{"podcast":{"title":"The Documentary Podcast","slug":"the-documentary-podcast-487670","podcast_index_feed_id":487670,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0lx.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nq0lx","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0kxnkls.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":2000,"summary":"Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. The best of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service. From conflict in the Middle East to the advance of AI, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines. Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-24T10:20:39.856026+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-documentary-podcast-487670"},"episode":{"title":"The spirit of Tala: The rapid rise of Tonga's netball team","slug":"the-spirit-of-tala-the-rapid-rise-of-tonga-s-netball-team","published_at":"2026-07-23T00:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-documentary-podcast-487670/the-spirit-of-tala-the-rapid-rise-of-tonga-s-netball-team","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-documentary-podcast-487670","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0p00pqv","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0p0779b.mp3","summary":"In 2014, Tonga had no national netball team, coach, squad, or training facilities. Determined to change that, former television news anchor Salote Sisifa became CEO of Tonga Netball and promised the board that within five years she would build a team capable of competing internationally and reaching the world’s top 10 by 2025. If she failed, she would resign. Alongside, Head Coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson, Salote propelled Tonga from 42nd to seveth in the world rankings navigating national disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic, and restricted resources along the way. This episode of The Documentary Podcast examines Tonga’s extraordinary journey and how they have become a formidable force on the international stage. Their next milestone is their Commonwealth Games debut in 2026.","meta_description":"In 2014, Tonga had no national netball team, coach, squad, or training facilities. Determined to change that, former television news anchor Salote Sisifa…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1941,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-documentary-podcast-487670/episodes/the-spirit-of-tala-the-rapid-rise-of-tonga-s-netball-team/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-documentary-podcast-487670/the-spirit-of-tala-the-rapid-rise-of-tonga-s-netball-team.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}