Not-so-golden weddings
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 December 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Gold prices have reached record highs this year, resulting in changes in buying habits, investment patterns and traditional customs. For the Fifth Floor, BBC language service journalists reflect on changing practices around gold in their regions and from the BBC's Delhi Bureau, Abhik Deb explains how sky-high prices are making a huge difference to Indian weddings, including his own.
Around a fifth of Guatemalans leave their home country to seek economic opportunity abroad, particularly in the USA. The money they send home offers vital support to the families they leave behind, but their earnings are also often used to build luxurious new houses in their hometowns. These homes, sometimes called 'remittance mansions', stand out from the traditional Guatemalan architecture all around them. For BBC Mundo, Atahualpa Amerise went to Guatemala to take a look.
This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.
Presented by Faranak Amidi.
Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.
(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:13.8 | You're listening The Fifth Floor. |
| 0:18.1 | The Fifth Floor, you know you, listen. |
| 0:20.0 | The Fifth Floor, Farnak, Amid, Isobat. The fifth floor is You're listening. This is the fifth floor |
| 0:23.2 | Farnak Amidi, Sobath. |
| 0:26.7 | This is the fifth floor |
| 0:28.5 | at the heart of global storytelling |
| 0:31.2 | with BBC journalists from all around the world. |
| 0:35.0 | I'm your host, Faranak Amidi. |
| 0:49.7 | Gold prices are high. I mean, really high. In October this year, they rose to about $4,000 U.S. dollars per ounce for the first time. As a reflection of uncertainty around the |
| 0:56.3 | globe, conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza plus numerous economic and social challenges. Many countries |
| 1:02.9 | are seeing changing behaviors as a result, not only amongst economists and central bankers, |
| 1:09.7 | but also ordinary citizens. |
| 1:12.4 | So here at the fifth floor, we asked our language service colleagues to reflect on the changes they've seen in their region. |
| 1:23.4 | I talk with the gold shop owners in Hong Kong. |
| 1:26.9 | They all told me that they have never seen this gold fever before. |
| 1:30.3 | In just one day, they have around 200 customers. |
| 1:35.3 | Traditionally, in Hong Kong society, gold can be seen as a symbol of wealth and lucky. |
| 1:43.3 | In the past, we always have an impression. |
| 1:47.3 | Only the elderly or middle-aged people love to buy gold. |
| 1:51.7 | But surprisingly, one shop owner told me that around 40% customers are young people. |
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