The Documentary Podcast

The creator of France's 'Untouchables' houses

Laurent de Cherisey was fresh out of business school and looking forward to earning a lot of money when his sister had a car accident that left her severely disabled. This led him to rethink everything. Including finding faith. He founded what has become a string of houses where accident victims and non-accident victims live side by side. They’re called the Simon of Cyrene houses, named after the man Jesus chose to help him carry his cross. The project was financed in part by the box office receipts for the hit comedy 'Untouchable' at the request of the aristocratic tetraplegic accident victim whose story inspired the film. We talk to Laurent about his journey and to some Simon of Cyrene house-dwellers about what’s good about these places… why it works bringing together people of very different social classes, ethnic and religious backgrounds and, above all, very different physical and mental capacities. Producer/Presenter: John Laurenson Series Producer: Rajeev Gupta Editor: Chloe Walker Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

Tree of diplomacy

How has botany been able to function as one of the longest-lasting soft powers between the two world powers - China and the US? Journalist and producer Finn Aberdein has been focused on China for over two decades. He hears from policy analysts, supply chain diplomats and leading Chinese and US botanists working tirelessly to keep their boots on the ground trips operating. From the secretive walled-gardens of China’s communist elite, to the gingko picnic spaces of Bostonian college lawns, and ancient forest canopies of the Sichuan basin, a portrait emerges - one of a borderless community of plant specialists practising a special kind of soft power. How has the quiet work of botanists helped weather political storms?

The world's largest wildlife crossing

When it opens in December, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be the largest in the world. Stretched over a 10-lane freeway, it is meant to save the California Mountain Lion population, which has become fragmented by the highway. It could also serve as a model for other projects, as crossings of this kind have often been viewed as too large to be effective. So, will the crossing work? We examine the construction and the existing scientific data to find out.

Victoria Falls: An environment on the edge

The Victoria falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, is considered one of the natural wonders of the world. But as Isa Jacobson reports, there is concern that development around the waterfall could threaten the delicate ecosystem and exacerbate conflict between humans and wildlife.

Special forces on trial

South African police detective Frans Mathipa told his boss he feared that he would be killed by the country’s military. Two days later he was found shot dead in his car by the side of a motorway.At the time of his death, Mathipa had been investigating whether special forces soldiers were behind the disappearance of Abdella Abadigga, a suspected member of so-called Islamic State or ISIS, and his bodyguard. So was Mathipa killed, as his colleagues believe, because of fears about what his investigation threatened to reveal?Dino Mahtani and Yeshiel Panchia investigate an extraordinary case that sets one arm of the South African state against another.Presenter: Dino Mahtani Producer: Ed Main Executive editors: Nick Norman-Butler and Andy Bell Editor: Rebecca Henschke Studio manager: Sam DickinsonArchive: SABC and Facebook