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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The Forum: Movie Theatre Magic
Air window: July 26 - August 22, 2025
One hour
From the picture palaces of the 1920s to the multiplexes and intimate art-house cinemas of today, the evolving design of movie theatres reflects the changes in our film viewing habits. And even though television has long since become the dominant family entertainment technology, cinema audiences in the West have increased since the low point in the 1970s and 80s. Some of that is down to innovation: you might be able to find baby or dementia-friendly screenings near you or a cinema that relays cricket matches or opera performances.
Iszi Lawrence explores the 120-year development of movie theatres with film historian Professor Ross Melnick from the University of California, Daniela Treveri Gennari, Professor of Cinema Studies at Oxford Brookes University and World Service listeners.
The Engineers - Exploring the Human
Air window: August 9 - September 5, 2025
One hour
Engineering has moved inside the body to innovate like never before. In neuro-science, brain implants can provide ‘psychic’ communication for people with locked-in syndrome. In medication a new technology aims to deliver chemo therapy and other drugs directly to the parts that need them by bubbles in the blood stream. And ingestible electronics are being made to fight disease by sending antibody-directing messages straight from the gut to the brain.
Three biomedical engineers at the forefront of their profession worldwide will come to London to join presenter Caroline Stee l and discuss their trail-blazing work, answering questions from an audience at the Royal Geographical Society.
Discussion and Documentary: Ghost Cities FC
Air window: August 16 - September 12, 2025
One hour
James Montague tells the story of two refugee football clubs - who once played in the same Soviet league - but whose fortunes have waxed and waned during thirty years of conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno Karabakh. As Qarabag FK prepares to return to the city their people fled from, Lernayin Artsakh FC prepares for a life of exile, both clubs now avatars for a seemingly intractable conflict in the Caucuses.
World Book Club: Juhea Kim
Air window: August 2 - September 12, 2025
One hour
Harriett Gilbert talks with Juhea Kim about her debut novel 'Beasts of a Little Land'.
Set during the turbulent years of Japanese-occupied Korea in the early 20th century, this sweeping historical epic traces the lives of two unforgettable characters: Jade, a young girl sold to a courtesan school, and JungHo, the orphaned son of a hunter who becomes swept up in the Communist resistance. Over five decades, their paths cross and recross as they navigate war, occupation, and revolution.
Rich with lyrical prose, folklore, and unflinching insight into the brutality of empire, Beasts of a Little Land explores identity, loyalty, and the high price of survival.
Juhea Kim will be talking about why the Tiger is such an important symbol in Korean history, how her writing is structured like a symphony, and how as a writer she strives to show the humanity of all her characters when they are on very different sides of war and colonialism.
The Forum: Magazines
Air window: August 23 - September 19, 2025
One hour
Magazines grew out of some of the early forays that the invention of printing made possible, such as pamphlets and almanacs. To begin with, magazines were the preserve of an elite who could afford to pay for them. But as time went on, the cost of paper fell, printing technology became more streamlined, literacy improved and would-be publishers spotted an opportunity to connect with audiences hungry for information and entertainment.
Magazines found a place to appeal to all types of interest, in the same way that the internet does today. In their heyday the y attracted some of the best writers such as Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway, sometimes acting as a vehicle to establish literary careers. Later magazines were to be come the go-to place for quality photography and design.
Falling advertising revenues have largely contributed to the decline of printed magazines, as well as editions moving online. However some have found a way of reinventing themselves in the 21st century.
Iszi Lawrence is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the rise and evolution of magazines, including the Lebanese consultant Samir Husni who founded the Magazine Innovation Centre at the University of Mississippi in the United States.
World Book Club: Sherlock Holmes Special
Air window: September 6 - October 5, 2025
One hour
Join us for a special episode of World Book Club as we journey into the fog-shrouded moors of Devon to explore The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle— arguably the most iconic and enduring novel in the Sherlock Holmes canon. First published in 1902, this gothic masterpiece has captivated readers for over a century and remains a cornerstone of detective fiction.
World Questions: Greece
Air window: September 13 - October 10, 2025
One hour
Jonny Dymond is joined by a panel of leading Greek politicians and analysts who will debate their country's big issues. The program is recorded in front of a live audience, who put their questions to the panel in Athens.
Digital Dolittles: Talking to the animals?
Air window: September 20 - October 17, 2025
One hour
Humans have always dreamed of talking to other animals. Some hold out the promise that AI and new technologies could help us to communicate with elephants, bats or whales in their own sonic terms. We listen in and ask, Is that really possible? And if so, what would we say?
A People’s History of Gaza
Air window: September 27 - October 24, 2025
One hour
An oral history of Gaza, from the creation of the Strip in 1948 to the eve of the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, told through the experiences of ordinary people - a teacher, a doctor, a smuggler, a bird-watcher, a musician and others. Tim Whewell finds out how Gazans survived exile, invasions, wars and blockade, how hopes for peace rose and fell, how they lived, worked and died over 80 years - under Egypt, Israel, and Hamas.
Broadcast Rights
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