Documentaries & Specials
Each month, the BBC World Service offers new documentaries and specials selected specifically for U.S. audiences, with in-depth, relevant reporting. Typically one-hour, or two half-hours on a similar topic, they offer great content for any time of day, and satisfy audiences' needs for deeper narratives and more reflective listening.
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Discussion and Documentary: United in Space – How we Built the ISS
Air window: December 20 - January 16, 2026
One hour
Personal tales of bravery, tragedy, daring and triumph, United in Space unveils the remarkable story of one of humanity’s greatest ever feats – building a home among the stars – the International Space Station.
Celebrating 25 unbroken years of humans living in space, former international director of the UK Space Agency, Dr Alice Bunn charts how nations put aside differences to create the ultimate symbol of human ingenuity and collaboration – a space station orbiting our planet that has been home to over 300 people from 24 different nations.
Looking into the future, Alice explores how the legacy of the ISS will be carried on by a new generation of private space stations, which have the power to push back the boundaries of science for the good of all humanity. The reduced gravity offers enormous possibilities from creating materials impossible to create on Earth - these range from ultrafast semiconductors for use in computing, to life-saving vaccines, and most remarkably of all entire human organs for life-saving transplants.
BBC Correspondents' Look Ahead to 2026
Air window: December 27 - January 23, 2026
One hour
Join BBC correspondents and editors from across the globe as they peer into their crystal balls to predict what 2026 might hold.
Not by the Playbook: Soccer Special
Air window: January 3 - January 30, 2026
One hour
Soccer is going to be one of the focal points of the sporting calendar this year, not least because in June the men's FIFA World Cup will be hosted in Mexico, Canada and the United States of America. So, we thought we'd start the year by exploring what it is like to be a football fan in the modern age. What do football fans have in common whichever team they support? Without their passion and loyalty, the billion-dollar football business would not exist. But is the relationship between those who love the game and those who profit from it always a happy one? We hear about fan experiences at an event hosted by Deborah Dilworth, Head of Women's Football at the Football Supporters Association.
Discussion and Documentary: Looking for No Man's Land
Air window: January 10 - February 6, 2026
One hour
Humans have spread to every corner of the globe, transforming ecosystems and reshaping landscapes. Is there anywhere left on Earth that is unaffected by humans? Anywhere we haven’t changed – at all? Presenter Caroline Steel and producer Florian Bohr begin their mission to find No Man's Land... if it exists.
World Questions: Hungary
Air window: January 17 - February 13, 2026
One hour
Jonny Dymond will chair a debate with leading Hungarian politicians and academics who will take questions from the public across Hungary. With elections due in April, can the right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in power for 15 years, hold off his main political challenger?
World Book Club: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Air window: January 24 - February 24, 2026
One hour
Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni into the World Book Club studio to discuss her internationally acclaimed novel, The Palace of Illusions. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni answers readers’ questions about reclaiming women’s voices from myth and legend, the challenges of retelling an epic from a female perspective, and why mythology is still so powerful for modern readers.
World Book Club: Linwood Barclay – Take Your Breath Away
Air window: February 7 - March 6, 2026
One hour
Harriett Gilbert hosts a master of suspense, Canadian author Linwood Barclay, in the World Book Club Studio to answer listener questions about his thriller “Take Your Breath Away.” The story centers on Andrew Mason, whose wife Brie vanished six years ago, making him the prime suspect. But just as he’s beginning to rebuild his life, a mysterious woman resembling Brie suddenly appears, forcing him to uncover the truth about what happened to his wife, uncovering secrets and lies at every turn.
Linwood will answer questions about how to craft a mystery that keeps readers hooked until the last page, how playing with different points of view can mask or reveal the truth, and why vivid settings can be just as important as characters to telling a compelling story.
World Questions: New Zealand
Air window: February 14 - March 13, 2026
One hour
High rents, rising food costs and a perceived lack of opportunities are driving young people out of New Zealand. Last year, more people left than ever before. Immigrants are replacing their numbers, but do they have the skills that the country is losing? What can be done to improve living conditions and stop the loss of young talent? The current government has opened the question of Maori land rights in a quest to exploit the New Zealand natural resources. An attempt to overturn a historic treaty failed last year, but as New Zealand faces an autumn election, the issue is not going away. There is much for Jonny Dymond and a panel of political leaders to debate as they face questions from across the country.
Discussion and Documentary: The Dream Makers
Air window: February 21 - March 20, 2026
One hour
In Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster “Inception,” Leonardo DiCaprio’s protagonist is paid to implant an idea into a target’s subconscious mind. It’s the stuff of science fiction — or is it?
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, creativity and wellbeing. On the other hand, the ethical issues it raises amid the unregulated world of an emerging technology have led to warnings of a future where our very dreams could be for sale.
In The Dream Makers, Anand Jagatia investigates both the fascinating potential and developing concerns over what the future of dream engineering could hold.
Discussion and Documentary: Rewriting a Revolution
Air window: February 28 - March 27, 2026
One hour
On February 25, 1986, the Philippines, Asia’s oldest democracy, peacefully took control of its destiny. Ferdinand Marcos, a democratically elected president-turned-dictator accused of widespread graft and human rights abuses, had gambled on one too many rigged elections. After days of mounting protests and the defection of the military to the opposition, Marcos and his family were ejected from their gilded palace in Manila. These events have since been named the People Power Revolution.
The uprising ushered in a return to constitutional democracy, guardrails on executive power, and a new constitution that redistributed power from Manila to local governments across the 7,500-island archipelago. It was also supposed to seal the fate of the Marcoses once and for all: permanent exile in Hawaii. At least, so the Filipinos thought.
Forty years on, not only are the Marcoses back, but they’re arguably stronger than ever. Ferdinand’s eldest, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, is now president, with his sister, son, and various cousins in Congress. It’s a far cry from the Philippines of 1986, when the post-revolution state vowed ‘never again’ to let any Marcos near the halls of power.
But the story of the last four decades isn’t simply one of a profound Marcos restoration. While the family has certainly been adept at resurrection, the story of the postrevolutionary Philippines can’t be separated from the failures of the post-revolutionary state. Politics remains dynastic, the economy profoundly unequal, while corrupt officials rarely face accountability. It’s a cocktail for popular disaffection with democracy itself.
Broadcast Rights
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