The Documentary: Archive 2014

Forty years on from President Nixon’s resignation we hear from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate story. Did their reporting make Americans more mistrustful of government and ready to believe the worst of their leaders?

In Colombia’s Marxist guerrilla war, thousands of rebel fighters have been female. When they got pregnant, they were forced to have abortions or give their babies up. Now, many of these rebel mothers have demobilised and are desperate to find their children.

Tim Whewell meets the dynamic young women in Turkish Kurdistan who are defining the future of their society.

Theatre director Mehmet Ergen guides us through the politically charged arts scene of his native homeland Turkey, as he negotiates national and cultural borders to stage work that is as unpretentious as it is provocative.

‘I’ll marry your sister if you marry mine. And if you divorce my sister, I’ll divorce yours.’ That is Yemen’s ‘Shegar’, or swap marriage, an agreement between two men to marry each other’s sisters, thereby removing the need for expensive dowry payments. But the agreement also entails that if one marriage fails, the other couple must separate as well - even if they are happy.

***WARNING: This programme includes graphic descriptions of sexual violence*** 'A humanitarian crisis', that's how the medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers describes the levels of violence against women they are dealing with in Papua New Guinea - levels they usually only witness in war-zones. Russian photojournalist Vlad Sokhin reports on the untold stories of women subjected to the most extreme violence perpetrated anywhere on earth, including the brutal torture of women accused of witchcraft.

Six talented young writers under 35 explore a great grandparent or grandparent's involvement in World War One. This centenary offers a chance to reflect on the gulf that separates young people from the war. Each writer attempts to bridge the gap, to question what the values and sacrifices of the war mean today.

What do you do when a twisting funnel drops from the sky with tearing winds of up to 500 km an hour? Neal Razzell goes out and about with the storm chasers in Oklahoma City, USA.

As Nato troops withdraw from Afghanistan, British and Afghan women share their stories of being widowed by the same war. Zarghuna Kargar hears how the lives of four women changed the moment they received the news of their husbands' sudden deaths, how they have coped in the aftermath and what they feel about war today.

Following recent botched executions in several states, Rajini Vaidyanathan asks whether the future of the death penalty in the US is itself now in question. Is it possible that the United States could give up on the death penalty?

Claire Bolderson reports from Kentucky on how the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is changing lives. But can the doubters be won over?

In 1896 the British sent thousands of labourers from India to Kenya, to build the Uganda Railway from Mombasa on Kenya's coast to Lake Victoria in Uganda. During the '60s and '70s, facing uncertainty in an independent Kenya, many used their link with Britain to settle in the UK, causing alarm among the government and public. Neil Kanwal explores their experiences of empire, identity, discrimination and migration.

Ahead of sporting mega-events such as the Olympic Games, local people are being given a "clean-up" and training. For this summer's Commonwealth Games, 10,000 Glaswegians are getting tutoring how to speak 'properly', project positive body language and maintain eye contact whilst talking to visitors.

Fifty years ago, at the height of the Cold War and at the time of increasing tensions between East and West, Satish Kumar hit the headlines around the world when he walked 8000 miles from New Delhi to Moscow, then on to Paris, London and Washington DC, delivering packets of 'peace tea' to the leaders of the world's four nuclear powers.

Yalda Hakim hears from residents deep in Boko Haram territory, in northern Nigeria, who are caught between the Islamist militant group and the Nigerian military.

Sarfraz Manzoor charts the extraordinary story of jazz in India when some of the world's most accomplished musicians including Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong brought their talents to the east and mixed with performers such as Chic Chocolate, Micky Correa, Teddy Weatherford and Frank Fernand - all regarded in India today as jazz legends.

Meet New York's rookie cabbies - fledgling taxi-drivers trying to earn a living in the most stressful city in the world. Most are immigrants, already grappling with the challenges of a new language and a new culture. Now they have to deal with long hours, short fares, and grumpy passengers in the back.

Are international regulations designed to stop money and equipment reaching terrorist organisations curtailing vital aid programmes in some of the world's most troubled regions?

Baroness Oona King, former British Labour MP, discovers her American family's role in the fight for equality. Her grandfather and uncles worked with Martin Luther King in The Albany Movement, a campaign that tried to desegregate their home town in Georgia. Oona travelled to Albany to speak to members of the movement on the 50th anniversary of the passing of The Civil Rights Act.

Alvin Hall delves into the inspirations and fears that influence people’s differing attitudes towards money. He speaks to Peter de Savary who has bought hotels and boats, living around the world in luxury resorts that he’s owned, but says it’s not the money he craves. He finds out about the man who left $187 million to charity, and the men who pay serious cash to spend time with college-educated beauties.