The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Iranian-born artist and former Paralympian, Mohammad Barrangi, creates intricate, dreamlike worlds where myth and reality collide. His bold, layered works, murals, prints, and 3D sculptures, fuse Persian aesthetics, ancient symbols, and surreal hybrid creatures, often blending women and animals into fantastical forms. Born without the use of his left arm, Barrangi has developed a distinctive printmaking technique, working on the floor and stabilizing his materials with his feet. For his latest project, The Last Rain in Wonderland, Barrangi shifts his focus to the global climate crisis, weaving the stories of displaced communities and endangered animals in southern Iran into his visually striking work. Sahar Zand follows Barrangi’s journey as he prepares for a major exhibition at Nottingham Exchange. Through vivid imagery and intricate textures, his work becomes a reflection on migration, memory, and fragile landscapes.

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. We look at “ripe for russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago, Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East, and the Kremlin’s challenges in subjugating parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. As time passes, the uncertainty over the future of what Ukraine calls “temporarily occupied territories” grows bigger.

In December 2024, rebel forces took control in Syria, and former President  Bashar al-Assad fled the country. What's happened since? Salma Khattab from BBC Arabic has just come back from Syria and she'll share what she's seen on the ground.Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Alice Gioia, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)