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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In Our Time - the Mariana Trench
Air window: April 18 - May 15, 2026
One hour
Misha Glenny and guests discuss one of the wonders of the natural world.
In 1875 in the western Pacific, the crew of HMS Challenger discovered the Mariana Trench which turned out to be deeper than Everest is high, by two kilometers. Trenches like Mariana form when one tectonic plate slips under another and heads down and there are around fifty of them globally. While at one time some thought it was too dark and deep for life there and others wildly imagined monsters, the truth has turned out to be much more surprising
Last Dance Floor in Chernobyl
Air window: April 25 - May 22, 2026
One hour
On the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Last Dancefloor in Chernobyl tells the untold stories from in and around the city: what life was like leading up to the meltdown, and life since, including the five weeks in 2022 when Russian armed forces occupied Chernobyl.
The stories are told through the fashion, music and relationships that young people found in Pripyat and the town’s nightclub – ‘Edison 2’.
What has been forgotten is that the young people who survived the nuclear meltdown in April 1986 stayed to maintain the damaged power plant and keep it safe. They saw the fall of the Soviet Union and created new identities, until the Russian invasion once again turned their lives upside down. These three events that changed the world are told in a very different way - through the people that were there.
The Documentary: Tequila with the Bat Man and Game of Clones
Air window: May 2 - May 29, 2026
One hour
Enjoy a combination of two The Documentary episodes. First up, the conservationist Rodrigo Medellin is working to protect Mexico's bats and its iconic spirits - tequila and mezcal. Can tequila become “bat friendly”?
The agave spirits are hugely important for Mexico’s economy with exports of the drinks worth billions and sales boosted by big budget celebrity-owned brands designed to appeal to the US consumer. But the agave is often harvested before the plant can flower meaning bats cannot feed from the nectar, and critically, they can’t do their job as pollinators. Rodrigo explains how he wanted to change the way the spirit industry works, creating a “bat-friendly” certification for tequila and mezcal producers who leave 5% of the agave untouched, to bloom. But why have so few brands been certified, why is the program controversial for some producers, and why is the conservation of bats a hard sell for many people?
Then in the second half, cloning polo horses is transforming the sport in Argentina. There are big companies, big profits and big ambitions. Against the backdrop of the Argentine Open (the crown jewel of the Polo season) presenter Marnie Chesterton talked to scientists and key figures in this tale of how cloning conquered Polo, and where the genetic interventions are heading.
World Questions: Sweden
Air window: May 9 - June 5, 2026
One hour
Migration, citizenship laws, crime and the rising cost of living are just some of the issues facing voters in Sweden ahead of upcoming elections. World Questions visits the country’s capital, Stockholm, on the 5 May to debate the challenges facing the nation. Leading politicians will face questions from a Swedish audience in a discussion chaired by Jonny Dymond.
In Our Time - The Columbian Exchange
Air window: May 16 - June 12, 2026
One hour
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the exchange and impact of cultures and biology, across the Atlantic and Pacific, after Columbus reached the Bahamas in1492. It was a time when Europe had no potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers or, arguably, syphilis in its most virulent form. And in turn, the Americas then had no cattle, bananas, sugar cane or smallpox. As flora, fauna and diseases moved between continents, their impact ranged from transformation to devastation. In parts of the Americas, European viruses contributed to the deaths of over 90 percent of the population. And in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia - populations boomed on the new American foods. Other changes included sheep from Europe grazing fertile land into deserts in parts of the Americas, while the lowered populations in other areas led to local reforestation which, arguably, is linked to a particularly cold period in the Little Ice Age. Contributors: Rebecca Earle, Professor of History at the University of Warwick John Lindo, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Emory University Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London.
BBC Witness History: Pride Month
Air window: June 1 - June 30, 2026
One hour
To mark Pride Month, we look back at some of the major moments that changed the lives of LGBT+ people and communities. Its history told through the people who were there. We hear a range of stories including the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, an activist involved in a trailblazing Pride march in Russia and a secret lesbian love diary from nineteenth-century England.
BBC World Questions: Morocco - Young Women and Change
Air window: June 13 - July 10, 2026
One hour
The North African country of Morocco stands at a pivotal moment in civil society. A new generation is pushing for change with the country standing out in the Muslim world as it holds open discussions on reform. World Questions puts young women in Morocco at the heart of a national debate about rights, faith, and family law. Jonny Dymond chairs a panel of feminist activists and conservatives as they debate issues such as child marriage, harassment and polygamy.
BBC In Our Time: The Code of Hammurabi
Air window: June 20 - July 17, 2026
One hour
Hammurabi, King of Babylon (c1810 - c1750 BC), had almost 300 laws carved into a black basalt pillar in what is now present-day Iraq. Since its rediscovery in 1901, in present-day Iran, it has affirmed Hammurabi's reputation as one of the world’s first great lawmakers. Visitors to the Louvre Museum in Paris can see the pillar on display with the rules written in cuneiform, covering how to handle murder, divorce, witchcraft, false accusations and the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’.
The Code of Hammurabi, as it became known, made such an impression in Mesopotamia that it was copied and shared for a millennium after his death and, since its reemergence, Hammurabi and his Code have been commemorated in the United State Capitol Building and the International Court of Justice.
BBC Soccer Special
Air window: June 27 - July 25, 2026
One hour
Two programs exploring soccer as the 23rd edition of the World Cup kicks off in June.
Agony and ecstasy - A history of penalty shootouts
What is it about penalty shootouts that create so much drama and entice even non-soccer fans to watch the big games? Former South African international captain, Amanda Dlamini, looks back at the history of the shootout and asks why it has such a psychological impact on players and fans. She also looks at whether there could ever be an alternative to spot-kicks to decide knockout games.
And
Good Bad Billionaire: Cristiano Ronaldo
We delve into the business of soccer as we look at the sport's first billionaire.
Cristiano Ronaldo grew up in poverty on the remote Portuguese island of Madeira but has leveraged social media fame to build his CR7 brand empire, becoming one of the most recognisable people on the planet. Business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace Ronaldo's rise from a homesick kid playing for the academy at Portugal's soccer club Sporting CP, to global superstardom at English team Manchester United and Spanish giants Real Madrid, where relentless training and record-breaking performances turned him into a sporting and commercial machine.
Broadcast Rights
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