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: Driving Across The Divide
Air window: July 25 - August 21, 2026
One hour
Cars driven by Israeli volunteers wait at check points and border crossings to give ill Palestinians lifts to hospital appointments. It is what the volunteers call “one hour of peace”. Since Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7, it has become an increasingly rare space for Israelis and Palestinians to speak, and build trust and connection. Presenter Naomi Scherbel-Ball unpacks this meeting of two worlds amid the trauma of war.
BBC Design Special
Air window: August 8 - September 4, 2026
One hour
We bring you two programs that unpack significant human creations in a BBC design special. In the first half, we head to Romania to hear about the teenagers who strung computer cables together on the rooftops of the capital Bucharest to create a sprawling internet network. This Eastern European innovation soon caught the attention of telecom giants. We take a look at how it impacted the internet as we know it today.
And in the second half, we head to another country in Europe and speak to the Nine Yards Skatepark designers. They're the team behind the 2024 Paris Olympic Skatepark who are working on a new project in the heart of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. We explore how skating has evolved from an underground sport into an established movement and the intricate detail that goes into every park.
In Our Time: The Spanish-American War 1898
Air window: August 15 - September 11, 2026
One hour
Presenter Misha Glenny is joined by experts to discuss a turning point in world affairs at the end of the nineteenth century which left Spain greatly reduced as an imperial power and the US as the owner of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. It also left the US with a significant influence over the newly independent Cuba where the war broke out. It had been eyeing Cuba for decades, waiting for the right moment and the right kind of action. In April 1898 it intervened in the long-running fighting on the island for independence from Spain. With a much stronger navy it was a very uneven battle and the US soon triumphed over Spanish forces from Manila to Santiago de Cuba. This brief war confirmed the US as a power on the world stage and made a shocked Spain turn inwards to ask what had gone wrong.
In Our Time: The Engineers - Flying at the Edge
Air window: August 22 - September 18, 2026
One hour
Aviation is being reimagined for a changing planet. From vertical take-off passenger cars for city centers to hydrogen powered planes for zero carbon travel and even hyper-sonic flights to bring the London to Sydney journey to under two hours. Three world leaders in the field of aircraft engineering join presenter Caroline Steel on stage in London at the Royal Geographical Society. They are Kelly Latimer, a US aerospace engineer and flight test pilot, Rob Miller, a net-zero aviation pioneer and Daniel Moczydlower, the president of the Brazilian future aircraft innovators, Embraer-X.
Are microplastics affecting our health?
Air window: August 29 - September 25, 2026
One hour
Scientists say they have found microplastics in human organs like the brain, gut and even in our blood. So what’s the evidence that microplastics are changing our bodies and affecting our health? Claudia Hammond puts your questions on microplastics to a panel of experts and asks what the science can really tell us.
World Questions: Nigeria
Air window: September 5 - October 2, 2026
One hour
This month, presenter Jonny Dymond and the World Questions team are in Nigeria, West Africa, for a special edition of the program, broadcast from its largest city, Lagos. A panel of leading businesspeople, journalists and influencers will debate timely and vital topics including disinformation, fake news, trust and the upcoming elections in the country. The program will be recorded in front of a large public audience at the University of Lagos.
The Reunion - The 9/11 Attacks
Air window: September 12 - October 9, 2026
One hour
On September 11, 2001, suicide attackers hijacked two passenger planes flying over the eastern United States and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing both buildings to collapse. The repercussions of this deadly attack were felt profoundly around the globe, and continue to be felt today. Twenty-five years on, BBC presenter Kirsty Wark travels to New York to bring together the first responders and survivors who lived through that morning. New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer was the first commander on the scene, and later became planning chief for the rescue and recovery effort at Ground Zero.
BBC Ukraine Special
Air window: September 19 - October 16, 2026
One hour
In the BBC Ukraine Special we bring you two special programs that look at the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.
In the first half, we discuss how the Russian language could be playing a part in Ukrainian identity. Russian is perceived as the language of the enemy and it is now restricted by law with measures to enforce communication in Ukrainian. But these language laws are angering many in primarily Russian-speaking places such as Odesa in the south, Ukraine’s third-largest city. Some call it a colonial hangover, while others say cultural diversity is what Ukraine should be fighting for.
In the second half, we head east to hear about the Ukrainian rescuers who are dodging drones to evacuate civilians from frontline areas. Thousands of people still live dangerously close to active combat. We explore how civilian evacuation efforts have evolved throughout the war, and how rescuers are adapting to an increasingly hostile and unpredictable battlefield.
BBC Natural World Special
Air window: September 26 - October 23, 2026
One hour
In the BBC Natural World Special we bring you two programs that unpack some of Earth's marvels.
In the first half, we delve into the story of the iceberg which was the world's largest for almost four decades - measuring as deep as the height of New York City's Empire State building. We unpack how the colossal chunk of ice, known as A23a, formed in the Antarctic over thousands of years, through to its final chapter ... shrinking, melting and feeding the ocean from which it came.
In the second half, we head underwater and look at the fish that can deliver electric shocks that are four times more powerful than the electricity in your plug sockets at home. From Germany to Brazil, we learn about the evolution and anatomy of this aquatic life form, even exploring how some have developed a specialised organ allowing them to generate a high voltage.
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