Correspondent Nick Haslam reported on a whale hunt in the Faroes for FooC (Image: Sue Dobson)

For over 50 years, From Our Own Correspondent (FooC) has been one of BBC Radio's flagship programmes.

Every week correspondents from around the world report on the stories behind the headlines, often bringing a personal perspective to them.

Catharsis

There are few countries and subjects which have not featured on the programme - places as diverse as the Faroes, Moldova in eastern Europe, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and one of Africa's smallest countries - Sao Tome and Principe.

Correspondents have always enjoyed writing for FooC, as they call it, because after a busy day in the field covering a big news story, it can often be cathartic for the correspondent to sit down, compose his or her thoughts, and start writing.

Adding some colour

So many of the outlets they work for demand little more than writing to television pictures or covering the day's events in one report of perhaps only a minute's duration.

In From Our Own Correspondent, the reporter can tell us so much more: a bit of context, some relevant history, one or two of the characters encountered en route, some description of a foreign country or capital.

Expect the unexpected

This is a programme where the correspondents will often relate the unexpected: the day they visited the town that is crazy about trout fishing, attended a 40-course Chinese banquet, or swam with sharks, experienced zero gravity on a flight with Russian cosmonauts, went mud wrestling in Turkey or ballroom dancing in Cameroon.

For more information please check our Frequently Asked Questions page

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