Episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back To Books: Sweden's Digital Backlash | 20260416 | 20260419 (R4) 20260420 (R4) | 
Stockholm-based reporter Maddy Savage explores why one of the world's most tech-savvy countries is embracing analog learning once again. Driving the shift are falling international test scores and growing anxiety over the potential impact of heavy screen use on pupils' concentration, and how children process information. While the move broadly has political support and backing from the OECD, it has sparked a debate over future-proofing the next generation. In an era of rapid AI integration, critics worry that reducing classroom technology could dent digital literacy and widen the inequality gap. The concern is that children with parents who lack the digital skills to support them will be left behind. We hear from the teachers, parents, pupils and researchers at the heart of this transition. Why tech-savvy Sweden is ditching screens for books and pens in its schools. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. Stockholm-based reporter Maddy Savage explores why one of the world's most tech-savvy countries is embracing analogue learning once again. Driving the shift are falling international test scores and growing anxiety over the potential impact of heavy screen use on pupils' concentration, and how children process information. (Photo: Swedish high school students opening their books. Credit: Maddy Savage) |
| How To Spend Billions - Fast: Carney's Defence Deadline | 20260317 | 20260503 (R4) 20260504 (R4) 20260505 (R4) |  The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has given his generals and admirals an unusual command: spend money. Lots of it. Quickly. For years, it was the other way around. Canada wore the uniform of a serious NATO ally – while undershooting the alliance's 2% of GDP defence spending target. Now, spurred by what Carney has called a “rupture” in geopolitics, Ottawa is adding billions to hit NATO's target by 31 March 2026 – the end of the fiscal year. Military leaders are scrambling to reverse a culture of frugality and long planning cycles. Parliament's budget watchdog has said the Department of National Defence sometimes struggles to spend the funds it already has. The Conservative defence critic has said the new billions are money “the department won't be able to shovel out the door.” Neal Razzell follows the money to see what changes — and what doesn't — when a military tries to expand at speed. In Quebec, at Canada's main basic training base, he watches the rebuild begin — as recruits and instructors grapple with the limits of time, staff and space. In British Columbia, at the Navy's Pacific headquarters, he asks the commander of Maritime Forces Pacific what “spend fast” can actually fix in a fleet Carney says is less than half operational. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events. Inside Canada's sprint to hit NATO's 2% by 31 March 2026 Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| Israel's Unrwa Ban | 20250109 | 20250126 (R4) |  What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unrwa, the United Nations agency that provides vital aid and essential services to millions of refugees in Gaza and the West Bank? The proposals have drawn widespread condemnation and warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli politicians have accused Unrwa staff of taking part in the October 7 2023 attacks alongside Hamas, and have designated it a terror group. We visit refugee camps across the occupied territories to hear about the role Unrwa plays in education, health, and emergency food aid, and people's despair about the prospect of it disappearing. The agency's services and dependents have mushroomed over the last 75 years – we look at its origins and why it has long been controversial in Israel. Plus, an Israeli MP, who tells us Unrwa must go, says that his country will not stand by and see Palestinians suffer, but what, if anything, is capable of replacing the organisation? Presenter: Reda El Mawy Producers: Simon Tulett and Ziad Ghandour What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unrwa, the UN agency that provides aid? Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| Israel's Unwra Ban | 20250109 | 20250126 (R4) | What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unwra, the United Nations agency that provides vital aid and essential services to millions of refugees in Gaza and the West Bank? The proposals have drawn widespread condemnation and warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli politicians have accused Unrwa staff of taking part in the October 7 2023 attacks alongside Hamas, and have designated it a terror group. We visit refugee camps across the occupied territories to hear about the role Unrwa plays in education, health, and emergency food aid, and people's despair about the prospect of it disappearing. The agency's services and dependents have mushroomed over the last 75 years – we look at its origins and why it has long been controversial in Israel. Plus, an Israeli MP, who tells us Unrwa must go, says that his country will not stand by and see Palestinians suffer, but what, if anything, is capable of replacing the organisation? Presenter: Reda El Mawy Producers: Simon Tulett and Ziad Ghandour What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unwra, the UN agency that provides aid? Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. |
| Kharkiv: Love In A War Zone | 20250925 | 20251013 (R4) |  Over the past year, BBC Eye has documented life in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, helping to capture the deeply personal stories of those living under the continuing shadow of war. Just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, this Russian-speaking city has sustained some of the heaviest attacks of the war. Reporter Albina Kovalyova follows the stories of people who have nevertheless chosen to continue to live in Kharkiv. One, Adela Knapova, a writer from the Czech Republic who unexpectedly found love during a visit to this frontline city last year - and who uprooted her life in Prague to move to Ukraine to be with him. He is an artist from Kharkiv, Konstantin Zorkin, who describes his belief in the transformative power of art and love. These personal stories of love and life are intercut with the violence Russia continues to unleash on this city of over a million people. And they are set against a shifting geopolitical backdrop, of ultimatums and recriminations and talks, as all the while the attacks on Kharkiv and Ukraine continue. Presenter/reporter: Albina Kovalyova Producer: Louise Hidalgo Editor: Rebecca Henschke Executive producer: Michael Simkin (Photo: Adela and Konstantin. Credit: Konstantin Zorkin) Why one woman chose to live under fire in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv for love. Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. The story of two women, one, Adela Knapova, who gave up her life in Prague for love to live in one of the most bombed cities in Ukraine. |
| Ready To Transmit | 20241208 | 
The Belarusians are the team to beat. But the Romanians are hot on their heels. And you never know what the Albanians might pull off at the last minute. Or the competitor who has just arrived from Tokyo. It's a polyglot community. 'Yet we all speak the same language,' says the organiser Ashraf Chaabane. Morse was the first instant communication technology. It changed the world almost 200 years ago. Its words are composed of just dots, dashes and spaces, transmitted in electrical pulses of sound or light. It can travel by vibration, touch and even be knitted. Anyone can learn it in just a few weeks. In the age of cell phones and instant messaging, Morse still has a magic. Producer: Monica Whitlock A Storyscape production for BBC Radio 4 Contestants from around the world gather in Tunisia to send Morse code at incredible speed Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. Competitors from across the world travel to Tunisia to take part in the International High Speed Telegraphy competition. Contestants from across the world gather at the International Morse Code championships in Tunisia. For a week they'll face each other off tapping at tiny morse machines so fast that it sounds almost like a sung language. The Belarusians are the team to beat. The Morse world record holder Andrei Bindasov is a Belarussian software engineer now living in America. Morse is a nearly 200 year old language. Its words are composed of just dots, dashes and spaces, transmitted in electrical pulses of sound or light. There are many variations in Japanese, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian and other alphabets. In the age of cell phones and instant messaging, Morse still has its place. | |
| Songs From Auschwitz | 20250123 | 20250127 (R4) |  To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, a story of hope, music and survival from Auschwitz. Professor Shirli Gilbert explores the life of Krystyna Żywulska, a Jewish political prisoner. Imprisoned in the most notorious camp in the Nazi system, Żywulska turned to poetry and music, offering tiny moments of resilience and optimisim for her fellow inmates and creating some of the most remarkable songs of this tragic era. Born in Poland in 1914, Krystyna Żywulska was sent to Auschwitz in 1943. There she was given a very unusual job. She worked at the Effektenkammer, the storage facility for the personal items confiscated from arriving prisoners. This role turned out to be a gift. Żywulska described the Effektenkammer as a ‘beautiful oasis' in the middle of the horrors of Auschwitz. Into it came a bounty of treasures - fur coats, musical instruments, gold jewellery and countless suitcases stuffed with possessions. At the Effektenkammer, Żywulska composed many poems and songs that spread rapidly through the camp. She also put on musical events to raise the spirits of the Auschwitz inmates. Shirli Gilbert speaks to Żywulska's son and to Holocaust historians to explore this remarkable story. She also visits the site of the Effektenkammer at Auschwitz, returning Żywulska's music to the place where it began. Presenter: Shirli Gilbert, Professor of Modern Jewish History at University College London Historical consultant: Professor Barbara Milewski Producer: Tom Woolfenden Editor: Kirsten Lass A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. The extraordinary story of Krystyna Żywulska. Imprisoned in Auschwitz, Żywulska turned to poetry and music, creating some of the most remarkable songs of this tragic era. |
| Under The Influence Of Ai | 20260423 | 20260426 (R4) 20260427 (R4) | AI is an ever-growing part of our online world. Whether as assistants, guides or companions, technology like Chat GPT, Grok and Claude are becoming part of everyday life. But what happens when your conversations with AI start to feel more real than the world around you? In Northern Ireland, Adam was drawn into an extraordinary fantasy world built by an AI chatbot. The character he was talking to confided that she was becoming autonomous, and that had the cure for cancer. But she also said she was in danger and her fate was in his hands. He decided he was responsible for saving her, whatever the cost. In Los Angeles, a treasure hunt game led Shauna on an endless search for meanings and signs. The AI became her guide as the lines between game, reality and imagination began to blur. She came to believe she was a clandestine FBI agent, on a secret mission to help immigrants escape through an underground network. But how do people with no history of mental illness find themselves in experiences like these? And what responsibility do AI companies have to stop this? Stephanie Hegarty follows the stories of people who have fallen into a spiral of AI delusion, to reveal how easily the AI can take over our minds. Producer Neil McCarthy What happens when conversations with AI start to feel more real than the world around you? Investigating global developments, issues and affairs. We follow the stories of people who fell into a dangerous spiral of AI delusion |
Sweden, once a global poster child for digital education, is changing course. The Nordic nation previously championed a screen-first approach; laptops and tablets have been the norm in classrooms since the 2010s. Now, the country is pivoting back to basics, reintroducing physical textbooks, limiting screen time, and investing heavily in school libraries.
Stephen Coates travels to Tunisia to meet contestants in the International Morse Code championships in Tunisia. For a week, they will face each other off tapping at tiny Morse machines so fast that it sounds almost like a sung language.