The Documentary Podcast Folgen

In a remote corner of Northern Kenya, former Samburu warriors continue to rescue orphaned and abandoned baby elephants, even as drought has put on hold plans to release them back into the wild. Traditionally Samburu warriors are not only charged with protecting their community, but with caring for their livestock. Now they have turned their attention to raising elephants. At Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, they rescue baby elephants that have been injured, orphaned or abandoned. They look after them, rehabilitate them and release them back to the wild. It is transforming the way local communities relate to elephants, in a way that benefits both humans and animals. But drought has meant their rewilding programme has been put on hold until the rains come.

Ivo van Hove is the most sought-after theatre director in the world. We join him in Paris, London and Amsterdam, where he works on productions that are often maximal - big musicals, operas and dramas such as The Damned - but where he also loves to stage minimal intimate dramas, such as The Glass Menagerie or A Little Life. How does van Hove work? Why are actors of the calibre of James Norton and Isabel Huppert so willing to work with him? And what drives his relentless thirst to bring new experiences to the theatre audience?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knows that if he has any hope of victory in the war in his country he needs his international friends to keep backing him. Although the size of that task was pretty clear this week, in both the United States and Europe, when he returned largely empty handed - for now, at least. Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, says he remains up for the fight and talked confidently about ultimate success. It is now approaching two years of war in Ukraine. Despite both leaders talking of victory, the fighting and losses continue and neither side has been making much progress on the battlefield. In this edition, we hear conversations among Ukrainians. They talk about the emotional impact of the fighting but also how they are able to have plans despite the war. Three residents of Kyiv share their experiences, including Iryna, on how the approach of a second Christmas at war has affected her wedding plans to her British fiance. “When first he proposed I said yeah, we’re going to do it after the war, after we will win,” says Iryna. "But now it’s so long already and I feel like I just paused my life. So we decided to get married next year.” Host James Reynolds also hears from a woman whose brother was captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and brings together Ukrainians in the UK and Poland. A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team. (Photo: Iryna and her fiance Reese)