Assignment tells the story of the Burmese cyclone through the eyes and ears of the few BBC journalists who managed to get into the country after the disaster. Hear the
In 1998, a truck bomb exploded outside the American embassy in Nairobi. Over 200 people died and thousands were injured. It features an extraordinary interview with the FBI agent who...
In the second part of this series, Audrey Brown travels to South Africa to explore how privilege and access to resources is increasingly being seen as an issue of colour.
Sheila Dillon reports on the work of restaurateurs, farmers, fishermen and activists to restore the culinary heritage of a devastated city.
Baseball may be the United States' national sport - but this year, 2008, almost half of all its professional players come from overseas - and some 40 per cent of them from the Dominican...
In the third part of this series, Peter Taylor investigates The Paris Plot, the hijacking of a plane in Algiers on its way to Paris; a plan to use a plane as a weapon of mass destr
Fourteen years after liberation and 60 years since the beginning of what was then 'apartheid', Audrey Brown explores and uncovers the extent to which race still plays a part in everyday...
More than 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Bomb Hunters, tells the stories of the people living in Xieng Khuang in Laos and how they survive in a land still littered with
The new mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno was once a so-called neo-fascist - a supporter of anti-democratic, right wing radicalism. And his election has come at a time of mounting ethnic...
In the second part of this series, Peter Taylor investigates how two events in 1987 contributed to the beginnings of the road to peace in Northern Ireland.
The powerful story of a young Iranian woman called Leila, sold into prostitution at the age of nine by her own family and sentenced to hang aged 18.
Argentinian film director, writer and tango enthusiast, Edgardo Cozarinsky, talks to artists, dancers, novelists and other Argentinians about why psychotherapy and tango have such a...
The town of Auroville in southern India was built in 1968 on the basis of a utopian ideal - that a community could live in peace and harmony without having to worry about food and shelter....
In the first part of this series, Peter Taylor reveals how events unfolded in the 1976 hijacking of an Air France plane on a flight from Tel Aviv to Paris which ends with a bid to
In Taxi To The Dark Side, American film-maker Alex Gibney reports on the use of torture by American soldiers in Afghanistan. Was the torture the work of a few rogue soldiers, or officially...
Dr Thomas Hargrove, an American scientist kidnapped by FARC, is reunited with the family's German neighbour, who was part of 'Team Tom' which organized the negotiations.
Lucy Ash finds out if new trade deals and diplomatic dialogue with Libya can encourage them to abandon torture and oppression for political reform and human rights improvements.
The Commodities Bubble: Michael Robinson investigates and reveals how the commodities markets are attracting major players now looking for somewhere to invest other than the dollar,...
In this two-part series, former BBC East Africa Correspondent Mike Wooldridge travels from the bustling capital, Nairobi, to the Rift Valley to report on the issues behind the conflict...
For the last six decades, central bankers have run the international financial system with the aid of a powerful set of economic levers handed to them after the World War 2. Last year,...
Presenter Ritula Shah reunites former hostage Norman Kember - kidnapped in Iraq - with the people who were personally involved in negotiations to free him, and who put their lives on...
In this two-part series, former BBC East Africa Correspondent Mike Wooldridge travels from the bustling capital, Nairobi, to the Rift Valley to report on the issues behind the conflict...
Cyber-crime is the fastest-growing sector of global-organised crime, worth about US$100 billion a year. Misha Glenny travels to Sao Paulo to find out why Brazil is the cyber-crime capital...
Who wouldn't like to escape the relentless march of time? Find out about the routes from those who attempt to escape the tyranny of time.
Last September, Mark Weil, the radical theatre director of the Ilkhom theatre in Uzbekistan, was stabbed to death while returning home from a rehearsal. As the regime in Tashkent hardened...
To mark the 20th anniversary of his assassination, Nick Maes looks at the life of Chico Mendes, the highly significant green activist who helped to galvanise the race to preserve the...
In the third part of this series on international crime, Misha Glenny is in South Africa where since the end of Apartheid, personal security has become almost a national obsession;
How have non-native creatures - from birds to bovines, reptiles to rhesus monkeys - become unlikely, but permanent, residents of Hong Kong?
Nick Fraser looks at the intellectual revolution that spread from Paris throughout the world, particularly to America and then to Britain, in 1968.
In the second of this series which charts the explosion of international organised crime, Misha Glenny goes to the Balkans to follow the trail of smuggled cigarettes.
Environmental refugees seek a home somewhere in the planet where the predicted global changes can, perhaps, be weathered.
In this week's Assignment David Goldblatt travels to Israel to meet the fans of Beitar Jerusalem football club. As you'll hear in this programme the fans pride themselves on their...
Forty years ago, 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians were killed by US soldiers. It became known as ‘The My Lai Massacre' and was covered up by the army for almost a year. In the second...
As part of his investigation into global crime, Misha Glenny is in Canada, where the wholesale production of marijuana is posing a challenge to the US-led 'War on Drugs'.
The BBC's Africa editor Martin Plaut sets out to examine serious new allegations of corruption and wrongdoing within the United Nations' peacekeeping operations.
The resourcefulness and resilience of prisioners fighting for freedom that make Australians today proudly boast of their own inherited 'convict streak'
Abandonment, abuse and neglect of the elderly by their own children and grandchildren is at record levels in India. In a society where reverence and respect towards senior citizens
Forty years ago in the village of My Lai in South Vietnam, a massacre took place. The victims were innocent Vietnamese civilians – 504 mainly women, old men, children and babies. They...
Laurie Taylor explores Marseille's unique racial geography to find out what kept the peace during 2005 and 2007 when race riots tore at the fabric of French society.
Manuel Bagorro, the director of the Harare International Festival of the Arts, describes his efforts to bring a cultural highlight in the midst of the election chaos in Zimbabwe.
The last few weeks have seen an increase in violence in Somalia. Insurgents have stepped up attacks on the Ethiopian army and on the Somali transitional government it's backing. Ethiopia...
Award winning poet Fred D’Aguiar is head of creative writing at Virginia Tech, the scene of a mass shooting of students and staff one year ago. He lost a student in the tragedy and...
China is on track to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving Dollar-a-day poverty. But what uncertainties lie ahead now the Iron Bowl has been smashed? Mike Wooldrige re
More than 65,000 grandparents in Canada are raising their grandchildren on their own, turning their lives upside down to raise a child for a second time.
Dr Anne-Marie Brady from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand investigates how the Chinese Communist Party has adapted its propaganda methods to suit the 21st century.
John Simpson meets the ladies cracking down on spitting in Beijing before the Olympics and chats to the lady everyone's calling China's Oprah Winfrey on the set of the hit TV show Win...
John Simpson meets the ladies cracking down on spitting in Beijing before the Olympics and chats to the lady everyone's calling China's Oprah Winfrey on the set of the hit TV show Win...
Why do Ghanaians dream of living a better life abroad? What must change in Ghana for more Ghanaians to want to stay?
The United States has long been home to violent gangs, from the Mafia to the Bloods and Crips. But recently, US authorities have warned of the dangers of a transnational, ultra-violent...
For Iraqi Kurds these are the best times they have ever known. But can the desire for full independence be contained? Michael Goldfarb goes to Kirkuk disputed heart of northern Iraq's...
Programme one: The Road From Tiananmen charts John Simpson's return to modern China 19 years after he witnessed the massacre of June 4 1989
Shazia Khan investigates the agony of forced marriages in the UK and the risks of trying to escape it.
Is it possible to legislate against deeply held beliefs? That's what the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are hoping to do. They want to make it a criminal offence to...
John Simpson looks at the how the Iraq War has affected America's international role and reputation.
In the first part of the series Return to Kurdistan, Michael Goldfarb follows the upheaval of Kurdistan through the eyes of his translator Ahmad Shawkat.
With climate change bringing new threats of rising sea levels and increased rainfall, will luck and ingenuity continue to save the Netherlands from submersion?
After the invasion of Iraq in 2003 hundreds of young American recruits were sent by Washington to help run the Coalition Provisional Authority, the body set up to administer Iraq. The...
Nick Rankin enters cyber space to explore the world of intellectual piracy - the stealing of ideas.
In Programme Three, Lyse Doucet looks at how the Iraq War changed the regional balance of power.
In the 1980s Kathy Flower became the most famous face on Chinese television, as English teacher to millions of students long isolated from the outside world.
Now she returns to a very...
According to US intelligence the Afghan president Hamid Karzai controls only 30 percent of Afghanistan, with the Taleban holding 10 percent. Most of the country is under local tribal...
Nick Rankin travels to Africa to find out how modern day pirates are ruling the high seas. From hijacking, kidnapping and ransoms, he finds out what is being done to combat the pro
Magdi Abdelhadi explores how the dream of a democratic Arab world was promoted then put in reverse as things went wrong in Iraq.
In Programme Two Magdhi Abdulhadi looks at how the neocon dream of a democratic Arab world was promoted then put in reverse as things went wrong in Iraq.
Sharon Mascall investigates the Australian mining industry where many inexperienced workers are lured by high wages but face harsh conditions, poor safety standards and an uncertain...
Jacob Zuma is one of the most powerful men in South Africa. He controls the ruling African National Congress and is poised to replace President Thabo Mbeki as head of state. But Jacob...
Programme One: BBC correspondent Jim Muir evaluates how war has changed Iraq from the beginning of the invasion to the handover of power.
Martin Sixsmith gets under the skin of the fastest growing and arguably most politically influential secret service in the world the "new KGB".
Why are the British so scared of Islam? When the head of the Anglican church, Dr Rowan Williams, suggested that some aspects of Sharia law seemed unavoidable in parts of Britain, he...
Russia has made more enemies than friends recently. Tim Whewell finds out where this new East, West confrontation is leading and why Russia is harking back to the days of the old Soviet...
Tim Whewell investigates why a 'new' Cold War could be underway and if Russia and the US is embarking once again on a race for arms.
Martin Sixsmith looks at Russia's fast growing and politically influential secret service.
Soeren Kam is a former Danish SS Officer and one of the most wanted Nazi war criminals still alive. Now 86 and living in Bavaria, Kam admitted taking part in the abduction and killing...
Pipeline Power: Could Russia's vast energy sources possibly be the missiles of the future? Tim Whewell investigates why Russia's state energy company, Gazprom fell out with Ukraine
Nearly twenty years after the Cold War, there’s a new chill in relations between Russia and the West. Tim Whewell finds out what has happened to Russia's historic partnership with the...
Owen Bennett-Jones examines the rise of Islamist militancy in Pakistan and the risk of the country being split apart.
Why have so many of the hopes and aspirations of Pakistan's founders remained unfulfilled?
In this second programme on Pain, Andrew North explores the strategies we use to survive pain, through expressing and suppressing it.
It's been three months since cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh. BBC reporter, Siobhann Tighe returns to speak to some of the survivors. She also talks to government advisers about the
Temple prostitutes: The ancient Hindu tradition of dedicating young girls to the temple has come up against the modern horrors of AIDS.
With its functioning parliament, a booming oil economy and a small but well-trained army, the Kurdish area of Iraq appears to offer a model for other areas of the country. But Kate...
In this two part series, former BBC Iraq correspondent, Andrew North takes a personal journey through his own experience of pain and that of others.
What would happen if the government of Pakistan, one of the world's nuclear powers, were to collapse? Would extreme Islamist militants be able to get their hands on the country's nuclear...
Georgia, considered to be the birthplace of wine, risks losing its wine industry. How are the producers coping?
This week's Assignment reports on the post election violence in Kenya which has claimed the lives of up to 900 people. The opposition claim that the poll was rigged and the violence,...
In this four part series, Mike Wooldridge looks at what it's really like to have to live on one dollar a day. The third programme focuses on education in Ghana.
The number of Moroccan story-tellers, known as halakis, is dwindling. Why is their art dying out?
The final part of a three part series. Every year, thousands of young people from sub-Saharan Africa set off across the desert dreaming of a better life in Europe. Part two: Returning...
Millions of young African boys dream of following such football stars as Didier Drogba and Emmanuel Eboue to Europe to make their fortune. Only a handful succeed whilst many more fall...
In this four part series, Mike Wooldridge looks at what it's really like to have to live on one dollar a day. The third programme focuses on elder people in India.
The second in a three part series. Every year, thousands of young people from sub-Saharan Africa set off across the desert dreaming of a better life in Europe. Part two: The Journe
Charles Wheeler is on the trail of art seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II
Simon Cox tries to track down the criminals who plague us with spam emails offering everything from get rich schemes to products to improve our sex lives.
In this four part series, Mike Wooldridge looks at what it's really like to have to live on one dollar a day. The second programme focuses on Peru.
Every year, thousands of young men and women from sub-Saharan Africa set off across the desert dreaming of a better life in Europe. Part one: George from Cameroon starts his journ
At the end of World War Two, as Nazi Germany lay in ruins, millions of works of art were secrety shipped back to Russia by the Soviet Army. Charles Wheeler now investigates their fate...
Computer gaming has become a national obsession in South Korea but there is a dark side. Gaming, like gambling, can become an addiction that has even led to death. Julian Pettifer...
In this four part series, Mike Wooldridge looks at what it's really like to have to live on one dollar a day. The first programme focuses on Kenya.
The dangers of the present crisis turning into a full scale recession, and at the seemingly desperate attempts of bankers, regulators and politicians to prevent that happening.
Bakira Hasecic is unrelenting in her pursuit of the war criminals of the Bosnian war. How does she and the members of the Association of Women Victims of War find the strength to talk...
American film-maker Alex Gibney tells the story of an Afghan taxi driver, tortured to death by American soldiers and military police in Bagram airbase. Were they rogue soldiers, or...
In the final part of the series Roy Greenslade profiles the head of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch.
The first programme will show how rapidly the shock wave of the credit crunch is spreading and why it is now moving far beyond the sub-prime homeowners where it began.
There are now as many private security contractors in Iraq as there are US soldiers. To whom are they accountable when things go wrong? Steve Evans reports on the most controversial...
Peter Day reports on whether the US Food and Drug Administration will licence the HIV/AIDS drug Maraviroc.
Allan Urry investigates links between the Pentagon, politicians and weapons manufacturers.
Since the Uzbek government put down an uprising in Andijan in 2005, the country has become more and more isolated from the west. But ahead of the country’s first Presidential election...
Building democracy: What is the role of radio in building democracy? In Papua, a new radio station is being installed as part of Indonesia's 68H network. 68H has introduced electricity...
Freedom of the internet:How do the motives of mainstream news websites compare with the agendas of blogs? In part two of 'Press for Freedom', we talk to Iraqi blogger Salam Pax and
What is the future of news, when the internet may undermine the old-fashioned paternalistic precepts? BBC's Alan Little investigates.
BBC's Roy Greenslade looks at how far reporting 'the truth' can be endangered by governments, corporations and the new wave of internet publishing.
The BBC and other international broadcasters boast "objective" news and impartial window onto the world, but is such a thing really possible? Alan Little investigates.
Leila is a young woman in Iran, sold into prostitution by her family at the age of 9, later forced into a temporary marriage, and then sentenced to hang at the age of 18.
She was finally...
Africa's Cocaine Coast - Guinea-Bissau is awash with cocaine and is ranked by the United Nations as the fifth poorest country in the world. Grant Ferrett investigates.
Jonathan Marcus explores the impact of these two conflicts on the american political psyche.
Angus Stickler travels into the disputed "Red Zone" of Southern Thailand to discover the victims of a brutal and under-reported war.
Six months ago, the radical Palestinian faction Hamas took total control of the Gaza Strip. Israel and Egypt responded by closing their borders with Gaza. Magdi Abdelhadi travelled...
Correspondent Jonathan Marcus compares the impact of the two conflicts on American society and politics.
Roger Hardy follows the money trail and looks at the case of two prominent Saudi charities.
This week on Assignment, a story of lust, deception and betrayal on the internet. It tells the extraordinary story of a middle-aged factory worker who undergoes a virtual and very real...
The final part of a four part series in which Maurice Walsh discovers why globalisation and the black market have drastically undermined governments' ability to generate revenue in
In the third of a four part series Maurice Walsh discovers why globalisation and the black market have drastically undermined governments' ability to generate revenue in the form of...
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan explores how the US could retreat from its role as the planet's biggest polluter. In the final part of the series, Laura explores the degree...
In the second of a four part series Maurice Walsh discovers why globalisation and the black market have drastically undermined governments' ability to generate revenue in the form of...
Has Saudi Arabia fanned the flames of Muslim militancy by exporting its own puritanical form of Islam to every corner of the globe?
Fifty years ago, the drug thalidomide was introduced as a treatment for pregnancy sickness. The results for unborn children were devastating. Many of those affected have been compensated...
The first part of a four part series in which Maurice Walsh discovers why globalisation and the black market have drastically undermined governments' ability to generate revenue in
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan explores how the US could retreat from its role as the planet's biggest polluter. In this episode: Laura reports on General Electric. Once...
In a special BBC WS One Planet debate, we bring together four people at the heart of their governments' response to climate change – from the USA, Indonesia, Brazil and the UK.
The final part in a three part series in which Mike Williams explores the complex web of negotiations to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.
The second part in a three part series in which Mike Williams explores the complex web of negotiations to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.
The first part in a three part series in which Mike Williams explores the complex web of negotiations to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan explores how the US could retreat from its role as the planet's biggest polluter. In this episode: Laura finds out how the US could retreat...
South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. There are more than 54,000 reported rapes every year - and most rapes go unreported. David Goldblatt investigates...
In this part, Wole Soyinka travels back on a route he first took in 1967 at the beginning of the Biafran War, and speaks to two of the main protagonists.
In Pakistan President Musharraf and the former Pakistani prime minister, Benazir Bhutto did a deal this month. She told her suppprters to support his bid for the Presidency. He in...
We investigate the substance of the allegations against Benazir Bhutto and ask whether she could still face charges, despite the deal she has just struck with President Musharraf.
Nigeria's Nobel Prize-winning author, Wole Sayinka travels back to Biafra and comes face to face with the military leader who imprisoned him 40 years ago.
In the final part of this series Robin White visits Georgetown the capital of Guyana where he experiences the transport system and learns about the demise of the Amerindian culture
Robin White visits Maputo the capital city of Mozambique. After sixteen years of civil war how well is the city functioning?
Robin White finds out about the disappearing Kweyol culture in St Lucia. Why is it too difficult to make Kweyol the island's official language?
China has turned its attention to the US in its search for natural resources, even enabling the re-opening of an abandoned iron mine in Minnesota.
Lucy Ash assesses the wider impact of China's insatiable appetite for natural resources, and focuses on the special relation with Angola and its oil.
Maurice Walsh considers whether China might use its growing military power to reclaim Taiwan, possibly provoking a confrontation with the US.
Maurice Walsh examines whether US government concerns about rising defence spending in China will fuel a new arms race in the Pacific.
Local broadcaster Eunis Taumomoa guides us through Papua New Guinea, a country that has more than 700 different languages and ethnic groups.
Afghanistan's recent history has been a long list of human rights abuses and war crimes - yet many of those accused are now beyond the reach of prosecutors because of an amnesty the...
Meet the doctors who are trying to introduce regulation of stem cell therapies in India, so that those vulnerable patients who can least afford to spend money on unproven therapies
Matthew Sweet presents the extraordinary story of Finland's Nokia Millionaires, and how the mobile phone industry prevented a severe recession in the country.
Lance Corporal Baronowski's personal recordings, made in Vietnam shortly before he was killed in 1966, paint a vivid picture of the young soldier’s life. How do his experiences compare...
Assignment reports on the fate of thousands of migrants from eastern Europe, who come to Britain to find work. Even though they are in the UK legally, they're often exploited by gangmasters...
Do stem cells really offer a miracle cure? Are the clinics offering genuine treatments at the cutting edge of science, or merely taking advantage of the vulnerable?
The two week uprising in Burma has been ruthlessly put down by the Burmese military. The protests appear to be over. What lay behind the uprising, and why is the Burmese junta so
Darfur has diverted attention from Southern Sudan, now emerging from civil war. Mike Wooldridge investigates its hopes for peace.
Assignment reports on the persecution of Christians in Eritrea - home to one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, dating back 1,600 years. Thousands have fled torture and...
Robin Denselow tells the story of the Zimbabwean band The Bhundu Boys. From their triumphs in the charts to the tragedy of losing two members to HIV/Aids.
John McCarthy looks at how the Kaduna Declaration in Kaduna, Nigeria, has had some success in bringing Muslims and Christians together amidst violence.
Darfur has diverted attention from Southern Sudan, now emerging from civil war. Mike Wooldridge investigates its hopes for peace.
Karin Wells investigates controversial new laws in Poland that require over 35s to prove they never collaborated with Communists.
Owen Bennett-Jones visits two of the world's leading educational establishments - Harvard University and Westminster School - to ask how they get such good results.
Assignment reports on how a once model public housing project in Liverpool, has become terrorised by young criminal gangs - who are believed to be responsible for the murder of an 11...
Gavin Esler tells the story of Bill Clinton's controversial and colourful presidency, from epic victories to personal turmoil. The final part addresses the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Many ordinary people in Iraq continue to live in extraordianry circumstances. World Affairs coresspondent, Mike Woolridge follows the story of a taxi driver whose life has been turned...
We report on a miscarriage of justice in Japan - a case which has opened a debate about how the police question suspects, and why more than 99 per cent of those charged with a crime...
Education matters - Owen Bennett-Jones visits educational establishments which have been judged to be the bes. This week he visits Finland which has been judged to have the best educational...
Having won a second term, Clinton found new confidence when dealing with foreign policy. But then came revelations about Monica Lewinsky. How did events unfold?
Malcolm Billings explores the reconstruction projects slowly restoring the region's cultural legacy.
From authorising emergency bailout during the Mexican economic collapse to balancing the budget, Clinton's strategic use of the Presidential veto would enable his White House to start...
In August 1986 Julie Tullis became the first British woman climber to reach the summit of K2. The tapes she recorded reveal her adventure.
Malcolm Billings explores the reconstruction projects slowly restoring the region's cultural legacy.
When William Jefferson Clinton was elected President of the United States on 3 November 1992, hope was in the air. Though the honeymoon did not last long, it was at moments of great...
Jane Little follows one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" who goes back to be reunited with his mother and to marry a girl from his own Dinka tribe.
Malcolm Billings explores the reconstruction projects slowly restoring the region's cultural legacy.
Nick Caistor investigates the causes and effects of drug violence in Mexico, which is reaching alarming proportions in parts of the country.
In the second of these two programmes, Paul Bakibinga considers how Zimbabwe might become prosperous one more.
Jill McGivering follows the trail of fake drugs, from the marginalised communities at risk, to the country accused of being the main source.
Malcolm Billings explores the reconstruction projects slowly restoring the region's cultural legacy.
It reads like a soap opera, but this is not fiction: round-the-clock confinement, crippling illness, rape, escape, suicide and murder - women who go overseas to work as maids often
In the first of two programmes, Paul Bakibinga considers the causes behind the collapse of the once prosperous Zimbabwe.
Rappers from Freetown, Sierra Leone, perform and talk about their songs, background and dreams for their music.
Gabby O'Donnell goes to Ghana to meet some convicted drugs mules, and hears how they, as much as the users, can end up being the biggest victims in the multi-billion dollar drug tr
In the second programme, Judith Kampfner looks at women who work as maids in their own countries.
Children, sometimes as young as ten years old, are sent from villages to distant towns...
In South Africa, equality - on the basis of race, language, culture and sexual orientation - are central to the country's constitution.
Owen Bennett-Jones chairs a unique debate with some of the most senior and influential military figures responsible for the planning and execution of the war in Iraq.
