The emerging field of non-fiction virtual reality (VR) is growing faster than ever, with new projects announced on an almost daily basis. 

Clouds Over Sidra, The Enemy and Assent are just a few of the immersive documentaries that have been produced around the idea of VR as an 'empathy machine', capable of making audiences better relate to the lives and stories of others.

This week's podcast looks at how the traditional documentary is being reinvented for virtual reality and 360-degree video, and the consequences of that – for the industry and the audience. 

Speaking at i-Docs 2016 last week, Mandy Rose, director of the University of the West of England’s Digital Cultures Research Centre, discussed the challenges of introducing 'presence' into storytelling.

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