When the film I Swear won three Bafta awards, what happened at the ceremony prompted a much bigger story and wider discussion. The film portrays the life of John Davidson who grew up with Tourette syndrome – the incurable condition, which causes sudden, repetitive sounds or movements. During the awards, Davidson shouted out an involuntary racial slur, which was picked up by microphones and broadcast. In a statement, Davidson said he was "deeply mortified” and that the tics, as they are known, we...
Feb 28, 2026•23 min
Concert pianist Yirui Weng, 32, grew up in a communist, atheist family in China, where religion played no part in her life. Music, however, always did. As a gifted young pianist, she immersed herself in the great works of Western classical music. When Yirui moved to Italy to pursue her musical studies, curiosity began to replace indifference. While playing Vivaldi’s Gloria, she found herself drawn not just to the beauty of the music, but to its unfamiliar language: “Lamb of God”, “Son of the Fat...
Feb 27, 2026•27 min
This week marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine has put its official losses at 55,000 soldiers, and the BBC has verified the deaths of more than 180,000 on the Russian side, although the true toll is likely to be much higher. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded, and millions have been displaced. The BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen, travels through Ukraine,...
Feb 26, 2026•28 min
Aged 16, coming out of an audition, budding British actor Dan Whitlam was caught up in a fight with a group of boys in London. He was stabbed twice in the back with a screwdriver. The wound pierced and collapsed his lung. The physical scars healed quickly but the mental ones took a lot longer. For years Dan battled with panic attacks and anxiety. He was plagued with worries that his lung had collapsed again, his father became his chaperone as he was afraid to walk the streets alone. Two years la...
Feb 25, 2026•38 min
Not that long ago many church-going Americans saw Russia as a godless place, an “evil empire” in the words of Ronald Reagan. But in President Trump’s second term, US-Russia relations have been turned on their head. Last year, the White House sided with the Kremlin at the United Nations, voting against a resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This seismic shift is also being felt in parishes across America. Increasing numbers of US Catholics and Protestants are embracing Eastern Orth...
Feb 24, 2026•28 min
In Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s protagonist is paid to implant an idea into a target’s subconscious. If you look the film up, its genre is listed as being ‘science fiction’ - but could that soon have to be revised? Dream engineering is an experimental new field - with scientists, dream researchers and engineers pursuing the goal of influencing our thoughts as we sleep. For some, the idea holds the promise of a bright future, with benefits for our memories, ...
Feb 23, 2026•49 min
Jason Gilkison has for the past 10 years been the creative force behind the UK's top rating TV show, Strictly Come Dancing, better known around the world as Dancing with the Stars. Jason is an eight-time World Choreographer nominee who has become internationally renowned for his work creating dance spectaculars for the small screen. Katie Derham talks to Jason about his journey from professional dancer to becoming one of the world’s top – and most watched – choreographers. TV director Nikki Pars...
Feb 23, 2026•27 min
The 24th of February will be the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Irena Taranyuk is joined by several of her BBC Ukrainian colleagues to talk about people who are continuing to fight and live in the country. Victoria Kalimbet talks about her pride of her home city, Kharkiv, one of the most attacked Ukrainian cities in the war. Nataliia Patrikieieva explains how dating has changed in Ukraine, as so many of the population are fighting on the frontlines. Vitaly Shevche...
Feb 21, 2026•26 min
Just before dawn on 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine. Since then, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands on both sides have been killed. We hear from families of fighters, civilians and journalists about their loved ones and the impact on those left behind. “Our son was so tiny when his father was killed and it was really hard to tell him what happened,” Inna tells us. Other guests include Nastya, who shares the music she wrote in memory of her father, and H...
Feb 21, 2026•23 min
Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom is a unique community located on a hilltop between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where Jewish and Palestinian families have lived together since the late 1970s. Journalist Mike Lanchin first visited the community in the early 1980s when there was just a handful of Jews and Palestinian families living in makeshift houses poking out from the scrub land. Now, it boasts a fully bilingual-binational day school - the first of its kind – with children coming from the surrounding ar...
Feb 20, 2026•26 min
Greenlandic parents across Denmark are fighting to be reunited with their children who were taken into care after authorities used ‘parenting competency tests’ as part of assessments to judge their ability to raise them. After banning the tests for use on Greenlandic people, the Danish government has now pledged to review around 300 cases where a child was forcibly removed from their parents. BBC World Service’s global health reporter Sofia Bettiza hears from those who argue what happened to the...
Feb 19, 2026•27 min
The hottest ticket at this year's Australian Open tennis tournament wasn't to see Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek, or even the tournament's eventual winners, Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina. Instead, the longest queues were to watch the world number 49, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. Her first round match, which she lost, drew thousands of fans to Melbourne Park, with many being left disappointed as they were unable to find a seat on what was one of the smaller courts. In a bonus episode fro...
Feb 18, 2026•21 min
Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth – often likened to Mars. It is also home to piles of dumped clothes from fast fashion labels across the world. Because it is so dry nothing decomposes. And that means that clothes ditched 10 to 20 years ago still look recognisable. Sometimes the mountains of clothes are burnt causing toxic fumes which harm the local community of Alto Hospicio. This environmental crisis has been going on for years. It is a complex situation with multiple...
Feb 17, 2026•27 min
Producer Jess Brownell takes us behind the scenes of Bridgerton. When the first series of Bridgerton premiered in 2020, it offered a welcome escape, inviting us into a world of high society romance, extravagent period dress, and violin pop covers. It also rewrote the rules of costume drama, with colourblind casting and a decidedly un-buttoned-up approach to sexuality. As the fourth season hits our screens, lead writer Jess Brownell talks us through the process of crafting a love story that will ...
Feb 16, 2026•27 min
An advert shown during this year’s Super Bowl has prompted a backlash on social media. In the ad, tennis champion Serena Williams promotes a weight loss injection, saying she is "healthier" thanks to the product. Many fans have expressed disappointment that a woman associated with strength and body positivity, is now selling being thinner as the ideal. So, is body positivity out and fat shaming back? In our conversations, we discuss the cultural pressure to lose weight now these drugs, known as ...
Feb 14, 2026•24 min
In April 2022, two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, a man in his thirties called Victor Muller Ferreira flew into Amsterdam airport using a Brazilian passport. He was identified by the Dutch authorities as Russian national Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov and immediately sent back to Brazil, where investigations by both the FBI and the Brazilian police identified him as a Russian intelligence officer. He had been living in Brazil, undercover, for years, with a well-developed personal 'legend',...
Feb 13, 2026•26 min
With the 2026 Winter Olympics well under way in Italy, we look to the most powerful woman in sport - the International Olympics Committee president, Kirsty Coventry. The most decorated African Olympian of all time, the 42-year-old mother-of-two made history as both the first African and the first woman to hold the title when she was elected last year. With seven Olympic medals and several World Records under her belt, she decided to take on a role at the International Olympic Committee, quickly ...
Feb 13, 2026•19 min
Millions flock to Spain’s Sagrada Família to marvel at its towering tree-like columns, remarkable displays of light and ornate stonework. One hundred years after the master architect Antoni Gaudí’s death, Spanish journalist Lluís Amiguet explores why so many people, regardless of faith, come to visit a Barcelona church that is still far from finished. Amiguet hears how Gaudí was inspired by what he called “The Great Book Of Nature” and learns how this might have been of particular interest to vi...
Feb 13, 2026•27 min
For World Radio Day 2026, we visit WMMT in Whitesburg, Kentucky, one of many small community radio stations in the US existentially threatened by cuts to government funding. At a moment when news has become increasingly polarised, these stations are even more needed, often providing communities with their only source of essential information and emergency warnings. WMMT was founded in 1985 with a mission to “be a voice of mountain people’s music, culture and social issues.” Known to listeners as...
Feb 12, 2026•26 min
Why does President Trump really want Greenland? The Arctic territory is rich in vital minerals and oil. And it hosts an important American military base as the race for dominance in the Arctic heats up between China, Russia and the USA. But drill down beneath Trump's stated reasons and the true picture is less clear. A financier-turned-MAGA operative and his Greenlandic protégé, the small print of right-wing wish list Project 2025, and a penchant for big places on maps might better explain the r...
Feb 11, 2026•27 min
Els and Jan have fewer than three days left on Earth. Childhood sweethearts who met in kindergarten more than six decades ago, they know precisely when they will die. And how. On an early summer’s Monday morning they will travel to a nearby hospice. Some of their family and friends will accompany them. And then precisely at 10.30am - holding hands, they hope - two doctors will administer lethal medication to each of them. In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal if someone i...
Feb 10, 2026•29 min
Gaming writer Jordan Erica Webber on the epic task of building a virtual mountain for a prize-winning video game. She hears from the creators and voice actor behind the French game Cairn.
Feb 09, 2026•26 min
Inspirational NFL stars Leonard Russell, Steve Wright, Jaime Coffee and Chris Poitras, COO of Jostens the jewellers who have made the vast majority of Super Bowl rings. This episode was updated on 9 February 2026 for music rights reasons.
Feb 08, 2026•50 min
China's population has shrunk, year on year, for four years in a row, pushing a country with a long history of official worry about overpopulation to contemplate a sharp decline in births. BBC China's Yan Chen reflects on the reasons behind the drop and what it will mean for the country and a generation of children growing up now. Three years ago Magerram Zeynalov, who covers Azerbaijan for for BBC News Russian, wrote an article about the fact that six years after the start of the global pandemi...
Feb 07, 2026•26 min
For the first time since May 2024, people have been allowed to cross between Gaza and Egypt through the Rafah crossing – seen by many Palestinians as a lifeline to the world. Israel reopened the border after the body of the last Israeli hostage was returned. So far, only a few of an estimated 20,000 sick and wounded people in the territory have been allowed through for medical treatment abroad. People are also coming back into Gaza but the numbers allowed are also very limited. In our conversati...
Feb 07, 2026•23 min
Warning: This programme deals with adult themes that may not be suitable for some listeners Criminals are hiding video cameras in hotel rooms across China to secretly film and live stream unsuspecting victims having sex and then selling the footage online. The illegal trade in spycam porn has become a big business, one with devastating consequences for the people whose most intimate moments are made public without their consent. Wanqing Zhang has been hunting the hidden cameras and trying to fin...
Feb 06, 2026•27 min
In Argentina, cloning polo horses is transforming the sport. There are big companies, big profits and big ambitions. Against the backdrop of the Argentine Open, (the crown jewel of the Polo season,) presenter Marnie Chesterton talks to scientists and key figures in this tale of how cloning conquered Polo, and where the genetic interventions are heading.
Feb 05, 2026•27 min
Former Christian minister Craig Fenter was in the midst of a deep spiritual void when he first picked up a book of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s poetry in his local LA bookshop. The writings of Rumi, a 13th-Century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic have long inspired people across faiths. And Rumi’s poetry on divine love and the soul’s journey toward God would captivate Craig, inspiring him to leave behind his Californian home, to begin a new life as a whirling dervish in Turkey. The BB...
Feb 04, 2026•27 min
How sport is giving some young women in India a way out of child marriage and allowing them to be seen. Officially, the practice of child marriage is illegal in the country. But UNICEF estimates that over 200 million girls and women in India have been married before they turned 18. Take Munna as an example. Her mother was fifteen when she married and Munna herself was only 14 when she was told she would be a child bride. However, she fought back, using football as her weapon. She broke social no...
Feb 03, 2026•27 min
Matthew Sweet reports from an exhibition in Sweden about American conscripts who sought refuge there during the war in Vietnam. He hears from sound artist Nhung Nguyen and film-maker Esther Johnson about their work on archival documents and extracts from the station known as Liberation Radio. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.
Feb 02, 2026•25 min
