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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BBC US Midterm Election Special
Air window: November 3, 2026
18:00 - 23:59
Hosted by Jamie Coomeresamy who is the regular host of the BBC WS programme “Newshour” and former NPR political correspondent Asma Khalid who now fronts the BBC podcast “The Global Story”, from the BBC Studios in Washington.
Subscribe to the corresponding hours in the BBC WS Stream to air.
BBC Geopolitics Special
Air window: October 10 - November 6, 2026
One hour
The BBC Geopolitics Special brings you a look at two complex relationships.
In the first half, we highlight Australia’s turbulent and evolving relationship with their number one trading partner - China. Having signed a free trade agreement eleven years ago, recently there has been a marked shift in relations, with Australia balancing its security dependence on Washington with its economic reliance on Beijing. From businesses to diplomats and military personnel, we explore whether China is Australia’s enemy, friend, or as some critics suggest, ‘frenemy’.
And in the second half, we examine the politics of water and the struggle that casts a shadow over the future of the Middle East. For centuries, the Tigris and Euphrates carried goods, armies and ideas, shaping some of history's greatest empires. Today, they have become the focus of a growing geopolitical struggle. As climate change, water shortages and Turkey’s dam projects increase pressure on supplies, Iraq is being forced into negotiations that extend far beyond water, touching on trade, energy and security.
In Our Time: Indian Indentured Labour
Air window: October 17 - November 13, 2026
One hour
Misha Glenny and guests discuss what changed after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, when sugar planters recruited Indian workers under contracts of indenture to replace formerly enslaved laborers. Over the next 90 years, more than a million Indians travelled to colonies across the empire, from Guyana and Trinidad to Mauritius and Fiji, often facing deception and abuse. The system drew increasing criticism, with Mahatma Gandhi and others arguing it closely resembled slavery. Although indenture ended in the early 20th century, many workers chose to remain, forging new identities and helping to create a new Indian diaspora.
Germany's Rust Belt Revival
Air window: October 24 - November 20, 2026
One hour
In Dortmund, in the west of Germany, a once-industrial city has reinvented itself over the last 20 years as a hub for tech, start-ups and logistics. Historian and author Katja Hoyer explores how investment in universities, business support and urban renewal helped drive the transformation. But this has come with shortages of affordable housing and unemployment. We’ll explore what lessons Dortmund's revival can offer other regions facing de-industrialization.
BBC Food Special
Air window: October 31 - November 27, 2026
One hour
The BBC Food Special takes a look at timely discussions on food.
In the first half, we head to Japan, a country which produces only around 40% of the calories its people consume. With little spare farmland, it is running out of ways to make more food. We take a look at the leftovers from sugar production used to feed an ancient fungus which is grown and harvested as a high-protein food. And we meet the hobbyists and chefs growing meat from animal cells and ask how far these ideas are from dining tables.
And in the second half, we investigate whether meat-free burgers, mince and sausages might be less healthy and worse for the environment than eating meat. We head to a facility in India developing lab-grown meat and unpack whether it really is the healthy choice, and what it is doing for the planet.
BBC Japan Special
Air window: November 7 - December 4, 2026
One hour
The BBC Japan Special takes you on a journey to east Asia and delves into two fascinating stories.
In the first half, we explore the country's innovation when it comes to food. Japan only produces around 40% of the calories its people consume, and with little spare farmland, it is running out of ways to make more food. We'll look at how some leftovers are used to feed an ancient fungus which is grown and harvested in factory as high-protein nourishment. And from a home laboratory in rural western Japan to a Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of Osaka, we meet the hobbyists and chefs growing meat from animal cells.
In the second half, we head to the country's coast where one man has spent nearly 15 years diving for the remains of his wife who was swept away in the 2011 tsunami. With on-location recording of Yasuo on his 763rd dive, we'll explore his search as an act of devotion shaped by Japanese ideals of grief, memory, and the power of nature. It's a story of one man’s repeated dives becoming a ritual of remembrance in a land where disaster is part of life.
BBC Climate Special
Air window: November 14 - December 11, 2026
One hour
The BBC Climate Special brings you a look at two important stories about our world.
In the first half, we head to Asia to explore the Wular and Dal lakes. They are among Kashmir's most famous natural treasures but decades of pollution, encroachment and neglect have taken their toll. We follow conservationists, farmers, and local communities as they attempt an ambitious restoration effort. Along the way, we discover migratory birds returning and a circular economy transforming ecological waste into a valuable resource.
In the second half, we examine the much-discussed El Niño phenomenon and explain just what it is exactly. This year’s occurrence is set to be the biggest yet. From a Kenyan farm to Peruvian fish, we unpack the differing weather patterns across the world and whether it's possible to prepare for the event's extreme impacts.
The Evidence: How do hormones make me, me?
Air window: November 21 - December 18, 2026
One hour
Cortisol. Dopamine. Testosterone; these are just some of the chemicals interacting in our bodies and affecting our long-term health. But could hormones have a bigger role on our lives than we once expected? Could they make us, us?
From Barefoot to Blacktop: How running has transformed lives in Uganda
Air window: November 28 - December 15, 2026
One hour
Running is the most popular sport on the planet, with over 600 million people taking part. While the phenomenon of long-distance running is a growing global obsession, in East Africa it is becoming something more: a way of life, and for some, a genuine pathway to social mobility. This documentary follows evolutionary biologist Professor Ben Garrod as he crosses Uganda - from the training grounds of world record holders to a remote marathon in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains - to find out how running is reshaping lives and communities and to ask why humans, alone among the great apes, ever learned to run at all.
Broadcast Rights
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