The Documentary Podcast

The Documentary Podcast

BBC World Service

A window into our world, through in-depth storytelling from the BBC. Investigating, reporting and uncovering true stories from everywhere. Award-winning journalism, unheard voices, amazing culture and global issues.

From Syria after Assad to rebuilding Ukraine, to how AI changed our lives, The Documentary investigates major global stories.

We delve into social media, take you into the minds of the world’s most creative people and explore personal approaches to spirituality. Every week, we also bring together people from around the globe to discuss how news stories are affecting their lives.

A new episode most days, all year round. From our BBC World Service teams at: Assignment, Heart and Soul, In the Studio, OS Conversations, The Fifth Floor and Trending.

Categories: Society & Culture

Listen to the last episode:

BBC health correspondent James Gallagher investigates how our noisy world is damaging our health. He finds out why noise increases our risk of health problems, like heart attacks, sleep problems and anxiety, and can even affect how long we live. James spends two days in Barcelona – one of the noisiest cities in Europe – to meet the people whose health is being ruined by noise and the scientists and doctors trying to solve the problem. He also visits London to be experimented on in a lab to find out how noise changes the body, and hears from Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, one of the loudest places on the planet.

Previous episodes

  • 4742 - LOUD: Is noise an invisible killer? 
    Sun, 16 Mar 2025
  • 4741 - The Fifth Floor: The Kenyan women saying no to motherhood 
    Sat, 15 Mar 2025
  • 4740 - BBC OS Conversations: Cuts to US foreign aid funding 
    Sat, 15 Mar 2025
  • 4739 - Heart and Soul: Ayahuasca and the new spiritual tourism 
    Fri, 14 Mar 2025
  • 4738 - The village of sex offenders 
    Thu, 13 Mar 2025
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