The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Since November 2000, humans have been living in space on the International Space Station (ISS). Although the ISS is a remarkable engineering achievement, human space exploration has proven dangerous and costly. There is no air, gravity or food, and water has to be recycled from sweat, stale breath and urine. As we return to the Moon and aim for Mars, some argue that space colonisation is also immoral, psychologically and socially damaging and unnecessarily expensive. Beatriz De La Pava talks to astronauts, anthropologists, scientists, doctors and philosophers to investigate if it is time to abandon the dream of human space travel and come back down to Earth.

Nuala McGovern talks to Kerry. She has muscular dystrophy and has been shielding, or isolating, at home in England since March. We also hear from Dr Joseph Varon, Chief of Critical Care at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He has been working without a break for 258 days. A photo of him cradling an elderly man on a Covid ward went viral this week. He explains the picture and shares his experiences of working non-stop due to the virus. Joe Biden has this week called on Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days as US president. Nuala also talks to two campaigners in the US who are sceptical of face coverings and other coronavirus restrictions.

Internet trolls are harassing and bullying people like never before. That’s according to research carried out in the UK which found abuse rising as the world spends more and more time online thanks to the Covid pandemic. But who are the people behind these often anonymous attacks? How do they get involved in persecuting people they don’t even know? And what can their victims do about it? British Journalist, Sali Hughes, has been a target herself. In this edition of Assignment, she sets out to discover how trolls justify their actions, and what motivates them. She speaks to other women who have suffered online abuse and hears about the devastating impact it can have. And, she goes face to face with one of her own former tormentors to make a sobering discovery: those provoking conflict in cyberspace include the most normal people in real life. Producer: Paul Grant(Image: Anonymous internet-user in a mask. Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty)