Pavel Zarubin has access to President Putin that other journalists can only dream of. He interviews him regularly, and travels around the world covering huge geopolitical meetings, even posting to his vast social media audience from Putin's meetings with Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and even from under the table of Putin's meeting with Kim Jong Un. BBC Russian's Elizaveta Fokht traces his career from truth seeking young reporter, to being the President's favoured journalist. Sana Mir is one of Pakistan’s most famous cricket players. She played for her country in 226 matches, captaining the team in 137 of them. Being a woman in cricket in Pakistan was not always easy for her, but she has been very outspoken about the sexism and body shaming she faced as a professional athlete. She recently was the first Pakistani woman to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s hall of fame, and Nazish Fiaz of BBC Urdu went to interview her.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi

Produced by Rebecca Moore and Caroline Ferguson

We look back over the past 12 months of the conflict between Israel and Hamas through the conversations we have recorded. It is almost two years since Hamas militants attacked Israel – killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostage. In response, the Israeli government vowed to destroy Hamas. Since then – according to the Hamas-run health ministry – more than 60,000 people have been killed in air and ground attacks, the United Nations says that most of the population has had to leave their homes, and half a million are facing starvation. Throughout the conflict, we have spoken to families of those killed by Hamas or taken hostage. One of our producers, Kristina, has also been receiving regular voice notes from 17-year-old Sanabel in Gaza. “October 7th is what I hate the most,” Sanabel says. “Because of this date, I lost everything in my life, literally everything.”

**This programme contains discriminatory language** On Greece’s Mount Athos, the most holy site in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, lies a rift in the faith. For more than 20 years, a banned monastery has operated illegally and at times violently towards their sacred community. Nikos Papanikolaou visits these excommunicated monks ready to become martyrs in order to protect their ultra-orthodox way of life. The inhabitants of Esphigmenou monastery are known as Greece’s "rebel monks". Living on a remote peninsula in the north of the country, they are holed up in their fortress-like monastery, emblazoned with a banner reading "Orthodoxy or Death". This schismatic brotherhood broke away from the mainstream church decades ago, an act which has led to their excommunication and violent clashes with police after attempts to evict them from their monastery. Nikos Papanikolaou travels to Mount Athos to meet Esphigmenou’s leader, Abbot Methodios. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

According to the World Bank, more than 80 million people in Nigeria still lack access to electricity, making it the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world. But even among those connected to the grid, many struggle daily to keep the power going. Blackouts are frequent, infrastructure is fragile, and generators have become a lifeline for homes and businesses alike. Journalist and presenter Samuel Okocha hears from Nigerians about how unreliable electricity affects their lives. He speaks to economists, politicians, and renewable energy experts to understand the roots of the crisis, and how decentralisation and power theft are complicating efforts to fix it. In Abuja, Samuel visits his local dry cleaner and barber to see how they are coping with constant outages. Samuel also finds resilience. Across Nigeria, people are turning to solar energy and small-scale solutions, building their own systems to meet their needs.

A growing industry of content creators is teaching people how to make money from AI models, promising quick profits. Their strategy: steal content, alter faces with AI, and funnel users from Instagram to adult platforms. And one trend has caught the internet’s attention - Down’s Syndrome deepfakes. Rowan Ings and Nathalie Jimenez dive into the growing world of AI deepfakes, how it works, and hear from victims about the human cost of turning AI into a business of exploitation. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC Trending in-depth reporting on the world of social media.

The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean’s number one tourist destination. Last year 11 million visitors came here, many enjoying the five star resorts that skirt the island’s coast. Much of the construction work building those tourist facilities is in fact done by Haitians, and many of the staff who work in them are from Haiti, which occupies the western half of this island of Hispaniola. Over recent years the tourism industry has helped make the Dominican economy the fastest growing in Latin America.

However, the Dominican government is now implementing one of the most systematic deportation policies anywhere in the world. Last year the president, Luis Abinader, announced that his country would expel illegal migrants at the rate of ten thousand a week. The chief target is Haitians and people of Haitian descent. President Abinader says he is keeping his country secure and implementing the constitution. Meanwhile Haitians in the Dominican Republic are living in fear of raids by the immigration authorities and of being sent back across the border, to a country riven by violence as well as political and economic instability. John Murphy is in the Dominican Republic to talk to Haitians stuck between a rock and a hard place. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Inspiration for Emilia Wickstead’s luxury fashion brand comes from her childhood home in New Zealand, her adolescence in Italy’s most fashionable city Milan, but also from her hard-working fashion designer mother. Her feminine silhouettes and creative use of colour and textiles have made her a popular choice among members of the British Royal Family and Hollywood celebrities. Belinda Naylor has had a sneak preview of how Emilia’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection has taken shape – referencing the romance of bygone eras with a contemporary twist. Emilia explains the importance of teamwork, being a perfectionist and how she still gets a thrill from seeing women wear the designs from her own label, which she established in 2008.

Can Apple cut ties with China? Apple is promising to make more products in the US, backed by a $600bn investment over the next four years. But after decades of relying on Chinese manufacturing that promise is going to be tough to keep. We’re joined by journalist and author Patrick McGee. With hosts in Washington DC and London, The Global Story tells the intertwined story of America and the world.

What happens when social media influencers join forces with politicians to promote their messages? Around the world political parties are switching from mainstream media to influencers to amplify their voices, in some cases even putting them on the official government payrolls. To find out what impact this is having on politics we've brought together Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring in Miami, who's examined the impact in Latin America, Famega Syavira, head of social media for BBC Indonesian, and Adline Okere, Igbo News Editor in Lagos, Nigeria.

The ‘Jerdon’s Courser’ is a critically endangered bird. It's only officially been sighted in the scrub forests of Eastern Ghats mountain range in Andra Pradesh in the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, although recently there was great excitement when its call was recorded in a different location in southern India. BBC Telugu recently joined the nightly efforts by forest watchers to track down the bird last seen 16 years ago, as Satheesh Urugonda reports.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi

Produced by Rebecca Moore and Caroline Ferguson

This is an EcoAudio certified production.

There are now more Russian drone attacks on Ukraine than ever before in the conflict. On some nights, hundreds are targeted at the country. In one raid this week, Ukraine's air force says Moscow launched 619 drones and missiles, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. In our conversations we bring together Kateryna who has lost her home twice to Russian drones, Kamila, whose aunt was killed in a recent attack, and Inna. She happened to be out when her building was struck by a drone. Plus, drone pilots Andy and Oleksii give us an insight into their lives on the front line of the war.

Harj Gahley is a Sikh who began gambling when he was just 23. What started as a ‘fun’ night out with friends at a casino spiralled out of control, nearly costing him his life. For over a decade, Harj kept his addiction a secret, living a double life that led him to borrow, steal and defraud from family and friends. His addiction pushed him to the edge of personal and financial ruin. Eventually, his deception came to light, devastating his wife and family. Harj’s hidden truth also revealed a deeper cultural stigma. When he first turned to his faith and community leaders for help, instead of finding compassion he says he was met with shame and judgement. A painful confession to an elder exposed just how little understanding there was around gambling addiction. Now a campaigner, Harj works to raise awareness about the damage gambling can do, supporting others as they face their own battles with addiction. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world

Can Nasa build the most complex flying machine in space history? The plan is to create a permanent human presence in space.

It’s Spring 1969 - two months before the launch of Apollo 11 – the first US mission to land humans on the moon. But meanwhile, hidden away from public view, Nasa is thinking the unthinkable.

This is the epic story of the space shuttle, a dream to make spaceflight routine. Told by the astronauts and team who made it happen.

You can listen to episode 1 here. For more, search for 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

This is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for the BBC World Service.

Hosted by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Archive: Richard Nixon launches Nasa’s space shuttle programme, CBS News, 1972 Mission audio and oral histories, Nasa History Office

BBC Trending investigates how negative ‘pre-read’ and pre-publication Goodreads ratings are leaving writers - and readers - mystified. Goodreads is a popular website that invites users to track and share their reading habits – through ratings and reviews. But before they even hit the market, some books have attracted negative ratings, leaving authors mystified about who is behind them. So where are these ‘unfair’ ratings coming from - is this the work of individuals with vendettas or bots? And what can be done to stop them? This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC Trending in-depth reporting on the world of social media.

Denmark is eyeing up the military threat from Russia – and dramatically increasing the numbers in its national service. Now, 18-year-old girls are facing a call up.

The BBC has been granted rare access to a military base on the outskirts of Copenhagen to see the newest recruits learn how to operate on the battlefield.

Anna Holligan attends a “Defences Day” where teenagers find out whether they’re fit to serve, and draw a conscription lottery ticket that could shape their future.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Artist Lesia Khomenko left Kyiv with her daughter the day after the Russians invaded Ukraine – leaving her husband and all of her artwork behind. She now lives in New York, documenting how the conflict has transformed Ukrainian society through her painting. Her first work after the invasion was a portrait of her husband, wearing jeans and a puffa jacket whilst holding a gun and saluting awkwardly. Max is in the Army is part of a series of lawyers, engineers and musicians – all finding themselves abruptly turned into soldiers. Lucy Ash has been to Kyiv to witness the creation of Khomenko’s largest works to date including one which mirrors Kyiv railway station’s staircase, where it will be hung, crowded with figures, symbolising the nation defending its land, culture and democracy. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from In the Studio, exploring the processes of the world’s most creative people.

On 28 September, Moldova’s parliamentary election will be closely watched by leaders in both the EU and Russia.

Ilan Shor, a fugitive oligarch on the run from Moldovan authorities, and now resident in Russia, is believed to be behind a major disinformation campaign. The apparent aim is to draw the nation of just over two million people under the influence of Moscow.

The BBC has sent a reporter undercover to find out how disinformation is being spread, and where the money funding it is coming from.

We hear from President Maia Sandu, on the danger it poses to the electorate, and the wider geopolitical forces at play.

Presenter: Seamus Mirodan Producer: Sam Judah Editors: Flora Carmichael and Michael Simkin BBC Eye Investigative Team: Rowan Ings, Angela Stanciu, Andreea Jitaru, Oana Marocico, Malvina Cojocari

Women in Afghanistan are unable to access education, and getting medical help is difficult. But a radio station in the Panjshir Valley is trying to get crucial information to them nevertheless. Their broadcasts cover everything from breast feeding to basic school science lessons for women and girls who are often isolated. Shekiba Habib of BBC Afghan services went to meet the people making this lifeline radio.

India is a country of well over a billion people, so the clearing of waste, requires a huge number of sanitation workers. About 98% of those workers are from one caste in society, who find it difficult to get jobs in any other industries. Ashay Yedge reports for BBC in India talked to some sanitation workers about why.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi

Produced by Rebecca Moore and Caroline Ferguson

This is an EcoAudio certified production.

The shooting of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk has intensified what was already a bitter divide between those who found him inspiring, and those who believed he spread hate with his views on subjects like gay marriage, Islam and abortion. Since he was killed at a university rally in Utah, some fear the whole idea of free speech and what it means is now in the balance. We hear from some of Kirk’s supporters, and from others who worry about where the US is heading.

Digital technology has transformed the science of bioacoustics - the ways we hear and record animal life in the deep oceans, through the earth and in the skies. Vast leaps in computing power allow us to analyse hundreds of thousands of hours of chirps, whistles, clicks and rumbles. Some researchers say AI can help us understand how elephants communicate in the jungle, what whales are clicking to one another across the watery abyss, and what bats squeal when swooping through the sky. Can we, should we, become digital Dolittles? Maria Margaronis listens in to these ever-expanding realms and wonders what they tell us about our own place on the planet.

Our bodies are filled with bacteria that have rich social lives and, just like people, these microbial neighbours and families do not always get along. In some cases, it is the bacterial equivalent of The Sopranos. Dr Sally Le Page delves into the bacterial dramas of loners, crowd-lovers, backstabbers and do-gooders that are fighting it out in the world and inside our bodies. Co-operation, cheating and selfish behaviour can all lead to benefits or disease so scientists are studying this behaviour to help produce new medicines and clean up our environment.