Radio Diaries

 

Makers of this programme works with people to document their own lives for public radio: teenagers, seniors, prison inmates and others whose voices are rarely heard. We help people share their stories—and their lives—in their own words, creating documentaries that are powerful, surprising, intimate and timeless.

  

 

1968: The year that changed the world?

 

In this four part series Sir John Tusa traces what made 1968 such a climactic year.

 

The 66 Club

 

Ruth Evans tells the extraordinary story of 11 women brought together on the internet by one man's sperm. 

 

A Dollar A Day 

 

In this five-part series, Mike Wooldridge looks at what it is really like to have to live on one dollar a day.

 

After the KGB

  

Martin Sixsmith gets under the skin of Russia's secret service, the fastest growing and arguably most politically influential secret service in the world.

  

Age of Terror

  

The 1976 hijacking of an Air France plane on a flight from Tel Aviv to Paris.

 

Al-Qaeda's Internal Debate

  

BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner talks to former allies of Osama bin Laden who are now engaged in countering the terrorist leader's agenda.

  

America's first principles

  

Allan Little presents an appraisal of Thomas Jefferson that will consider some of the key "Jeffersonian principles" and look at what they show us how his vision continues to define the continent of America and its relationship with the world today.

 

Animal Migration in a Climate of Change

  

Brett Westwood presents four special programmes looking at how environmental change is affecting the movement of animals. In the first programme, he explores how sustainable forestry can help to preserve the Orange Monarch butterfly.

 

Argentina - Dancing To The Music Of The Mind

  

Argentinian film director, writer and tango enthusiast, Edgardo Cozarinsky, talks to artists, dancers and novelists about why psychotherapy and tango have such a pervasive hold on the Argentine mind and soul. 

 

Bangladesh Floods

  

It's been three months since cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh. Siobhann Tighe returns to the region to trace those she spoke to and photographed. She finds out how their lives have changed after the worst cyclone to hit Bangladesh since 1991.

 

Beatles in the USSR

  

This documentary, presented by Paul Gambaccini, reveals the extraordinary ways that the Beatles' music was listened to in the Soviet Union during the 1960s and asks whether 'Beatles On Bones' caused the end of communism.

 

Beijing Calling

  

Russell Fuller and BBC World Service Sport look at the difficult journeys of six hopefuls from around the world in the run up to the Beijing Olympics.  

 

The Bicycle Diaries

 

Three portraits of the use of the bicycle around the world. With more than a billion models worldwide, the bicycle has found a place in every society.

   

The Billion Dollar Election

  

The United States is due to have the first billion-dollar election in its history. The BBC’s Steve Evans presents a two-part investigation into election spending done in collaboration with the Centre for Public Integrity in Washington DC.  

 

Bomb Hunters

  

More than 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Bomb Hunters tells the stories of the people living in Xieng Khuang in Laos and how they survive in a land still littered with UXO.  

 

Boom or Bust

 

Sharon Mascall investigates the Australian mining industry where many inexperienced workers are lured by high wages but face harsh conditions, poor safety standards and an uncertain future. 

 

Brand Cuba

  

Allan Little analyses some of the factors that have kept Cuba alive in the public imagination over such a long period. 

 

The Future of the Amazon

 

Paul Evans investigates the Amazon, the biggest area of rainforest left on Earth.

 

Hearts and Minds

 

Nick Fraser considers the role of intellectuals in relation to world events and conflicts

 

Sacred Election: Lessons from the Biggest Democracy in the World

 

Dr Mukulika Banerjee learns about the processes involved in an Indian general election.

 

Something Understood 

 

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

 

Sunday

 

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

 

Making History

 

Series exploring ordinary people's links with the past

 

The Conchies of Holton-Cum-Beckering

 

Billy Bragg meets the surviving members of a unique group of war conscientious objectors.

 

World Heritage: Curse or Blessing?

 

Emily Maitlis asks if the UN's heritage police is a force for good or ill.

 

Any Questions?

 

Topical discussion in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media and elsewhere are posed questions by the audience. From a different location each week.

 

Any Answers?

 

Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?

 

Material World

 

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines. Each week, scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects