Poland under new management | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Poland may have succeeded in voting out a right-wing populist government, but have the country’s divisions improved? From the exclusion of LGBT+ people to bans on abortion and the firing of journalists critical of the government – eight years of rule by the Law and Justice party saw Poland drifting ever further…

When heat kills – The effects of climate change on workers | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius. Normal, and sometimes fatal for construction site laborers in Qatar. It’s thought some 400 million workers around the world are suffering in the increasing heat. Climate change is exacerbating social inequality everywhere. Whether it’s construction workers in the Middle East, parcel delivery drivers in the…

Pyramids, dark matter & the Big Bang theory – What’s holding our universe together? | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Without elementary particles, there’d be no X-Ray machines, no Internet and no electricity. Because some elementary particles penetrate matter without destroying it, they’re a boon for scientific and medical applications. But have all the elementary particles been discovered? Researchers are endeavoring to answer that question. They’re decoding the protein structure of viruses…

Can algae save the world? | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Using algae to solve humanity’s most pressing problems – that’s the ambitious aim of a team of researchers from Germany. After all, algae are posessed of staggering superpowers: for example, the ability to bind CO2. Algae can also be used to make plastic substitutes and even medication. For a research project called…

Turkey one year after the earthquake | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Turkey was hit by a major earthquake a year ago, hundreds of thousands were made homeless. The reconstruction process is sluggish. Ruined cities – and disappointed hopes. A year after devastating earthquakes in southeastern Turkey, hundreds of thousands of people in the region are still holding out in temporary shelters. President Erdoğan…

Ecuador – A country fights exploitation by China | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Ecuador is a country with pristine nature, lots of natural resources – and a corrupt government. The film follows Paúl Jarrín and his resistance group, who are fighting against the exploitation of his homeland, accompanied by the journalist Fernando Villavicencio. During the tenure of President Rafael Correa, Ecuador became massively indebted to…

Barbie: The world’s greatest influencer? | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. She’s available in all skin colors, she’s diverse and inclusive. Created by businesswoman Ruth Handler, unveiled in New York in 1959, Barbie’s long been a money-maker. With millions of followers on Instagram, she’s now an influencer, too. The documentary dives into the world of Barbie content creators, meets the most famous collector…

Racism in medicine | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. More than a quarter of the population of Germany has a migrant background. Many report that they have received substandard care from doctors and hospitals. Is the healthcare system afflicted by racism? This documentary hears from people who’ve been turned away or received inadequate care in a medical emergency; from midwives who…

War in Ukraine | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out attack on Ukraine. This was a drastic escalation of a conflict that had been simmering for decades. Was war the inevitable result of Kyiv’s 2013 Maidan protests? The documentary looks at how this war came about and why it was not…

Slovak porters – The last in Europe | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Delivery service in the world’s smallest high mountain range is still done the traditional way. In the Alps and other European mountains, porters have long been replaced by helicopters and cable cars. But not in the High Tatras of Slovakia. When loaded, the wooden carrying frames used by the so-called ‘Tatra Sherpas’…

Stories of survival in Sudan | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. A journey into a forgotten conflict. Ten million people have been displaced by the civil war in Sudan, more than in any other crisis worldwide. Of Sudan’s internally displaced persons, a quarter of a million have found refuge in the Nuba Mountains, in the South of the country. The area is difficult…

China’s grab for the UN‘s Food and Agriculture Organization | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. China has headed the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) since 2019. During this time, the country has restructured the organization’s personnel. Critics complain that China is advancing its own interests, using the UN’s largest specialized agency. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), headquartered in Rome, is responsible for food and agriculture…

Cryptocurrencies – The future of money? | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. For some, cryptocurrencies are a dangerous bubble. For others, they represent the future of money. But what are the actual uses – and risks — of cryptocurrencies? This documentary explores how crypto is altering global financial architecture. Since its inception, Bitcoin has evolved into a digital global currency that is challenging the…

Scrapping ships in Bangladesh | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. An ecological disaster: The ship graveyard of Chittagong in Bangladesh harms both people and the environment. After reaching the end of their service lives, most large ships from around the world are broken up along the coasts of South Asia. Chittagong in Bangladesh is home to the world’s second-largest ship breaking yard.…

Does Bitcoin make you rich? | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. European conquistadors once came to Latin America to rob the indigenous population of its gold. Today, people from the global North are coming again. This time, they claim to be bringing gold with them. Digital gold, that is. Namely, Bitcoin. While here in Europe, cryptocurrency is perceived by many as a speculative…

Behind Asia’s cyber slavery | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. They scam unsuspecting victims all across the world — but they are victims themselves. Thousands of people are trafficked worldwide into Myanmar’s war-torn east, where they are forced to trick people in Europe, the US, and China into scam schemes. At KK Park, one of the most notorious facilities, those who refuse…

Sinti and the Holocaust | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Carmen Melanie Spitta is keeping the memory of her family alive, remembering other Romani people who were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. When the Nazis came to power in Germany about 90 years ago, their hatred and racism was primarily directed at Jewish people. Six million Jews fell victim to this…

Transylvania – The heart of Romania | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. Transylvania has a lot to offer: beautiful cities, endless forests, fascinating traditions. All of these are cultivated with great dedication by the people of the region. Dumitru Pop, for example, works at the "funniest cemetery in the world”. His mission: to change people’s view of death. He carves and paints wooden crosses…

Mayotte – An island on the edge | DW Documentary

From DW Documentary. France’s overseas territory Mayotte is in a deep crisis. Can inhabitants like Wadaanti fulfil their dreams and leave precarious housing to study? Geographically, the island of Mayotte is part of the Comoros archipelago, situated northwest of Madagascar. Yet politically, Mayotte is part of France and therefore a territory of the EU. A…