Why Is This City Moving? | DW Documentary
DW Documentary examines Kiruna, a Swedish mining town forced to relocate as the iron‑ore mine beneath it destabilizes the ground. More than a century of extraction has left the subsurface unsafe, prompting the municipal government to shift the city center three kilometres east. About 6,000 residents are slated to lose their homes, and the relocation is being accelerated by the discovery of Europe’s largest rare‑earth deposit, a material critical for batteries and wind turbines. Engineers have already lifted the iconic 1912 Kiruna Church and re‑erected it at the new site, but the rest of the historic neighbourhood is being demolished block by block. The expansion also cuts through traditional reindeer migration corridors, sparking protests from the indigenous Sami who rely on the land for their livelihood. The project highlights the tension between resource extraction for the green transition and social‑environmental costs, raising questions about how governments balance economic gain, cultural preservation, and climate‑friendly ambitions.
Our Memory - A Phenomenal Storage System | DW Documentary
DW’s documentary “Our Memory – A Phenomenal Storage System” examines how the brain records, stores and retrieves information, blending neuroscience, personal anecdotes and practical demonstrations. It explains that memories arise when neural activity triggers synaptic changes, creating a “memory trace”. Repetition,...
Luxury Yachts and Environmental Conflict - Damage, Protests and New Solutions | DW Documentary
The DW documentary spotlights the clash between opulent yachting and climate responsibility, following a retired executive’s new "eco" yacht while chronicling activist protests against the industry’s carbon footprint. It reveals that even the most advanced vessels still carry massive diesel...
Will AI Lead to the Death of the Internet? | DW Documentary
The DW documentary asks whether generative AI is killing the open internet, coining the term “slop” for the avalanche of click‑bait, deepfakes and machine‑generated media that now dominate social feeds. It traces how platforms such as Facebook and YouTube reward...
Far Right Extremism on Gaming Platforms | DW Documentary
The DW Documentary reveals how far‑right extremist groups exploit gaming platforms such as Steam, Twitch and Discord to spread Nazi imagery, recruit young players and normalize anti‑woke rhetoric. While the industry has broadened representation with diverse characters and storylines, it...
The Price of Iron Ore - Relocating an Entire City in Sweden | DW Documentary
The documentary follows the unprecedented relocation of Kiruna, a northern Swedish town built around the LKAB iron‑ore mine, as the underground deposit expands toward the city centre. Engineers are moving the historic wooden Kiruna Church 3 km on specially designed trailers,...
The Lure of St. Moritz - From Sleepy Mountain Village to Luxury Resort | DW Documentary
The documentary traces St. Moritz’s evolution from a modest alpine farming hamlet into a world‑renowned luxury resort. The turning point came with the 1888 Rhaetian Railway, which linked the remote Engadine valley to Europe, allowing affluent travelers to reach the once‑inaccessible...
Food Delivery – a System of Exploitation? | DW Documentary
The documentary examines how Germany’s booming food‑delivery market relies heavily on migrant couriers, primarily from India, who are caught in a cycle of debt and precarious employment. Recruiters lure students with promises of university placements, then charge hefty loans—often 20 lakhs rupees...
Reaching a Flow State | DW Documentary
The documentary explores the neuroscience of the "flow" state – a mental condition where performance feels effortless and time seems to warp. It explains that during flow, activity in the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s executive hub, drops, while regions tied...
Russia's Journalists and Their Fight for a Free Press | DW Documentary
The DW documentary spotlights the escalating battle Russian journalists face to preserve a free press as the state tightens its grip. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, more than a hundred media workers have been branded “foreign agents,”...
Axolotl - The Magical Healing Powers of a Salamander | DW Documentary
The DW documentary explores the axolotl, a neotenic salamander that lives exclusively in the dwindling waterways of Xochimilco, a historic chinampa district of Mexico City. Once revered as the embodiment of the Aztec god Xolotl, the creature now teeters on...
Trump's USA: Why Are Women's Rights Being Restricted? | DW Documentary
The DW documentary examines how the Trump administration’s alliance with Christian nationalist lawmakers has accelerated the restriction of women’s reproductive rights across the United States, especially after the 2022 Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. It highlights stark data: more than...
The Forgotten Conference that Ended the Cold War | DW Documentary
The DW documentary revisits the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, a summit that brought together 35 states from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Though often eclipsed by later events, the three‑day meeting...
Dangerous Apps - In the Web of Data Brokers | DW Documentary
The DW documentary uncovers a hidden market where billions of smartphone location points are harvested, packaged, and sold by data brokers. Journalists Ingo Dachwitz and Sebastian Meineck obtained sample datasets containing up to 10 billion GPS records, revealing that seemingly anonymous...
The Secret to Concentration - How to Increase Your Attention Span | DW Documentary
The documentary explores how concentration can be cultivated, examining neuroscience behind attention, the pursuit of flow, and practical strategies for extending focus in a world saturated with stimuli. Experts explain that the pre‑frontal cortex orchestrates planning and self‑control, releasing dopamine to...