Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe making of the Third Man: A film noir classic
In 1948, filming began on a post-war thriller that would become one of the greatest British movies of all time.
Directed by Sir Carol Reed, the film c…
6 months, 1 week ago
Washington DC’s Mount Pleasant riot
In May 1991, a female police officer shot and wounded a young immigrant from El Salvador in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood in Washington DC in the …
6 months, 1 week ago
Creating CAPTCHA
In 2000, as the internet expanded, websites faced a growing challenge to stop spam bots from flooding their systems.
To separate humans from machines,…
6 months, 1 week ago
The creation of the International Criminal Court
In 1998, at a conference organised by the United Nations, a blueprint was devised for what would be the world's first permanent International Crimina…
6 months, 1 week ago
Geneva Conventions
In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the Battle of Solferino, in Italy.
He couldn’t believe the lack of aid for the wounded soldiers and…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
The rise and fall of BlackBerry
In the early 2000s, BlackBerry was the phone that ruled the world. But within a decade, it collapsed, overtaken by the touch screen revolution.
Sam Gr…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
The book that changed Norway’s view of immigrants
In 2010, a book came out in Norway that transformed the way people looked at paperless immigrants. The author, a 25-year-old Russian woman, fled Nort…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
One man’s escape from McCarthyism
In 1951, at the height of the McCarthy era, a time when the US government pursued suspected communists, Victor Grossman was drafted into the army. A …
6 months, 2 weeks ago
Spot the Dog
In 1978, British artist Eric Hill designed an interactive book about a yellow puppy for his two-year-old son, Chris.
Eric had noticed Chris kept lifti…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The banned author of Indonesia
In 1969, Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer was imprisoned without trial in the notorious labour camp on Buru Island. He spent 10 years there.
He…
6 months, 3 weeks ago