The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Since humans have been on earth, the night sky has caused many to gaze upwards, open-mouthed in astonishment. Beyond its beauty, it has facilitated both the development and advancement of human and animal life on Earth. Celestial navigation guided humans across the seas, forming new trade routes and civilisations. The constellations also signalled when winter or summer was approaching so people would know when to sow their crops. But for decades, the night sky has been changing dramatically. Thousands of satellites now blink in amongst the stars and planets, doubling in number in the past few years largely due to the existence of companies like SpaceX. As objects continue to be launched into space with sparse environmental regulations in place, astro-photographer Monika Deviat asks: what do we stand to lose?

In the city of Goma, former child soldiers are being rehabilitated using capoeira, the Brazilian martial art. Since the start of the conflict in 1996 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, child soldiers have been recruited to fight. After they are demobilised from armed groups, many suffer from mental health disorders like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The demobilised child soldiers are housed in transit centres while they wait to be reunited with their families. While they wait, Social Capoeira is one of the therapies offered to them. It is a form of capoeira where the fighting is non-contact and dialogue, and wellbeing are prioritised. Congolese journalist Ruth Omar explores the impact of this unique approach.

The people of Valencia are still trying to come to terms with the events of 29 October - in a matter of hours, the Spanish city was hit by flash floods, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. But, as news of the floods began circulating on social media, so did rumours about the supposed causes behind the torrential rain. “This is not normal weather”, suggested one tweet seen more than a million times, “This is weather warfare manipulated by HAARP.” Claims that the weather is being manipulated through the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an atmospheric research programme first developed by the US military, are not new. And yet, as many extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, these lies appear to be finding new audiences. So, what is the truth about HAARP?