The Compass

Surprising stories from unusual places. With ideas too big for a single episode, The Compass presents mini-series about the environment and politics, culture and society.

World Service,318 episodes

Episodes

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The Reclaimers
The reclaimers: Bronzes and Birmingham
The uncomfortable stories behind some of the objects exhibited in UK museums
13 Jul 2022,26 mins
Walking The Iron Curtain
Walking the Iron Curtain: Frozen frontiers
In some places the Iron Curtain never really went away. Mary-Ann Ochota reaches Finland
06 Jul 2022,26 mins
Walking The Iron Curtain
Walking the Iron Curtain: Booming Balkans
A shared love of nature is helping heal centuries of conflict and division in the Balkans
29 Jun 2022,26 mins
Walking The Iron Curtain
Walking the Iron Curtain: Wild lands reunited
Mary-Ann Ochota meets the people who reunified Germany through nature
22 Jun 2022,26 mins
Himalaya: The Human Story
Life on the line
The future of Ladakh amidst military unrest between India and China
15 Jun 2022,26 mins
Himalaya: The Human Story
Saving Asia’s water towers
Ed Douglas visits community projects looking to mitigate the impact of climate change
08 Jun 2022,26 mins
Himalaya: The Human Story
High lives
Ed Douglas reveals what life is like for those who live on the 'roof of the world'
01 Jun 2022,26 mins
Money, Money, Money
Money, money, money: Power
The global management of money and the pressures towards decentralisation
25 May 2022,26 mins
Money, Money, Money
Money, money, money: Psychology
Trust expert Rachel Botsman looks into the psychology and the morality of money
18 May 2022,26 mins
Money, Money, Money
Money, money, money: Value
Broadcaster and trust expert Rachel Botsman asks what is the value of money?
11 May 2022,26 mins
Money, Money, Money
Money, money, money: Trust
Should we put our faith in money? Trust expert Rachel Botsman investigates
04 May 2022,26 mins
Slick: The Story of Oil, Shell and Nigeria
Slick: 1. The great white hope
When Shell D’Arcy strikes black gold, there are celebrations on the Niger Delta creeks
06 Apr 2022,26 mins
Slick: The Story of Oil, Shell and Nigeria
Slick: 2. On trial
Ken Saro Wiwa and Ledum Mittee come face to face with the power of the Nigerian state
13 Apr 2022,26 mins
Slick: The Story of Oil, Shell and Nigeria
Slick: 3. Black creeks
How does oil pollution affect Ogoniland today?
20 Apr 2022,26 mins
Slick: The Story of Oil, Shell and Nigeria
Slick: 4. The oil thieves
We meet the people involved in Nigeria’s vast illegal oil business
27 Apr 2022,26 mins
Emotional Baggage
Emotional Baggage: June Angelides
Henrietta Bowden Jones talks totalks to June Angelides about how she set up Mums In Tech
30 Mar 2022,23 mins
Emotional Baggage
Emotional Baggage: Halima Begum
Civil rights campaigner Halima Begum on her formative experiences of racism
23 Mar 2022,23 mins
Emotional Baggage
Emotional Baggage: Maya Youssef
A musician's painful decision not to return to Damascus when Syria's civil war began
16 Mar 2022,26 mins
Emotional Baggage
Emotional Baggage: Dina Nayeri
The author of The Ungrateful Refugee on her experience of leaving Iran and seeking asylum
09 Mar 2022,26 mins
It’s a Bird’s World
It's a Bird's World: Noise pollution
How noise pollution impacts on birds' ability to learn to sing
02 Mar 2022,26 mins
It’s a Bird’s World
It’s a Bird's World: Viruses and infection
How water birds, poultry, jays and sage grouse have alerted us to the spread of diseases
23 Feb 2022,26 mins
It’s a Bird’s World
It's a Bird's World: Toxic substances
How the deaths of birds have alerted the world to serious environmental problems
16 Feb 2022,26 mins
It’s a Bird’s World
It’s a Bird’s World: Climate change
From seabirds to emperor penguins in Antarctica, climate change impacts all birds
09 Feb 2022,26 mins
Why We Play
Why We Play: Old age
We don’t have to stop playing as we reach old age, and we probably shouldn’t
02 Feb 2022,26 mins
Why We Play
Adulthood and the importance of play
What role does play have in our adult lives and how can it increase productivity at work?
26 Jan 2022,26 mins
Why We Play
Adolescence: Discovering identity through play
How video games help teenagers to navigate issues of anxiety, depression, and identity
19 Jan 2022,26 mins
Why We Play
Childhood: Exploring the world through play
How play is crucial to building our understanding of our surroundings, culture and self
12 Jan 2022,26 mins
My Arab Spring
Hope – Amal
What does the future hold for the countries of the Arab Spring?
05 Jan 2022,26 mins
My Arab Spring
Displacement - Tashreed
How the aftereffects of the Arab Spring led to a mass displacement of people
29 Dec 2021,26 mins
My Arab Spring
War - Harb
The Arab Spring and the wars that followed – from Libya to Yemen to Syria
22 Dec 2021,26 mins