Imprisoned in ‘The Spiral’

How do you film inside a high-security detention centre without permission, and when you’re not even in the same country? Karenina Velandia of BBC Mundo tells us how, with the help of an artist, she was able to recreate life inside El Helicoide in Caracas.

A trip to the chaikhana
There used to be a chaikhana or tea-house on the corner of every Afghan street. In cities today, they're being displaced by coffee shops. But BBC Pashto's Auliya Atrafi has a soft spot for the traditional chaikhana, where people can chat and watch the world go by.

Iran Revolution: I was there
The 1979 revolution is remembered by colleagues from BBC Persian and BBC Monitoring: schoolboys shouting slogans, Tehran protests, and Iranians taking to rooftops to see if Ayatollah Khomeini's face really had appeared on the moon.

Russian sex and politics
Yacht parties with Russian oligarchs, and hints about recordings linking Russia to the US elections: BBC Russian's Nataliya Zotova interviewed the woman at the heart of the story keeping Russian audiences gripped, Nastya Rybka.

My Home Town: Dar es Salaam
We jump over the school wall to go dancing with BBC Swahili's Zuhura Yunus in her home town, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Lev Tahor in Guatemala
Lev Tahor is an Orthodox Jewish sect based in Guatemala. They are a controversial group, with members accused of kidnapping their own relatives. Ana Gabriela Rojas of BBC Mundo got exclusive access to a member of this secretive sect.

(Photo: El Helicoide in Caracas. Credit: Archivo Fotografia Urbana/Proyecto Helicoide)