The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2010

The Philippines is one of the most dangerous places in the world to report from. More than thirty journalists were killed there in a single incident at the end of 2009. Kate McGeowan travels to the troubled southern island of Mindanao to meet one of the reporters whose job it is to cover the daily violence there.

How have advertisers and brand specialists convinced us to buy a commodity that is sold for a great deal more than it costs to produce? Louise Hidalgo looks at the exponential growth - and the cost - of the yoghurt industry.

In this two-part series, the BBC’s Paulo Cabral travels to the two places that marked Lula’s life – the poor region in the northeast where the president was born, and the industrial suburb of Sao Paulo where he made his reputation. What has been the legacy of one of the most popular politicians in Brazilian history?

The second part in this series describes what went on behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Former MI6 Chief John Scarlett describes his clandestine meeting with an agent and the Russian defector Oleg Gordievsky talks about his reasons for coming over to the other side.

For Assignment Rob Walker travels to the city of Tijuana on Mexico's border with the United States on the trail of one of Mexico's most controversial law enforcement officers.

How have advertisers and brand specialists convinced us to buy a commodity that is sold for a great deal more than it costs to produce? Louise Hidalgo looks at the exponential growth - and the cost - of the breakfast cereal industry.

Many Turks have lost faith in their judges, who are seen as out of touch and too close to Ataturk's secular and military state. What will determine this struggle for power between the government and judges?

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, marks its centenary this year and BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera talks to senior intelligence figures as well as their former arch enemies about the shadowy world of espionage.

How have advertisers and brand specialists convinced us to buy a commodity that is sold for a great deal more than it costs to produce? Louise Hidalgo looks at the exponential growth - and the costs - of the bottled water industry.

Why are judges so important in today's world and how do the courts earn and use their power? In part one Laura Lynch hears from judges operating in Russia and Colombia – what does it take for judges to stand up to pressure?

Does Somalia deserve its bad reputation for corruption? In the second of a two-part series, Pascale Harter asks if, after nearly two decades of civil war, is it even fair to talk about corruption in Somalia? Or has it now begun to drive the conflict?

Does Sweden live up to its squeaky clean image? In the first of a two-part series looking at perceptions of state corruption, Pascale Harter investigates whether Sweden - consistently ranked among the least corrupt countries in the world - is quite as it seems.

"We like our crooks, our fast Eddies, and we find them entertaining." Steve Edwards takes to the mean streets of his hometown Chicago - asking why the Windy City is such a hotbed of corruption.

In this exclusive two-part documentary, Mike Costello travels to the Philippines to meet boxing legend, record-breaking eight times world champion, politician and national hero, Manny Pacquiao.

For Assignment Angus Stickler tracks how money has gone astray across the 27 member states of the European Union and asks why funding continues in regions with proven records of mismanagement and fraud.

You're standing on a footbridge next to a very big man. The only way you can stop an out-of-control train is to push him over the footbridge onto the track. His bulk will stop the train and save lives. Will you push him? Stephen Evans explores this moral dilemma to discover what sort of ethical creatures humans are.

In this exclusive two-part documentary, Mike Costello travels to the Philippines to meet boxing legend, record-breaking eight times world champion, politician and national hero, Manny Pacquiao.

More than six million people in Pakistan now face the start of winter without adequate shelter because their homes were destroyed in the devastating floods in August. Jill McGivering, who reported on the floods at the time, returns to one of the worst hit areas to investigate claims that corruption played a major part in the flood damage itself.

"Lucky them, they didn't have to fight the battles we fought." Michael Goldfarb traces the history of protest through the footsteps of those who have campaigned for and celebrated the rights of the gay community in Britain and across the globe.

"There are no words to describe when you lose your child, especially one who was full of life a talented girl that liked dancing." Sheena McDonald travels to Costa Rica to find out if new legislation to tackle drink-driving is working and reducing the number of road deaths.

Pioneering French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau brought marine life to cinema and television screens for the first time. Bridget Nicholls speaks to Costeau's friends, family and colleagues as they look back on the life of this difficult but inspiring man in the centennial of his birth.

Almost every day in the Russian republic of Dagestan there are reports of Islamist insurgents assassinating police officers and local officials. And there are regular clashes between extremists and the security forces across the republic. It's causing Moscow deep concern and they blame 'outside forces' for orchestrating the violence; but human rights groups say it's a combination of poverty and police brutality which is fuelling the insurgency. For Assignment Steve Rosenberg reports from Dagestan.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character." Michael Goldfarb traces the history of the march through the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Mao Zedong.

"It's a woman with a tiny baby and luggage on the back of a motorbike with no helmet." Sheena McDonald travels to Kenya to find out what the government is doing to improve on road safety and reduce the number of traffic accidents.

Completed by the poet Ferdowsi in 1010 AD, the Shahnameh is widely regarded as a masterpiece of world literature. It is of central importance to Iranian culture and self-identity and has inspired some of the world's most exquisite manuscripts. Narguess Farzad dives into the text to explore the stories and themes contained within and to revel in the language.

For Assignment Thomas Fessy investigates allegations that a senior Congolese general profited from the illegal takeover of a gold mine.

Ali Abbas became an icon of the Iraq War when images of him with his arms amputated were beamed around the world. Seven years after an American rocket attack destroyed his home and killed 16 members of his family, Ali returns to Baghdad. Will he give in to the pressure of getting married?

"With the city being built here on our doorstep, I can look after the children and earn some money." Carrie Gracie returns to China to see how locals are embracing and benefiting from city life.

“If you say bye bye to that fountain of life you may as well say bye bye to my heritage.” How will a proposed copper mine affect Alaska’s main industry of salmon? The BBC’s Nick Rankin reports on the development opportunities – as well as environmental and social concerns – of this controversial proposal.

The people of Burma go to the polls on November 7th for the first time in 20 years. In 1990, an overwhelming majority voted for pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her National League for Democracy. The Generals running the country ignored the result and have imposed strict military rule ever since. So, why are they holding elections now and do ordinary people care about them? Sue Lloyd Roberts travels across Burma to investigate.

Seven years after an American rocket attack destroyed his home, killed 16 members of his family, and left him without arms, Ali Abbas returns to Baghdad. Now 19 years old and with loved ones looking to arrange a marriage it’s time to become an adult but, with his childhood stolen, adapting is a struggle and the future uncertain. In part one, the BBC's Hugh Sykes joins Ali just before he leaves for Baghdad.

"We took the decision to build a new city ten years ago. We had four objectives: civilised, hygienic and scenic - with a focus on eco-tourism." Carrie Gracie returns to China to see how 21st Century urbanisation is progressing.

Nick Rankin reports from Alaska during the greatest wild salmon run in the world and joins commercial and subsistence fishermen who live off this natural resource.

As Ireland faces up to one of Europe's most punishing financial crises, Ed Butler looks at the growing anger amongst its citizens.

Travel writer Polly Evans goes to Guantanamo, Cuba, and talks to local people about the town where they live. How do they feel about it becoming synonymous with the prison camp that Amnesty International calls "the gulag of our times"?

The BBC's Central Asia correspondent, Rayhan Demytrie, explores the relationship between drugs and politics in Kyrgyzstan.

Organisers of the 2012 Olympic Games argue that its legacy will be felt for generations to come. With the prospects for jobs, will regeneration affect those who need it most?

It is two years to go until the London 2012 Olympic Games and the residents of a council estate nearby have been watching the venues take shape for a while now. One of the pledges when London won the 2012 bid to host the Olympics was that the East End - the socially deprived area of the city - would be lifted out of its poverty. Is the regeneration of the area affecting those it was supposed to target?

"I find it difficult to recognize famous people because they have very symmetrical faces. I only know Madonna by her eyeliner." How do our brains work in everyday life? In the last of a four-part series examining the mind’s complexities, Professor Barry Smith examines the link between the brain, memory and consciousness.

In the midst of a financial crisis, Maywood, a small city near Los Angeles, took the radical step of firing all city employees. Policing in Maywood is now handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and many of the other city's services in operation are being handled by the nearby city of Bell. Mayor Ana Rizo claimed that it was either this or declaring bankruptcy. Simon Pitts discovers what went wrong in Maywood and explores why this decision was taken, and whether Maywood might be a model for other city governments facing financial hardship.

It’s halfway through the European ‘Decade of Roma inclusion’ but millions of euros in EU funding have failed to make a dent in Roma exclusion. Nick Thorpe travels to Romania, home to an estimated 2 million Roma – 10 % of the population - to find out why.

Can oral history challenge or alter the official past of a nation? History is often said to be written by the victors, but oral history has been strongly associated with the voices of the 'ordinary' citizens. Be it war, revolution or dictatorship, these accounts often offer different versions of the past. Alan Dein explores how this oral history can sometime collide with the official version committed to the history books - particularly in nations where the outcome is still bitterly contested.

"I have to choose between the fruit salad and the cream cake. Rationally, I know what I should do. I should choose the fruit salad. But will I?" How do our brains work in everyday life? In the third of a four-part series examining the mind’s complexities, Professor Barry Smith looks at how the brain makes decisions.

As a 23-year-old, young British colonial officer John Smith was put in charge of the vast area of Kano in Nigeria. In his position, he represented the might of the British Empire. Now 82, Smith returns to see how the country has fared after 50 years of freedom and to renew a remarkable friendship.

There's a tough marriage market in the US for single, college educated, black women. For Assignment Nina Robinson travels to New York to find out why.

Can oral history challenge or alter the official past of a nation? History is often said to be written by the victors, but oral history has been strongly associated with the voices of the 'ordinary' citizens. Be it war, revolution or dictatorship, these accounts often offer different versions of the past. Alan Dein explores how this oral history can sometime collide with the official version committed to the history books - particularly in nations where the outcome is still bitterly contested.

“When I wake up in the morning I think I’ve still got two normal arms and I have to look to see which one is not there.” How do our brains work in everyday life? In the second of a four-part series examining the mind’s complexities, Professor Barry Smith explores the link between the body and the brain.

Writer Cathy FitzGerald explores the past, present, and very real future of the magic carpet and wonders what our desire to defy gravity tells us about ourselves. We dream of flying and often long to fly unaided - is that part of it?

With anti-Islamic sentiment on the rise in America, Claire Bolderson reports for Assignment on what it is like to be a young American muslim in America and explores what is being done to stop them becoming alienated.

How does the spread of ideas impact individual lives, shape millions of minds, fuel revolutions and alter world opinion? Afshin Dehkordi is on a quest to find out in the context of both Iran's recent media revolution and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979.

"Why do we like and dislike certain foods? The most important thing in the tasting process is not the tongue, nose or ears – it’s the brain." Barry Smith explores how the brain makes us capable of language, thinking and feeling.

Chess fanatic Simon Terrington goes on a wide ranging journey and asks the question, why does chess still have a place in the 21st century.

Angus Crawford reports from Senegal for Assignment on what the government there is doing to protect thousands of schoolboys whose teachers send them out to beg on the streets every day.

During operation Pedro Pan, 14,000 children were sent from Cuba by the parents for what was supposed to be a better life in the US. For some it was an adventure, for a great many others life away from home was hard. Many never returned.

"She walked in like a commander of the armed forces - despite the fact they had guns - she told them it was time for peace". Meet Sierra Leone's foreign minister Zainab Bangura, a remarkable woman who is trying to make poverty history in her nation.

Self-confessed chess fanatic Simon Terrington assesses how computer technology has affected chess at the highest level and what this means for its future. He looks at the moment when chess champion Garry Kasparov was beaten by the IBM computer Deep Blue and hears from experts about the impact that event had across the game.

There are frantic preparations underway in India's capital city, Delhi, for the Commonwealth Games which start next month. But as Rupa Jha reports for Assignment, the work is bringing out both the best and the worst of the city.

In Afghanistan women are not allowed to dance in public, but boys can be made to dance in women's clothing - and they are often sexually abused. In part three of the World Stories series, Rustam Qobil reports on this ancient but controversial tradition. Listeners may find this documentary upsetting.

Incompetence and corruption in Uganda's justice system is leading to countless numbers of prisoners being left to rot, and even die in Ugandan jails before their cases come to court. Meet the lawyers trying to get justice and freedom, amidst the chaos in Uganda.

Sue Armstrong looks at the Malawi's growing dependence on tobacco growing. She also asks whether cigarette manufacturers are trying to take advantage of poor regulation to build up new markets in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, as smoking has declined in developed countries.

President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia is one of West Africa's longest serving leaders. He's maintained a firm grip on power since taking over in a military coup in 1994. He professes to have invented a cure for Aids and has declared himself a hero of agriculture and development. He's also a man who likes to celebrate his birthday in style. Ed Butler was in Gambia for the party.

In 1989, Appapillai Amirthalingam - the most prominent political figure of the Tamil community - was assassinated at his home in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Twenty years on, the Tamil Tigers have been defeated by the military. Appapillai's wife and son travel back to their homeland in search of his legacy in an attempt to understand what the future holds for Sri Lanka's Tamil people.

It is claimed that thousands of people of Haitian descent are suffering systematic discrimination by authorities in the Dominican Republic. Brian King meets the local lawyers who are fighting individual cases of injustice.

Sue Armstrong investigates the growing pressure on developing countries as tobacco companies battle for new smokers. Poorer tobacco growing countries like Malawi are becoming ever more dependent on tobacco as a regular income. But how do they resolve the dilemma between health and wealth?

Money sent home by migrant workers provides a lifeline for millions of the world's poorest people. In this Assignment programme we hear from Honduran migrant workers in the US and from their impoverished families back home. Vera Frankl presents.

"Why doesn't grandad smile?" Meena Baktash takes a personal look at the Kabul of her youth. What has war done to a city that was once so beautiful and a people so vibrant? After decades of conflict, what is left aside from a feeling of nostalgia?

Despite an official ban and regular crack downs the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has gone from strength to strength. The the BBC's Arabic affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi investigates the secret of its endurance and its global reach.

Guru, boffin, eccentric and genius, Gerry Wells is obsessed with radio - tinkering with, building and repairing them. It is a fixation that has got him into trouble with the law, but ultimately radio has been his saviour.

Sweden has garnered respect around the world for the welcome it offered to thousands of Iraqi refugees after the invasion of 2003. It's taken more Iraqis than any other country in Europe - indeed one small town outside Stockholm, Södertälje, has taken more than the United States. But 3,000 of those refugees are now living in hiding. Their applications for permanent residency have been denied and they face deportation if they are arrested. Tim Mansel reports from Sweden on why the government has decided it's safe to send these people home.

"No taxi driver in Cairo knows how to find the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood. The brothers may be everywhere but the organisation is nowhere to be seen." The BBC's Magdi Abdelhadi investigates Egypt's oldest Islamist organisation.

Singer Sami Yusuf is one of the biggest superstars in the Muslim world. He's eyeing up success in the mainstream market, but how can he compete in an industry that makes its profit from outrageous stars like Lady Gaga?

How do you train someone to love their country? Two years ago Russia and Georgia fought a brief war over the little known territory of South Ossetia. Russia sent its tanks deep into Georgian territory. In Georgia, the war led to an outbreak of patriotic fervour. In this week’s Assignment, Tom Esslemont has been to visit a government-run “patriotic” summer camp - where young Georgians learn to develop a sense of national pride.

In this two part series, the BBC takes a look at the intellectuals - or Lenin's ‘useful idiots’ - who have praised tyrants, and rewritten history. How was it that so many supposedly intelligent people were manipulated by dictators over the 20th Century into saying good things about bad regimes?

"They teach you how to steal and they teach you how to kill and they teach you to do things which normal people don't do." Security Correspondent Gordon Corera reveals the story behind Israel's secret service.

Korea's overseas adoption programme began in the 1950s as the impoverished government's answer to the masses of mixed-race orphans from the Korean war. All told, around 200,000 Korean children have been adopted overseas over the past 60 years. About 300 of them have since returned to live in Korea and many are now involved in trying to change the adoption laws. In this programme, the BBC's Ellen Otzen meets Jane Trenka and Suki Leith, both of whom were adopted by American families, to explore the impact foreign adoption has had on them.

Days before Rwanda's presidential election, the government has issued a strongly worded statement denying any involvement in the killing of political opponents. Rob Walker has been investigating the allegations for Assignment.

“That’s what my role was. I was taken around and shown things as a useful idiot.” – Doris Lessing In this two part series, the BBC takes a look at the intellectuals - or Lenin's ‘useful idiots’ - who have praised tyrants, and rewritten history. How was it that so many supposedly intelligent people were manipulated by dictators over the 20th Century into saying good things about bad regimes?

"This culture inhibits the evolution of new ideas," says Professor Guosong Liu of the deferntial culture of China. Will this deferential culture keep China behind the West in the race to create the next big thing? Michael Robinson looks at whether the political model which has delivered China's fantastic economic growth over the last 30 years is the same model that will deliver growth over the next 30 years.

London Bridge has served as a crossing, a shopping district, a housing settlement and a platform for the grotesque display of criminal's heads. It crosses the river Thames. How did it end up in Arizona?

Jamaica has a reputation for producing world class athletes. Athletes are nurtured from a young age: boys and girls as young as six enter competitions and train intensively throughout their school years to compete in fiercely contested national athletics championships. Most of these children come from poor socio-economic backgrounds and their knowledge of the risks of drug taking - whether for medicinal or performance enhancement - is limited. There's a debate now in Jamaica about how early young children should be introduced to the world of anti-doping and even whether it's time to start testing children as young as ten years old. Nina Robinson reports for Assignment.

The Listening Post is a new series that invites close, unhurried listening to the stories of individuals and the histories they carry with them. In Part Two listen to the touching story of Belfast-born Philip McTaggart, a man who lives in the shadow of his son's suicide.

China's social tensions may threaten the growth upon which much of the rest of the world now relies. There have been protests over wages and working conditions in factories of China's east coast but as Michael Robinson finds out, there are long-simmering problems as well.

What personal stories can a bridge reveal? When the he Oresund Bridge-Tunnel opened between Denmark and Sweden, it forged a connection between two countries with a difficult past. How can Swedes from Scania and Danes from Zealand attempt to forge a new unified identity?

Why are so few captured pirates brought to trial? Each year hundreds of ships are attacked by pirate gangs, many off the coast of Somalia. An international Combined Task Force now patrols the region and its ships regularly witness boarding raids and seize pirates, yet most are just released or returned to the Somali shore - probably to participate in further attacks. For Assignment, Simon Cox investigates the highly-charged political, social and legal issues which enable pirates to operate with relative impunity.

Mary Thida Lun works is a civil servant. She has had postings in Sudan and Iraq. A seemingly ordinary girl, she is Oxford-educated and is dating a cavalry officer. However she has her own story to tell - a family story from the killing fields of Cambodia.

Part Two of this series looks outwards at the potentially world-shaking clash of cultures between non-democratic state-planned China and the American-centred world of democracy and free market ideology.

The song Wimoweh, or The Lion Sleeps Tonight has been exposed to a mass audience with its inclusion in the musical The Lion King. It is reportedly worth $16 million, but the composer died in poverty. Listen to the story of a song in search for justice.

Michael Robinson examines the political, economic and cultural mechanisms of China's growing global influence - and how its rise to superpower status is being accelerated by the world recession.

Ben E King says of his song Stand By Me "It tends to fall in place for someone who needs it." What are the other factors that come into play for a song to endure across boundaries and generations?

Catherine Miller reports from one of Cairo's biggest slums where - in 2008 - a massive rock slide swept away dozens of homes killing many people. Two year's on what's happened to the families of Manshiyet Nasser?

The BBC's seminal role in launching Caribbean writing in the region is remembered 60 years on in Caribbean Voices.

"A good photograph has an emotional component, the iconic photos hit you right away and they stay with you, and you just can't forget it." Razia Iqbal investigates the power of modern images and their ability to appeal to our imagination.

London based British-Asian DJ, Bobby Friction travels to North America to find out more about the Canadian members of his family. How does closer inspection of one's family inform us about who we are and where we come from?

Arizona has passed a law cracking down on illegal immigrants -- the toughest of its kind in the US. It allows police officers to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or detain, if there’s a suspicion that the person is in America illegally. Driving it is frustration both at Arizona’s role as the main hub for illegal entry into America, and the organised cross border crime that’s come with it. Many support the law. But there is anger and fear among the Latino community: Legal citizens say they will be targeted by police just because of their skin. For Assignment Rob Walker travels to Arizona to explore why immigration has become such a hot political issue in the state.

Mukul Devichand explores the rising Asian giants, China and India. How will the old acrimony between the world's most populous nations shape the new faultlines of power in Asia and the wider world?

With the World Cup underway, many fans will be avidly debating the fate of their nations in the tournament, but it is at domestic level where football has the most support. Follow David Goldblatt as he adventures into the meaning and madness of the game. Fourth and last stop, the English Premiership’s beleaguered Newcastle United.

How does one's family history alter one's sense of sefl? Nihal Arthanayake - a successful London DJ - travels to Sri Lanka to find out more about his maternal grandfather, a lawyer and politician who was murdered in 1940.

Pascale Harter reports from Spain for Assignment to see how families there are coping with record unemployment as the government slashes public spending to cope with its massive budget deficit. As she discovers, many people are turning to their families to get them through the hard times.

Mukul Devichand explores the rising Asian giants, China and India. In the churn and tumult of India and China's rapid economic growth, which country has done more to lift the lives of its hundreds of millions of very poor?