Religious tourism is a significant driver of economic activity in many parts of the world, with millions of people making pilgrimages and spiritual journeys each year.

The podcast episodes provided focus on two different aspects of religious tourism - the challenges of managing large-scale events like the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, and the potential for abuse and exploitation within certain religious institutions that have become tourist attractions.

The first episode Hajj: Why over 1,000 Muslim pilgrims have died examines the deadly toll of extreme heat on Muslim pilgrims during the Hajj, and how Saudi Arabia must balance religious traditions with evolving safety and climate change risks. The second episode Inside TB Joshua's church of horrors - a two year BBC investigation exposes allegations of systematic abuse and human rights violations at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria, which has become a major religious tourism site in West Africa.