Documentaries

Fifty-Fifty Vision
How has our rapidly changing world altered blind and partially sighted people's lives?
28 Jul 2024,28 mins
A Soft Day
Author Carlo Gebler shows how rain has saturated Ireland's poetry and shaped his identity.
23 Apr 2023,28 mins
London Calling
Aminatta Forna tells the extraordinary story of hard-living writer Jack London.
20 Nov 2014,30 mins
Ulster's Forgotten Darling
Fionola Meredith goes in search of medieval scholar, author and poet Helen Waddell.
19 Jul 2012,30 mins
Where Once Were Farms
Poet Casi Wyn travels to Cwrt-Y-Cadno, a Welsh village in the midst of uncertainty.
16 Apr 2023,28 mins
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Episode 6: Celebrating Life
Celebrity culture through the lens of Elizabeth Taylor.
18 Oct 2022,28 mins
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Join the Dots
1. The First Dot
Janet Ellis explores the dot. A simple word for a most significant mark
18 Sep 2017,14 mins
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Scotland's Ships
Michael Buchanan looks at the challenges faced by Scottish islanders who rely on ferries.
12 Jan 2023,28 mins
Jan Pieńkowski: Meg and Mog and Me
An exploration of the life and work of Jan Pieńkowski - the man who drew Meg and Mog.
28 Jan 2024,28 mins
Connections
Douglas Alexander examines whether recent crises have helped bring people together.
19 Apr 2022,37 mins
From Kabul to Manchester
Documentary following a group of Afghan families settling into new lives in Manchester.
09 Aug 2022,37 mins
Warsan Shire on a Nation of Poets
British-Somali poet Warsan Shire investigates and showcases Somalia's rich poetic life.
05 Jan 2023,28 mins
European Court Of Justice
Exploring the rules and decisions of The European Court of Justice
19 Aug 1983,26 mins
Beating the Detector
Anjana Ahuja examines the use of polygraphs, or lie detectors, on sex offenders.
31 Mar 2015,28 mins
Repainting Giverny
Irma Kurtz travels to Monet's Giverny garden to hear how losing his sight changed his work
27 Sep 2011,30 mins
Redeeming Ricky
Ex-offender Ricky has a deeply troubled past. And now he's set to help others like him.
02 Oct 2023,28 mins
Shoplifting
Exploring the changing nature of stealing from shops
01 Mar 1984,28 mins
Poison in the Womb
Kerry Hudson explores the effects of a drug activists are calling the 'silent thalidomide'
10 Mar 2023,28 mins
Rental Health
Rental Health: Solutions
Singapore
As the cost of rent continues to rise across the UK, Kirsty Lang looks for some solutions.
31 Mar 2023,14 mins
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Dr Seuss and the Butter Battles
The surprising political legacy of the much-loved children's author, Dr Seuss.
21 Jun 2011,30 mins
Perfect Pitch (From Choir Stalls to Cricket Balls)
Eleanor Oldroyd explores the unlikely connections between cricket and choral music.
15 Aug 2022,28 mins
Music of the Forest
Horatio Clare tells the story of the unconventional anthropologist Colin Turnbull.
26 Aug 2014,30 mins
South Africa: The Children of Paradise
Without hope, you're dead
30 years after South Africa's momentous changes what’s happened to the hope and promises?
18 Dec 2023,28 mins
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It's a Girl
Female Education in Kenya
What secondary education means to girls in Kenya.
25 Nov 2001,13 mins
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Living with AI
2021 Reith lecturer Stuart Russell on recent developments in artificial intelligence.
23 May 2023,28 mins
Secrets and Spies: The Untold Story of Edith Cavell
Stella Rimington uncovers startling new evidence about the executed British heroine.
16 Sep 2015,28 mins
Bonnie Bollywood: 25 years of Indian Film-making in Scotland
Ravi Sagoo joins a Bollywood set and charts 25 years of Indian cinema filming in Scotland.
02 Jun 2024,28 mins
Cyprus: Divided Memory, United Future?
Maria Margaronis explores the divided history of Cyprus, as a new settlement awaits.
06 May 2014,38 mins
The Cost of Economic War
Duncan Weldon examines the use of economic sanctions as a tool of statecraft.
10 Jun 2022,28 mins
Planks and a Passion
Libby Purves follows the story of the Bridge, London's ambitious new-built theatre.
17 Oct 2017,30 mins