The Documentary Podcast

When cities industrialise the rivers they were built around are first polluted, then turned into sewers and finally built over. It’s a pattern that’s repeated itself for 250 years from 18th century Paris to 21st century Manila. But across the world the fight is on to release and revive our urban rivers. They provide a cooling effect for overheated neighbourhoods, space for wildlife and a welcome place to swim or just dip your toes. Wild swimmer, rower and physicist, Helen Czerski meets the river lovers and the natural life that returns once the light is let back in.

What will the food of the future taste like? In Japan, we discover a fungus turning waste into a high-protein alternative to meat. Then we visit a bedroom where amateur scientists are growing chicken cells. And a restaurant with its very own cultured-meat laboratory upstairs. Could these ideas eventually change the way Japan - and the world - eats food?

Gianni Agnelli is the head of the family that controls Fiat, and the vast business empire beyond the carmaker that helped shape modern Italy. Charming, charismatic and powerful, he's regarded by many as Italy’s unofficial king, and his family de facto royalty. When he dies the country is plunged into mourning and fear for its economic future. But Gianni’s death also triggers an inheritance dispute that will shake his family to its core.

Why does artificial intelligence sometimes make things up? From law firms to consultants, businesses are grappling with the risks of AI hallucinations. What's causing them, and can they be prevented?
(Picture: Conceptual image of a large glowing pink holographic cube with "AI" text, positioned as a central hub within a vast, sparse crowd of silhouetted human figures.)

Catalina and Jorge were born on the same day - 14 June. They also share a surname and, at one point, attended neighbouring schools. But that is where the similarities end. They hold radically different political views in a country that has endured Latin America's longest running and most violent internal conflict.
Catalina, 36, was born in Bogotá. She is a right-wing influencer and a staunch admirer of former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe. Jorge, 42, was born in a guerrilla camp. He is the son of Mono Jojoy, one of the FARC's most senior commanders, and spent 16 years fighting in the jungle.Their paths crossed at a karaoke party. What follows is an unlikely love story across a deep political divide.