BBC Sounds - The Compass - Available Episodes

The sacred song of war

The legacy of the great patriotic wars against Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte

• 26 mins
• 08 Mar 2023

Catherine the Great and the question of Europe

How Catherine the Great extended Russian influence south and west

• 26 mins
• 01 Mar 2023

The Invention of Russia: The empire strikes back

Misha Glenny looks at the development of Russia.

• 26 mins
• 22 Feb 2023

The invention of Russia: A tale of two Ivans

Misha Glenny on early Moscow before the Russian Empire

• 26 mins
• 15 Feb 2023

Sounds of the city: Tel Aviv

Peter White visits Tel Aviv and teams up with another blind person to explore the city

• 26 mins
• 11 Jan 2023

Sounds of the city: Los Angeles

Peter White, blind since birth, uses the sounds to guide him as he explores new places.

• 26 mins
• 04 Jan 2023

Bhopal: Part two

Keswani uncovers a web of nepotism as he tries to expose the dangers at the Bhopal plant

• 26 mins
• 28 Dec 2022

Bhopal: Part one

How Indian journalist Rajkumar Keswani foretold the 1984 industrial accident of Bhopal

• 26 mins
• 21 Dec 2022

How to be a former president: Part three

How former world leaders try to influence global politics

• 26 mins
• 14 Dec 2022

How to be a former president: Part two

How ex-world leaders work with international organisations

• 26 mins
• 07 Dec 2022

How to be a former president: Part one

How former presidents continue to influence our world - even after leaving office

• 26 mins
• 30 Nov 2022

Stories from the New Silk Road: Mexico

Sharing a border with the US, will Mexico ever join China’s Belt and Road initiative?

• 26 mins
• 23 Nov 2022

Stories from the New Silk Road: Jamaica

From mega-projects to medicine, who benefits from Jamaica’s relationship with China?

• 26 mins
• 16 Nov 2022

Stories from the New Silk Road: Panama

What impact has China’s Belt and Road initiative had on Panama five years on?

• 26 mins
• 09 Nov 2022

Stories from the New Silk Road: Ecuador

What impact is China’s Belt and Road initiative having on the people of Ecuador?

• 26 mins
• 02 Nov 2022

On the Border: Narva

Tim Marshall on Narva the only EU city to border the Russian Federation

• 26 mins
• 26 Oct 2022

On the Border: Kinshasa and Brazzaville

The story of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the only capitals straddling a border

• 26 mins
• 19 Oct 2022

On the Border: Niagara Falls

How the communities at either side of the Niagara Falls are shaped by the changing border

• 26 mins
• 12 Oct 2022

On the Border: Maastricht

What do borders mean in the city where the European Union was born?

• 26 mins
• 05 Oct 2022

Life in soil: Tasting the earth in France

How a healthy soil teeming with fungi and microbes can enhance the flavour of food

• 26 mins
• 28 Sep 2022