The Documentary Podcast

Poetry about love between a man and a woman was banned by the Taliban in September 2025. For many Afghans, poetry is something which is very much a part of everyday life and has often been passed down in the oral, folk-law tradition. It weaves in and out of conversation effortlessly and is an important way of connecting with one another. In this episode of The Fifth Floor, we discuss one of the most venerated female love poets in Afghan culture – Rabia Balkhi. Rabia wrote her poetry in the 10th century, and the story goes that she fell in love with her brother's servant. When her love poetry for him was discovered, she was imprisoned, but even as she lay dying, she continued to write her poems in her own blood. Her determination to express her true feelings makes her a symbol of inspiration to people, and especially women, in Afghanistan today. We are joined by three BBC Afghan journalists Shekiba Habib, Aalia Farzan and Abdullah Shadan to tell us more about Rabia Balkhi’s story and Afghanistan’s love for poetry. 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 Hannah Dean, Laura Thomas and Caroline Ferguson. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

The first crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) 25 years ago. Since then, almost three hundred people from some 20 nations have visited the orbiting laboratory. If you were born after November 2000, for your entire life, there has always been someone living in space.In our conversations astronauts Tim Peake and Nicole Stott share their experiences of life on the ISS.“It felt like I was coming to a second home when I got there, almost immediately,” Nicole tells us. “Floating and flying and having that extraordinary view out of the window, it’s like nothing else.”Nasa’s latest venture, Artemis II, is due for launch in the next few months. The ten-day mission will carry four astronauts further than any human has gone before, in a loop far beyond the Moon. It’s the latest stage of the US-led plan to eventually land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.To discuss the future of space exploration, we bring together astronaut Mike Massimino, he’s flown to space twice and starred (as an astronaut) in The Big Bang Theory. We also hear from former Nasa researcher and AI expert, Kiri Wagstaff, and Les Johnson, he was a senior engineer at Nasa and is now the CEO of Infinite Frontiers Consulting.Presenter: Luke Jones

The first crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) 25 years ago. Since then, almost 300 people from some 20 nations have visited the orbiting laboratory. If you were born after November 2000, for your entire life, there has always been someone living in space. Astronauts Tim Peake and Nicole Stott share their experiences of living on the ISS. Nasa’s latest venture, Artemis II, is due for launch in the next few months. The ten-day mission will carry four astronauts further than any human has gone before, in a loop far beyond the Moon. It’s the latest stage of the US-led plan to eventually land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. We bring together astronaut Mike Massimino, who has flown to space twice and starred (as an astronaut) in The Big Bang Theory. We also hear from former Nasa researcher and AI expert, Kiri Wagstaff, and Les Johnson, former senior engineer at Nasa and now the CEO of Infinite Frontiers Consulting. This edition of The Documentary is from BBC OS Conversations, where we bring people together to share their experiences of major events and news stories.

Born into a Bosnian Muslim family, Salih Hardaga grew up knowing that his family had done a very courageous thing. During the Nazi occupation of Sarajevo, his parents, Mustafa and Zeinaba, sheltered their Jewish friends, the Kabiljos, even though their home stood opposite a Nazi headquarters. After World War Two, the Kabiljos moved to Israel, but the families kept in touch - and in the early 1990s, the tables were turned. When war broke out in the former Yugoslavia in 1992, the Kabiljos were horrified to see that their former hometown of Sarajevo came under siege. They decided to try to rescue their old friends. Alex Strangwayes-Booth tells the story of the two families, meeting Salih Hardaga, now in his 80s and hearing his memories of his parents’ brave actions. She finds out how the Kabiljo family in Israel enlisted the help of the authorities to rescue Salih’s mother, husband and daughter from the Siege of Sarajevo. And Alex meets younger members of the Hardaga family who lived through the events, and reflects on the offer of rescue they received. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from Heart and Soul, exploring personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

Ballet, a centuries-old form of European dance, is flourishing in one of Africa’s largest informal settlements. In Kibera, Kenya, we follow aspiring young dancers as they prepare for their biggest performance yet. Amid the pirouettes, jumps and lifts, Carolyne Kiambo discovers how ballet is helping these young Kenyans beyond the stage.