Rapping behind bars in Cameroon

Rapping behind bars in Cameroon

Author: BBC World Service August 8, 2026 Duration: 26:37

New Bell Prison in Douala, Cameroon, operates a bit like a city within a city. The facility has its own "taxis" (inmates who hand deliver messages), its own law enforcement (prisoners who help police the facility) and a market. The jail is overcrowded and under-resourced, and the occupants of New Bell have sometimes adapted the jail's overstretched systems to work for them. An on-site music studio and label, Jail Time Records, has also sprung up and found an international audience. Wedaeli Chibelushi, journalist for BBC World Online, Africa, tells the stories of some of the inmates involved.

 In Egypt, Christians are a substantial minority, making up 10 to 15% of the population, but they're not always represented fairly in employment and public life. This month, the case of 13-year-old Makary Younan, who despite his talent was initially passed over for selection by a major Egyptian football academy, has led to a public debate over anti-Christian discrimination. BBC Arabic's Ahmed Omar has the story.

 Wang Jibing, a Chinese food delivery rider in his fifties, has found a huge online following with reflective poems capturing his daily life and routines. Now, he's won one of China's top literary prizes. After growing up poor and doing many different jobs, Wang became a food delivery rider 2019. He often scribbles poems on scraps of paper between deliveries, but the prize he's won is named after poet Lu Xun, seen by many as the father of Chinese literature. Koh Ewe from the BBC's Hong Kong Bureau explains why so many Chinese people have taken him to their hearts.

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 Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)


From the BBC World Service comes The Documentary Podcast, a series dedicated to immersive audio storytelling that explores the intricate layers of our global society. This isn't about quick news summaries; it's about settling in for a deep, thoughtful listen that brings you directly to the source. Each episode is built around the voices and experiences of people living the stories we often only see in headlines. You might find yourself on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, examining the far-reaching implications of China's overseas investments, or standing with communities on the front lines of the climate emergency. The production takes you into the minds of creative thinkers and follows profound personal journeys, all crafted with the BBC's renowned journalistic depth. For anyone with a curious mind looking to uncover hidden truths and make better sense of our complex world, this podcast offers a vital, human-centered perspective. It represents the best of documentary storytelling, where every narrative is an opportunity to listen, learn, and connect to the wider human experience far beyond the daily news cycle.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Documentary Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Woman Who Saved Me on 9/11 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:37
On 11 September, 2001, Paul Carris was working on the 71st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. When the building was struck, he joined the evacuation and came across a colleague, Judith Toppin, who was st…
Turkey's growing sinkhole problem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:37
There are over 730 sinkholes in central Turkey, and their numbers are surging, threatening farmers’ livelihoods and the country’s food supply chain. These sinkholes occur suddenly when the soil collapses, forming a gapin…
The pictures that help and heal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:07
Myra Anubi looks at two solutions that harness the power of pictures to help disabled people. Books Beyond Words is a UK charity that publishes books with no words, just big pictures on every page. They are made for peop…
Ukraine: Fighting Russia, fighting Russian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:39
Russian is the first language of millions of Ukrainians, including many of the country’s frontline troops. But it is also the language of their enemy. Its public use is increasingly restricted by law, with ever more meas…
Who's afraid of the AI job-snatchers? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:37
There is a general fear that artificial intelligence could make huge swathes of workers redundant, but are those fears unjustified? Rob Young asks what history can tell us about big technological leaps and how they chang…
Getting the homeless homed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:41
We visit two projects exploring practical responses to homelessness and housing insecurity. Presenter Myra Anubi travels to Edinburgh to see the work of Social Bite, a charity creating small communities of prefabricated…
Ukraine's 'hell jumpers' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:11
The rescuers who dodge drones and bombs to evacuate from frontline areas in Ukraine, known as the “kill zone”. More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, thousands of civilians still live dangerously close…
Nepal floods: 'It was like a tsunami' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:40
Survivors of the floods in Nepal share their experiences of escape from the torrent of water that swept through valleys in the Himalayas, killing at least 1.300 people. “For me that river valley was where I built my drea…
Fred Hammond [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:37
Fred Hammond is one of the biggest names in Gospel music, with 15 Grammy awards, and a career that spans over 40 years, from playing bass in The Winans to more recently his Tiny Desk Concert. His songs are loved by Chris…
A23a: Biography of an iceberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:08
Forty years ago, an iceberg broke away from the Antarctic ice shelf. But this was no ordinary iceberg. A colossal chunk of ice which covered an area twice the size of London, it was as deep as the Empire State building i…