The Documentary Podcast: Archive 2012

New democratic freedoms are allowing farmers to protest as companies grab their land for agriculture and land. Lucy Ash reporting.

Does the Bollywood film industry need to broaden its fanbase to appeal to international, non-Indian audiences to survive in the future?

A look at the unique narratives and symbolism of the lullabies of the Arab world, which are a form of self-expression for women.

El Salvador's violent street gangs have made a truce. The murder rate has plummeted, and quality of life for many Salvadorans has improved dramatically. But can it last?

A powerful memorial to the bravery of an ordinary man Leigh Pitt, who saved a boy from drowning but did not himself survive.

The IMF is threatening to throw Argentina out of the Fund if it doesn’t start reporting credible figures for inflation.

Many ex-offenders in the US leave prison indebted to the courts. Why do one in five people in Philadelphia owe around $1.5 billion in criminal court debt?

For 95 years, the ‘Anzac Legend’ has been at the heart of Australia’s national identity. Through a government-sponsored programme of commemoration and education, Australians are taught that part of their identity was forged on the battlefields of Europe, the Gallipoli peninsula and in South-East Asia throughout the twentieth century. Sharon Mascal asks what Anzac means today.

Sol River talks to James Meredith, who walked into history as the first black student at the University of Mississippi in 1962.

Linda Pressly investigates why rape and sexual abuse is so common in America's huge prison system - and asks if new measures to fight it will succeed.

John Simpson looks back at the chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, unleashed by Saddam Hussein in 1988. What hope and justice can a new scientific investigation offer to the families of those 5000 civilians who lost their lives?

Exploring lullabies from around the world and their role in child development.

In many remote areas of Afghanistan – where few foreign journalists have access - it’s the Kalashnikov rather than the ballot box that dictates who holds power.

The largest Iranian community outside Iran can be found in the heart of LA. What is that diaspora's story? Iranian stand-up comedian and actor Maz Jobrani begins his journey on Westwood Boulevard, a street lined with Iranian stores, restaurants, beauty salons, cafes and businesses, where everyone speaks Farsi and all the shop signs are in Persian.

Nina Robinson investigates whether the government of Trinidad and Tobago's initiative to get more people involved in sport can reduce the country’s high rates of crime.

What does it take to get people in the rich world engaged in the issue of global poverty? How can you avoid cliché, sentimentality and callousness? What stops people turning off?

Andrew Harding joins Mohamed Ahmed Noor who, by request of the president, has returned with his wife and family from a life in London to try and clean up Mogadishu.

Rob Broomby explores how British universities are adapting to commercial times and asks if significant donations could distort the academic agenda.

Phil Maguire, Chief Executive of the Prison Radio Association (PRA), reports on the launch of Rise Maximum Radio, based inside Trinidad and Tobago's Maximum Security Prison and hears this remarkable radio station's first moments on-air.

How exemption from conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews is exposing Israel's fault lines. Linda Pressly reports.

Across the developed world, government funding for universities is drying up. That means universities are having to seek finance elsewhere. Princeton University is the master at getting money from former students. Rob Broomby hears concerns about how donations are changing academic priorities.

In Japan people believe that your blood type - or ketsueki-gata - defines your temperament and personality. What implications does this have for life, work and love?

Tim Whewell gets rare access to a rebel held town in northern Syria.

The series History Lessons for China's New Leaders recalls some of the most important stories from Chinese history. In part 2 Carrie Gracie looks at the lessons from history as seen by the Chinese people.

The tragic story of African migrants who fled fighting in Libya on an inflatable boat.

The island monastery of Valaam in northern Russia is a beacon for orthodox believers and a favourite of President Putin. But all is not well with the island's inhabitants.

Meet Muhammad Idrees Idrees, the man who overstayed his Indian visa and was stripped of his nationality and identity.

Episode 2: Power and Foreign Policy - How do America's presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney believe the US should interact with the rest of the world?

America's presidential election campaign is now in its closing stages. The leaders of the two parties - Barack Obama and Mitt Romney - have very different ideas for America. What is each candidate's ideological vision for the future?

Alan Dein attempts to cross the world on a late-night excursion via Facebook and Skype.

What does the collapse in Iran's currency mean for ordinary people and the regime? Pooneh Ghoddoosi reports.

** Please note this programme contains a description of a medical circumcision ** As the German government proposes to make religious circumcision explicitly legal, Stephen Evans talks to the people - Jews and Muslim - who do it; to the lawyer who wants it banned and to a Muslim who regrets being circumcised.

An audio tour of The Museum of Broken Relationships and the stories behind the objects it exhibits: the things left behind at the end of love affairs… shared belongings, mementos and gifts.

South Africa remains a growing market for Avon cosmetics despite a slump elsewhere. How has Avon managed to make such inroads into South Africa? Who are the Avon ladies? We travel with two reps to find out what it is like to be a door-to-door salesperson in a country where people are often afraid to open their doors because of high rates of crime.

Recorded in the days before the exploratory drilling begins off the Alaskan coast, May Abdalla travels to Point Hope, not far from where the drilling will begin, to meet the Inupiat people and to learn of their fears and hopes of an oil-rich future.

A dying man and his husband try to meet death in style with a "bon voyage party", but realise dying cannot be choreographed. Please note, Paul Perkovic died on 26 November 2012, in Eric Trefelner's arms at their home in Montara, California.

New Zealand's street gangs are established, territorial and notoriously intimidating. Leaving them is incredibly difficult, and "punishments" are often administered to those that try. Warning: This programme contains description of torture and sexual violence which some listeners may find disturbing.

The Assad family has now been in power in Syria for more than 40 years. The country may be embroiled in a civil war, but President Bashar Al-Assad has so far withstood the winds of change of the Arab Spring, as well as the international calls for him to go. Owen Bennett Jones asks how this dynasty has survived so long?

Benjamen Walker visits airports, amusement parks, roadways and colleges to document how the priority queue is re-ordering American society.

Why do we do the things we do? Mike Williams searches for the extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions. This week, why do we wear ties?

It's a unique Japanese practice. Each year in Japan there are tens of thousands of unusual adoptions – very different from adoptions elsewhere in the world. They're mostly of grown men, adopted by their wife's family, so that they can then take over the family business and keep the family name alive. Mariko Oi has been to Japan to investigate. She meets, among others, a famous Kabuki performer and the owner of a spa hotel, who runs the world's oldest family business.

Latinos are part of the fabric of the USA, so what role will they play in the nation's forthcoming elections? Claire Bolderson visits Miami and looks at the future of America's fastest growing minority.

Why are there a growing number of African-Americans who openly don't believe in God or the church? Sarah Richards reports.

*This programme contains views and language which some listeners may find offensive and upsetting* Iraq can cost you your life. In a hard-hitting Assignment programme Natalia Antelava reports from Iraq on the persecution of gays in the country.

Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic population in the USA. In the first episode of a two-part documentary, Claire Bolderson asks whether the Hispanic population could help re-energise the country.

BBC correspondent Will Grant challenges stereotypes as he investigates Mexico's economy. He talks to industry leaders, workers, politicians and economists.

For Assignment Tom Esslemont examines the disturbing world of Russia’s skinhead ultra nationalists.

Kati Whitaker gains rare access to Northern Ghana's witch camps, where old women accused of witchcraft are banished.

Tessa Dunlop travels to Romania to investigate why a proposed open-cast gold mine, that would be Europe's largest, has caused a political storm all over the country.

Mike Greenwood journeys across one of the world's final frontiers, the Chaco in Paraguay, to uncover how environmental groups, ranchers and missionaries are battling for the soul of one of the last wildernesses.