Stemming the tide in Normandy
Coastal erosion has become a serious problem for many seaside communities, no more so than in Normandy, in north-west France, where rising sea levels, strong tides and stronger storms have swept away homes, sand dunes and beaches. Every year the sea here is reclaiming several metres of coastline. But there are arguments over what to do about it. In the area around Coutainville beachfront homeowners, oyster producers and campsites are confronting local and national authority plans for some of them to move and to allow nature to take its course. Some locals, suspicious of outside influence, argue this is a conspiracy by environmentalists to get rid of them. And yet others say the growing impact of climate change on coastal erosion is there for all to see. Carolyn Lamboley speaks to those on both sides of the debate about what can be done to stem the tide.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
25 Nov 26min
The Shiralee: D'Arcy Niland's 1955 Australian western
The Shiralee is a 1955 novel by D'Arcy Niland, telling the story of a wandering swagman on a journey through the Australian outback, accompanied by his 10-year-old daughter. It was made into a 1957 film by Ealing Studios, starring Peter Finch, and now it is being brought to the stage of the Sydney Opera House by the Sydney Theatre Company. Mark Burman talks to the show's cast and crew, including playwright Kate Mulvany, about this Australian classic's journey to the stage. This episode contains a reference to suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org.
24 Nov 24min
Inside India's war on Maoists
For nearly 60 years, the Indian government has been fighting a violent group of Maoists in the country. They are followers of the late Chinese leader, Mao Zedong and have carried out bombings and killings in different parts of India. Now, the Indian authorities claim to be on the brink of defeating these insurgents and has said that they will be fully removed by March 2026. There is one group that has been attributed with the recent success against the Maoists, known as the DRG or District Reserve Guard. They are part of the police, with the sole purpose of defeating the Maoists. But although they have successfully reduced Maoist attacks in recent years, critics have questioned the use of force by the DRG. Jugal Purohit, who reports for the BBC in India, recently travelled to the frontline of this nearly 60 year war, to meet the DRG and the locals who have been affected by the violence.Rare access: Inside India’s claims to eliminate Maoist insurgency https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848zVNZV7ssIn Thailand, for the past 154 years, people have come together for the annual Buffalo Racing Festival. The festival honors the vital role of buffaloes in Thai agriculture, offering thanks for their hard work throughout the year. BBC's Thuong Le is based in Bangkok and she recently traveled to Chonburi province where the festival takes place to grab a front row seat. 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 Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean. This is an EcoAudio certified production. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)
22 Nov 26min
Raising children on a warming planet
Another round of global climate talks is taking place at the COP30 summit, but some are questioning whether there is much point to these gatherings. We bring people together who have decided to take their own action. One guest, Gwynn, suggests the best way to save the planet is to not have children. She has even had surgery so she cannot get pregnant. “Forests and oceans and prairies are being destroyed so I can exist, so I can have my life,” Gwynn tells us. “I decided that I didn’t want to do that, I didn’t want to continue that, and I realised that the most impactful thing I could do is to not make more people.” Gwynn, who is in the US, is joined in conversation with another environmental campaigner, Maja in Sweden. She has three children. We also explore what happens when families disagree about the environment. And, we hear from an airline pilot, Rich, and his son, Finn, a climate activist. Can they find common ground?
22 Nov 23min
Navigating faith on the road
Canada is home to thousands of Sikh truck drivers, crossing North America in cabs that double as kitchens, bedrooms and places to pray. In a single week, some will see more of the continent than most people will in a lifetime, from major cities to mountain ranges and endless miles of road. But the road can be a hard place to practise faith built on family, community, and a vegetarian diet. Journeys can be long, food options limited, and drivers say discrimination is rising. Yet many choose to respond with acts of kindness, carrying their faith with them. Megan Lawton travels to Ontario to join Sikh truckers on the road. She stops at a local Gurdwara, where drivers reconnect with community, and come together to instill the values of their faith in their children.
21 Nov 26min
China’s global spending spree
China has been on a giant global shopping spree. Since 2000, Chinese state banks have fuelled investments and acquisitions at a surprisingly rate - some four times what was previously thought. Brand new data, shared exclusively with the BBC, reveals that many of Beijing’s state-backed spending has targeted rich countries. Such deals are strictly legal, though not always easy to trace. Observers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are alarmed at the potential for Beijing to dominate key technologies and turbo charge its technological might. Celia Hatton investigates the sometimes murky ways in which Chinese state money can be traced to sensitive industrial sectors. But she also discovers that shutting out Chinese influence is not easy or desirable.
18 Nov 26min
Fifty years since Franco: Spain, the valley and a troubled legacy
Fifty years after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, Spain continues to feel its way towards an accommodation between its once-warring factions. And nowhere in Spain is more emblematic of the lasting divisions provoked by the Spanish civil war than the place known for decades as El Valle de los Caidos – the Valley of the Fallen. Built partly with the forced labour of political prisoners, this is a monument that symbolised Franco’s Nationalist victory over Republican Spain. The Valley became a pilgrimage place for people who revered the dictator – especially after he was buried behind the basilica’s altar. But in the 21st century, the debate has been about the place of such a monument in modern Spain. And since 2018, Spain’s Socialist government has been determined to change the narrative. In 2019, the remains of Francisco Franco were removed. Then the site was renamed El Valle de Cuelgamuros. And just this year - after lengthy negotiations - the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Spain accepted the government’s plans to make the site, ‘a place of democratic memory’, rather than somewhere paying homage to the dictatorship.But it seems no one is happy. For Assignment, Esperanza Escribano and Linda Pressly explore the story, legacy and future of El Valle de Cuelgamuros.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
18 Nov 26min
'No justice, just kills’
On 19 November 2005, US Marines killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, many of them women and children. The incident led to the longest US war crimes investigation of the Iraq war. But in the end, no one went to prison. A four-year investigation by BBC Eye has uncovered footage, legal documents and marine testimonies that have never before been made public. Reporter Lara El Gibaly speaks to the forensic investigator and lawyers involved in the case, who are speaking out about what happened, and why those responsible for the deaths walked free. And she travels to Iraq to take this information to the survivors, Safa and Khalid, who have been searching for answers about the killing of their families for twenty years.
17 Nov 50min
