The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2015

How did World War One change the face of the Middle East? And, how did this seismic and controversial period shape the century to follow? Lyse Doucet presents a public debate from Amman in Jordan, with panel of experts.

Tim Whewell investigates how a billion dollars has mysteriously disappeared from banks in Moldova – equivalent to more than an eighth of the country’s GDP.

Poet Thabiso Mohare travels to Cape Town to meet a new generation of writers, poets and playwrights and look at the theme of place and contested space in their work and the history of the city. He talks to Lauren Beukes, whose sci-fi visions of South African cities are internationally successful, playwright and novelist Nadia Davids about the undealt-with legacy of slavery in the city, and Thando Mgqolozana whose novels deal with a range of social issues.

Vladimir Putin, then a KGB agent, was caught up in dramatic events as East Germany collapsed. He saw crowds take control as communist power collapsed, and had to defend his KGB office in Dresden as demonstrators tried to break in. Chris Bowlby explores how this experience shaped Putin's career and behaviour today - his determination to restore Russian power, his fear of demonstrations, his sense of the power of nationalism.

Sixty years ago John Ford travelled to Monument Valley to make his greatest Western, The Searchers. Based on Alan LeMay’s novel, it is still a powerful tale of race, violence and redemption as Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) searches for his niece Debbie, abducted by a Comanche raiding party on the Texas frontier. But, as Mark Burman discovers, The Searchers is a gateway to the real and powerful story of the forging of Texas statehood and the rise and fall of the Comanche empire.

Wyre Davies investigates the mysterious death of Alberto Nisman, the special prosecutor who had accused Argentina’s government of trying to cover up the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Buenos Aires, demanding to know how and why he died. The issue is dominating President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s final year in office. Nisman was found dead, with a gun by his body, the night before he was due to testify about the alleged cover-up in Congress. Was it suicide or was it murder? Produced by Sarah Robbins and Arlene Gregorius (Photo: Demonstrators hold up images of late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman in front of the Justice Palace in Buenos Aires, March 18, 2015. Credit to: REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci)

Poet Thabiso Mohare looks at the challenges, tensions and solutions facing South African writers. He talks to publishers, writers and poets about the issue of a small book-reading culture being exacerbated by the high cost of books in the country, and looks at how the spoken word scene has grown in the past 20 years to provide an outlet for new voices.

For centuries, students of medicine have dissected the dead. But the idea of wilfully donating one’s body to medicine is somewhat new. People donating their bodies to science has sufficed the medical demand for cadavers until recently. Now the burgeoning demand for bodies and body parts has created a strange new industry in America.

Turkey goes to the polls on Sunday in a critical general election. Many of the voters opposed to the ruling party of President Erdogan are putting their hopes in the HDP, which has its roots in Kurdish nationalism. If it gets the 10% of the vote it needed to enter parliament, it could block Erdogan’s plans to give the presidency more power. Maria Margaronis visited a run-down area of Istanbul - one of the HDP’s strongholds.(Photo: Children in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul, stronghold of the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party. BBC Copyright)

Poet Thabiso Mohare talks to Johannesburg-based writers and poets about the changing cityscape and how the past impacts on the present in their work. He speaks to Ivan Vladislavic, who has documented the city in his novels and non-fiction work Portrait with Keys, to the prominent poet Lebo Mashile who talks about the emergence of the black female voice in the past 20 years, and the legacy of the past. And, he meets Niq Mhlongo, whose most recent book Way Back Home, looks critically at the struggle against apartheid, and how those who went into exile to fight for the movement are haunted by their experiences.

With the Fifa Women’s World Cup kicking off in Canada on 6 June, we join the Tibetan women’s soccer team, the Snow Lionesses, as they begin the match of their lives, including trying to achieve international recognition in the face of Chinese opposition, entrenched sexism in their own community and flagrant objection from Fifa, world football’s governing body.

Spats, tantrums and explosions from the archive. American satirist Joe Queenan presents.

Aid is pouring in to Nepal in the wake of the recent earthquakes. But in a country where corruption is endemic, will the money go where it is meant to? Simon Cox investigates.

Claudia Taranto travels to the Philippines where 10% of the population work overseas. She travels to the coastal town of Mabini where many citizens have gone to Italy for work. She hears from the children left behind, including 10-year-old Jen who lives with her 80-year-old grandmother. Claudia asks whether the Philippines have become over-reliant on work abroad and if there is any prospect of breaking the cycle

Claudia Taranto travels to Australia where she hears how temporary workers are changing the face of a country founded on the idea of permanent settlement. She uncovers abuses of the temporary migrant visa system and speaks to a group of Filipino welders earning far less than they were promised in their contracts. Claudia also hears from critics who call for a return to a 'settler society'.

The story of how Islamic State, a small band of fanatical jihadi fighters, became the world’s richest terror army.

Andrew Harding speaks to defectors inside the militant group al-Shabab and asks if Somalia is turning the tide against extremism.

Claudia Taranto visits Singapore, which is increasingly reliant on labour from abroad - 40% of the population are in the country temporarily for work. She hears from locals who feel anger at being squeezed out of the job market and from exploited migrant workers who are in despair at Singapore's complex and bureaucratic system for resolving workplace problems.

Claudia Taranto travels to Nepal where - until the recent disasters - 1600 people were leaving each day to travel overseas for work. The earthquakes are only likely to add to this exodus in the coming years. Claudia discovers the benefits of money earned in the Middle East, but also hears appalling accounts of exploitation. She discovers the benefits of money earned in the Middle East, but also hears appalling accounts of exploitation.

Peru is one of the most biodiverse nations in the world. But its precious wildlife is threatened by traffickers. Crossing Continents goes on operations with the wildlife police.