The Documentary

For 90 years the BBC World Service has been broadcasting in dozens of languages to audiences so huge they are counted in the tens of millions all over the globe. World Service began transmitting on 19 December 1932. It was called the BBC Empire Service, speaking in slow English via crackly short-wave radio to a now-vanished Empire which then ruled a fifth of the globe. The Second World War saw radio services expand massively, broadcasting in more than 40 languages to listeners hungry for truth and facts they could trust. In every crisis and conflict since, individual voices out of the air have offered news, but also drama, music, education and sometimes hope to their audiences.In a special 90th anniversary programme, the broadcaster Nick Rankin, who worked for more than 20 years at the BBC, digs into a treasure trove of sound archive and talks to journalists who made and still make the BBC World Service such a remarkable network.

For thousands of years we have gazed up at the stars and wondered: is anybody out there? The idea of meeting aliens has been the inspiration for countless books and films; for art and music. But today, thinking about meeting life on, or from, other planets is no longer dismissed as pure make-believe - it is the focus of political consideration and cutting-edge space science. Farrah Jarral presents the story of the fantasy and the reality of preparing for first contact with extra-terrestrials.

The global economy is shrinking but our costs are rising, and as people around the world find things harder, many are deciding to go on strike for better pay and conditions. Around the world, we are seeing the likes of teachers, nurses, postal and transport workers taking industrial action. We bring together some of those workers to hear about their jobs and why they are taking to the picket lines.

Paks, a small Hungarian town on the bank of the River Danube has prospered from its nuclear power station, built by the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s. Hungary has prospered too. Paks provides some 40 per cent of the country’s power requirements. But the four reactors are now approaching the end of their lives and are slated for retirement in 2032; so, in 2014 agreement was reached with Russia to build two more, with the help of a Russian loan worth several billion Euros, Russian engineers, and a small army of Ukrainian welders. But the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army in February 2022 has thrown these plans into disarray. Construction has begun, in the sense that bulldozers have been clearing the ground. But the project is already delayed, and there are those who believe that the new reactors will never be built. As Nick Thorpe discovers, people who thought they had a job for life in Paks are worried about their future and the future of a town whose lively shops and restaurants owe everything to the nu

Journalist Makiko Segawa who had a terrifying experience when she was sent to a psychiatric hospital when she was a young woman meets other people who have been caught up in the country's controversial mental health system. She hears harrowing stories before challenging the authorities about what's being done to change methods and Japanese attitudes towards mental health.

A long-held human ambition may soon become reality - human settlements on another planet, or in a floating space station. People could fulfil their hopes and dreams among the stars. David Baker has been discovering what those settlements in space will be like, who will be there and how they will be organised. He has been hearing from the people shaping human life out in the universe, about their extraordinary plans and ambitions.

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 Producer: Alex Last Sound mix by Neil Churchill Series editor: Penny Murphy Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond

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 ma

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 E

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.

When Qatar was announced as the host of the men's World Cup in 2022, it sent shockwaves around the football world. The small, spectacularly wealthy country, with a tiny population, little existing infrastructure, massive concerns over human rights and labour rights, and summer temperatures of over 40 degrees, seemed an unlikely candidate. That they had secured the World Cup triggered immense controversy, and an immediate wave of speculation that this would be yet another Fifa scandal, with votes bought and sold. Alex Capstick, the BBC World Service's sport correspondent, follows this story since that fateful announcement.

The health wagon serves remote communities in the Appalachian mountains of south-west Virginia. It's the oldest mobile clinic in the USA, founded in 1980 by a catholic nun in the back of a VW Beetle. Today it is a thriving and innovative non-profit, with five mobile units and three stationary clinics. Nurse practitioners Dr Teresa Tyson and Dr Paula Hill Collins are at the helm. We join them and their team, providing no-cost medical, dental and vision care to one of the most vulnerable, medically underserved areas of the United States.

It’s 12 years since Qatar was announced as the host country for the men’s World Cup football tournament. Awarding the event to Qatar was a controversial decision at the time and still is, on several levels. The country has strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws, and women's rights are the subject of ongoing debate. More recently, treatment of the 30,000 migrant labourers, who built many of the tournament's stadiums and infrastructure has been severely criticised. James Reynolds has been talking to fans around the globe, including gay rights activists, and hears from women living in Qatar, as the eyes of the world turn to their country.

A group of women are taking on China’s communist government after their husbands and fathers were jailed as dissidents. The women never wanted to be campaigners but felt compelled to help their loved ones. In China, the women endured detention, surveillance, social isolation and persecution. They’ve now fled to the United States, where they juggle jobs, bringing up children – and political campaigning. The BBC’s Asia-Pacific editor, Michael Bristow, hears their stories that reveal the dark side of China’s communist regime. Presenter: Michael Bristow Producer: Alex Last Photo: Shi Minglei now in the United States (BBC)