The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Autistic people have been thought to all lack empathy by both science and society for decades. But after receiving an extremely low empathy score as part of a recent autism assessment, science journalist Sue Nelson decided to confront these damaging stereotypes and question the experts who work in this area. Sue’s investigation reveals latest research shows the opposite of the commonly held stereotype. Instead of the majority of autistic people having low to no empathy, a trait commonly associated with psychopaths, many autistic people have been shown to have heightened empathy for others. Guests include Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a pioneer in the field who originated the EQ (Empathy Quotient) test widely used in autism assessments, and a team of autistic researchers investigating the newly recognised phenomenon of autistic ‘hyper-empathy’.

At the start of 2025, a chat appeared on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. It was named Are We Dating The Same Girl? At first only a few hundred people joined. Soon that was thousands, and its content went from details of young women’s dating history, to revenge porn - sexually explicit videos and images. BBC Trending traces the Telegram group’s origins back to Are We Dating the Same Guy? groups on Facebook. But how did they first come about? Why are they seen as an important safety tool for some and something that has ruined lives for others? And how did the idea spread to Telegram, with serious consequences?

Thirteen million Syrians - half the population - left their homes during their country's 13-year civil war. Seven million were internally displaced. Six million fled abroad. Bringing them home is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Syria's new rulers. But many can’t return, because their homes are in ruins, and jobs and essential services are lacking. Tim Whewell follows a variety of returnees back to Homs, Syria’s third city, which saw some of the worst destruction of the war. A private charity organises convoys of families wanting to return from camps in the north of the country. But once returnees like Fatima Hazzoura get back, they're left to cope on their own. Some who came back earlier have managed to repair their homes. But others find their houses are just empty, burnt-out shells. Meanwhile, some in Homs who stayed throughout the war - members of the Alawite minority, whose neighbourhoods remained intact - are thinking of leaving now, fearful that the new government of former Islamist rebels will not protect them. And Homs people who made new lives abroad are hesitant to return permanently while the situation is so unstable, and the economy still crippled by international sanctions. Can the fabric of an ancient and diverse city be rebuilt? Tim finds grief and fear among the ruins - but also laughter, and flashes of Homs's famous humour.