Conversations from a year in Gaza and Israel

In plain sight, in a modern city, a colleague offers to drive you home after work. How would you respond? One woman in Kazakhstan accepted the lift only to find herself kidnapped or ‘stolen’ as a bride. She got away, rescued by the police, but for many Kazakh women kidnap leads to marriage. Human Rights lawyer Khalida Azhigulova reckons that thousands of women are forced into marriage each year in Kazakhstan, including many who are abducted. Some women even find that a wedding has already been arranged by the time a kidnapper gets her home. Now, after 20 years of campaigning by Khalida and other activists, legislators have passed a law making forced marriage a crime. Monica Whitlock and Roza Kudabayeva travel to Kazakhstan to meet women who have been kidnapped. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

16 Dec 27min

Sean Allsop goes behind the scenes inside the legendary Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, where fabric and materials bring life to characters beloved around the world. Sean joins the team as they work on their famous franchise Fraggle Rock, a series which started in the mid-80s. They're currently creating human-size walk-about characters for a brand new live show. Creative supervisor Jason Weber and the team work through costume fitting, sculpting, and go through archives to make the perfect Fraggle down in Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

15 Dec 29min

One year after the fall of Syria's dictator, Bashar al-Assad, interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has undergone a significant image makeover. He's regularly seen playing basketball or pool on social media and his posts are amplified by a network of government-backed influencers. BBC Monitoring's Samia Hosny has been watching and reflects on what this PR campaign is saying – and what it isn't.  The special administrative region of Macau on the south coast of China is sometimes referred to as the Las Vegas of the East. The gaming hub attracts tourists from all over the world, as well as from mainland China and Taiwan. But amid the glitzy casinos and hotels, Macau has just opened its very first luxury resort hospital, in the hope of capitalising on the medical tourism industry. The BBC's Osmond Chia reports from Singapore. 17-year-old Janvi Jindal, from Punjab state in India, has recently achieved 5 Guinness World Records in freestyle skating. She was able to perform, amongst other things, thirty-two 360 degree rotations in 30 seconds – whilst balancing on her inline skates. BBC reporter Sarabjit Singh Dhaliwal went to meet Janvi and her parents. 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. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

13 Dec 26min

Donald Trump says Somali immigrants in the US should “go back to where they came from.” The President’s comments come after allegations of large-scale fraud in Minnesota's social assistance programme, implicating several Somali immigrants. Trump has repeatedly criticised the community saying he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States and that their country is “no good for a reason.” In our conversations we bring together three Somalis who have made their homes in Minnesota. We also bring together Somalis in Finland, Canada and the UK, and we hear from people in Somalia itself. Somalia’s recent history has been shaped by more than 30 years of civil war, so what is it like to live in the country today?

13 Dec 23min

Sex therapist Dr Rica Cruz is on a mission to destigmatise sex in the deeply Catholic Philippines. As a practising Catholic herself, she believes sex is a divine gift and should be intertwined with faith rather than in conflict. Using social media to advocate for this, she earned a strong following which led to her own TV programme, Private Convos with Doc Rica. But that show was banned by the country’s broadcast TV regulator, the MTRCB. Jay Behrouzi speaks with Dr Cruz about her fight for better sex education which she believes is the key to a safer society for women and girls. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

12 Dec 26min

In some places, the nearest safe operating room can be hours or even days away. We find out about a portable operating theatre called SurgiBox that fits in a backpack and inflates in minutes, creating a safe surgical environment for operations almost anywhere. We meet the co-founder of the start-up behind it and see it put to the test, and speak to a surgeon who has used it to save lives far from a hospital. We also hear from Field Ready, whose engineers in Syria are using 3D printing to bring broken hospital equipment back to life, and we hear about Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms — grassroots command centres where volunteers coordinate life-saving help and vital information in the midst of war.

11 Dec 23min

Two years ago a group of Jewish and Palestinian peace activists stood almost alone in Israel in calling for a ceasefire, as Israel launched a massive offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of 7th October 2023. Emily Wither returns to hear how the lives of these activists have changed. She explores whether their message of peace and coexistence is breaking through at a time when societal divisions are deeper than ever.The group Standing Together, known for their matching purple t-shirts, is a group of Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel (referred to by the state as Israeli Arabs, the country’s largest minority making up over 20% of the population).It is unusual in either Israel or Palestine to find a mixed group working together for a shared cause and advocating for coexistence. Standing Together has received criticism from both sides of the conflict; with many Israelis calling them traitors and some Palestinian groups calling for a boycott of the movement. Despite all this the group say the only way to achieve a lasting peace is for the communities to work together.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

9 Dec 29min

From a quiet forest outside Stockholm to the world’s most glamorous runways, Swedish designer Anna-Karin Karlsson has built one of fashion’s most distinctive eyewear brands. Her bold, sculptural glasses and sunglasses are worn by Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Madonna and Elton John – yet their inspiration comes from a quiet life surrounded by trees and animals. Cultural journalist Anna Åkerlund steps inside Karlsson’s world. We discover how the designer blends fantasy with craftsmanship, and challenges the conventions of both global luxury brands and Swedish restraint.

8 Dec 29min