The Radio 3 Documentary Podcast
In-depth documentaries which explore a different aspect of history, science, philosophy, film, visual arts and literature. The Sunday Feature is broadcast every Sunday at 6.45pm on BBC Radio 3.
Episodes to download
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The Other Iran
Fri 6 Sep 2019
Mahan Esfahani visits Azerbaijan to explore the effect of a border on musical cultures.
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A Portrait of Val Wilmer
Wed 4 Sep 2019
Val Wilmer has become a world figure in African-American musical culture.What drives her?
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Cold War in Full Swing - Louis Armstrong in the GDR
Sun 14 Jul 2019
Kevin Le Gendre discovers how Louis Armstrong came to play jazz in communist East Germany
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Sir Isaac Newton and the Philosopher's Stone
Sun 30 Jun 2019
Dafydd Mills Daniel investigates Isaac Newton's more obscure studies in Alchemy.
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A Unicorn Quest
Thu 27 Jun 2019
Hetta Howes sets off to find the unicorn of myth in 21st century Britain.
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Literary Pursuits: Lord of the Flies
Sun 2 Jun 2019
Golding's classic novel was saved from being rejected by Faber by the luckiest chance.
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Robinson Crusoe Road-Trip
Sun 26 May 2019
300 years since Robinson Crusoe was published, Emma Smith traces it across the centuries
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Alexander Korda: Producer, Director, Exile, Spy
Sun 19 May 2019
Matthew Sweet unearths the film-maker Alexander Korda's wartime role as a British agent.
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WATERLOG
Sun 12 May 2019
Wild swimming enthusiast Alice Roberts examines the legacy of Waterlog by Roger Deakin.
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John Ashbery - Portrait in a Convex Mirror
Sun 5 May 2019
Colm Toibin presents an intimate portrait of the American poet John Ashbery
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Hotel Genius
Fri 26 Apr 2019
Sally Marlow uncovers the creative legacy of residents at the Institute for Advanced Study
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The Deluxe Edition
Sun 24 Mar 2019
Dr Seán Williams takes a first class trip through the enduring contradictions of luxury.
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A History of the Tongue
Mon 11 Feb 2019
A succulent & mouth watering portrait of one of the least talked about organs of the body.
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Literary Pursuits: Victor Hugo's Les Miserables
Sun 30 Dec 2018
Sarah Dillon explores the stories behind how great works of literature were written.
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Sunday Feature: Into the Forest - The Pine Tree
Sun 23 Dec 2018
The magical story of the tree that sits at the heart of Christmas day - the Pine tree.
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Harlem on Fire
Sun 25 Nov 2018
Afua Hirsch goes on the search of a long-lost masterpiece from the Harlem Renaissance
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The Kristapurana
Sun 18 Nov 2018
Amazing travels of the first Englishman in India & a hunt for a lost poetic masterpiece.
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Sunday Feature: New Generation Thinkers
Sun 4 Nov 2018
Two features by R3 New Generation Thinkers. Dr Simon Beard and Dr Islam Issa
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Sunday Feature: New Generation Thinkers Hetta Howes and Eleanor Lybeck
Sun 28 Oct 2018
Two Features by R3 New Generation Thinkers Hetta Howes and Eleanor Lybeck.
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Inside Stories
Mon 22 Oct 2018
Author Carlo Gebler on the role of prison arts in punishment and rehabilitation
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Forests of The Imagination
Mon 15 Oct 2018
Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough searches the Autumn forest, looking for stories.
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Sunday Feature: A Life in Study: Robert Lowell
Mon 24 Sep 2018
Colm Toibin profiles the turbulent and brilliant life of American poet Robert Lowell.
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Ken Campbell As Never Heard Before
Sun 9 Sep 2018
Actors Jim Broadbent, Toby Jones and Sylvester McCoy join David Bramwell to celebrate Ken
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Monteverdi's Women
Mon 13 Aug 2018
Catherine Fletcher explores Monterverdi's pioneering use of female roles and performers
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The Killers
Thu 9 Aug 2018
Adam Smith traces the birth and afterlife of Hemingway's explosive short story.
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v. is for Tony
Tue 7 Aug 2018
To mark Tony Harrison's 80th birthday, Paul Farley profiles the unique poet. (R)
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I Know an Island - RM Lockley
Mon 6 Aug 2018
Jon Gower uncovers the work of the pioneering naturalist RM Lockley.
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In Search of Yves Klein
Mon 16 Jul 2018
Liliane Lijn explores the work of postwar French artist Yves Klein.
