The Documentary

Personal protective equipment like masks and gloves are the last line of defence for healthcare workers on the frontline, preventing them from getting infected by the Covid patients they care for. But how protected are the factory workers who make these products? Phil Kemp investigates claims that exhausted migrant workers in Malaysia have worked up to 12 hours a day, 29 days a month to produce the gloves so desperately needed in hospitals around the world, with some exposed to outbreaks themselves at work.Reporter: Phil Kemp Producer: Anna Meisel (Image: A worker inspects newly-made gloves. Credit: Reuters/Lim Huey Teng)

The medical teams at Bradford investigate the hesitancy over the Covid-19 vaccine. A team of young ambassadors is recruited to help build trust locally and medical teams follow up with those who appear reluctant for a variety of reasons. Abdul Majeed is one of those doubters, even though his uncle, Nawab Ali, has died from Covid and his father, Abdul Saboor, had been gravely ill in intensive care with Covid-19 for two months.

Many parents are finding it hard to be a teacher and a parent at the same time during this pandemic. Two mums - Priya in India and Mputle in South Africa - share their experiences. Host Nuala McGovern also hears the urgent appeal being sent to medics to help in Portugal’s intensive care units, as the country undergoes a worrying spike in cases. “We need you,” is the message sent to one nurse, who is being drafted into ICU for the first time. Plus, three women in Germany, Australia and the United States come together to explain why the pandemic has led them to sell naked images and videos of themselves online.

As Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial approaches, Ros Atkins looks at the decisions that Republicans face over the former US president’s role in the storming of the Capitol and in the future of their party.

Bucharest, in Romania, is arguably Europe’s most dangerous capital city. It’s not the crime that’s the problem – it’s the buildings. Many of them don’t comply with basic laws and building regulations. Permits are regularly faked. And yet Bucharest is the most earthquake prone European capital. A serious quake would cause many of the buildings to collapse, with a potential loss of life into the thousands. Some years ago a red dot was put on a number of buildings in the city which were in danger of collapse. Nothing else has happened since. A microcosm of the problem is a type of building called ‘camine de nefamilisti’, or ‘homes for those without families’. These were built during the Ceaucescu era to temporarily house workers brought in from the countryside and people who were still single after university. The single room flats, the size of a prison cell, with a communal shower and toilet on each floor were never meant for families. But after the fall of Communism many of these ‘matchboxes’ ended up in priva

Over the last few months the race has been on to create and test a vaccine for Covid -19. Over 200 are in development and some are now licensed and given to protect some of the most vulnerable in society and those caring for them. Winifred Robinson has been alongside medical teams at a UK hospital recording as events unfold. She tracks vaccine development through the trial stages and examines what happens when it comes to eventual distribution.

Compassion fatigue has long been an issue for people in the medical and humanitarian professions. People often enter those worlds because of a desire to care, and to be compassionate towards others, but often compassion is tested to the limits. What does compassion fatigue mean for both those suffering from emotional burnout, and those on the receiving end? We hear from doctors, humanitarians, and experts who explain why compassion is a finite resource.

Millions of people across the world are currently being vaccinated against Covid-19. Black, Asian and Latino groups have been the hardest hit by the first wave of the pandemic and yet people within these groups are more reluctant to take up the offer of the coronavirus vaccine. Two doctors in the United States and the United Kingdom counteract the misinformation and share their experiences of patients’ vaccine mistrust with host Nuala McGovern.

Over a year ago, two young men who met over the internet as Hong Kong was gripped by months of pro-democracy protests. They shared a common interest in martial arts and a burning desire to resist China’s tightening grip on their lives. Now in the wake of a sweeping national security law, imposed by Beijing, they need to decide… are they going stay and continue to protest or flee to the United Kingdom, a country offering them a way out. In a move that infuriated China, Britain has introduced a new visa that will give 70% of its former colony’s population – 5.4m people - the right to live in the UK, and eventually become citizens. So what will they decide? Grace Tsoi, Wei Wang and Rebecca Henschke follow their story. Produced and presented by Rebecca Henschke in London and Grace Tsoi in Hong Kong Sound recordings by Wei Wang Editor: Bridget Harney (Image: A Hong Kong pro-democracy protestor who has decided to flee to the United Kingdom. Credit: BBC/Wei Wang)

In one of America’s reddest states, Idaho, local Republicans reflect on Donald Trump’s rise to the White House. What were their hopes for the most unconventional president in living history, what was gained over the past four years – and what has now been lost? Presenter Heath Druzin is a reporter with Boise State Public Radio who covers conservative politics, guns and far right movements in the American West. How are the 74 million people who voted for Donald Trump now coming to terms with the fact that the person who championed their vision of America has now been dethroned?

Codenamed Oyneg Shabbat (Joy of the Sabbath), a team of 'researchers' wrote and collected documents detailing life and death inside the ghetto. The secret project was conducted inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War Two. Led by the historian, Emanuel Ringelblum, the archive included surveys on schooling, smuggling, the life of the streets, the bitter jokes, the price of bread. Members of the project gathered posters, songs, newspapers, pamphlets and even tram tickets that together convey the essence of the Ghetto.

The new US President Joe Biden inherits a deeply divided country - whether by politics, race or religion. We hear from evangelical Christians in Ohio and Seattle about whether the church can support a president who’s a practising Catholic and about the rifts within their faith. Nuala McGovern also hosts conversations with a Republican couple in Nevada and with Black Lives Matter supporters in Kentucky and North Carolina about the challenges that lie ahead for the Biden presidency.

Lisa Montgomery’s crime was an especially abominable murder: In 2004 in the small mid-West American town of Skidmore, she strangled an expectant mother, Bobbie Jo Stinnett. She then cut open her victim’s womb and kidnapped her baby, who survived the ordeal. Her lawyers argued that she was mentally ill at the time – as a consequence of appalling abuse she had suffered in childhood, including gang rape and torture. They said she was also brain-damaged and delusional. Nevertheless, in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, she paid for her actions with her own life - the first female to be executed by the US federal government in almost seven decades. As a new President assumes office, promising reform of America’s criminal justice system, Hilary Andersson charts the story of this unsettling case, from Lisa Montgomery’s tragic beginnings to her final moments, and finds a nation deeply divided over the issue. Warning: Disturbing contentProducer: Michael Gallagher Editor: Bridget Harney(Image: Lisa Montgomer

On Wednesday, 20 January Joe Biden will be sworn in as America’s 46th president of the United States, after scoring a record-breaking victory on his third attempt at winning the White House. After 36 years in the Senate, and Barack Obama’s VP for eight more, Joe Biden is Washington Man epitomised – though has always presented himself as the common man. BBC special correspondent James Naughtie charts Joe Biden’s blue-collar roots and political career, and asks what can he and the Democratic Party offer America, following one of the most divisive periods in American history.

Colm Flynn tracks down the internet's original viral video superstars and reveals how becoming an online sensation changed their life. So many people spend their time chasing the allure of fame, however, very few ever reach the level of world-wide recognition that viral phenomena obtain almost overnight. Colm tracks down the people he watched online growing up, to find out what happened to them after their initial viral fame faded.

Each Covid-19 death has a tremendous personal impact on loved ones. Host Nuala McGovern talks to three women who have lost their husbands to the disease. Their Facebook group 'Young Widows and Widowers of Covid-19’ is supporting others in the same situation. They call it “the club that nobody wants to join”. We also hear from three people in South Africa, Australia and the US who share the unexpected social consequences - both positive and negative - of wearing face masks when you have a facial disfigurement or difference.

In the age of social media and the selfie, the perfect look is everything. That's what online influencers tell their followers. Some are also happy to provide a 'how-to’ guide to obtaining the perfect body through cosmetic surgery. Often though, they are cashing in – taking payment and perks to promote certain clinics – and not always declaring the fact. Those who read their reviews and watch their videos can easily be misled into thinking that their recommendations are impartial. What’s more, the surgical procedures that influencers push can be risky or even downright dangerous. For Assignment, Joice Etutu hears from women whose lives have been changed after booking surgery in Turkey through one clinic where procedures have gone wrong – and where influencers themselves regret ever getting involved. Producer: Kate West Reporter: Joice Etutu Editor: Gail Champion (Image: Plastic surgeon marking a woman’s body for plastic surgery. Credit: Getty Images)

Sacred objects and places are often imbued with memories - memories we cherish, which define who we are. Aleks Krotoski asks if technology can be a conduit for sacredness and give us a greater understanding of our relationship with the sacred.

The California senator has made history in three ways – as the first woman, first black person and first person of Indian origin to be elected as vice president. Many observers believe she will be one of the most influential vice presidents in recent history. But what makes Kamala Harris tick? Mark Coles presents a profile of a leader who has been praised for her determination to address social injustice – but has also faced criticism for her sometimes tough policies on law and order.

As vaccines begin to be administered in several countries, many places are experiencing worrying rises in cases and deaths from Covid-19. One effect is that hospitals have to try and cope with the increasing number of patients. Host Nuala McGovern hears from three doctors working in ICUs in South Africa, Brazil and the United States on the stressful frontline of intensive care.