Podcast Episodes

Apollo 13

On 13 April 1970, a Moon mission almost ended in tragedy, after an explosion on board the spaceship.

Fred Haise was one of the Apollo 13 astronauts.

In 2010, he spoke to Richard Howells about how they…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

The end of the Irish marriage bar

Until 1973, married women in Ireland were banned from working in state jobs.

It was one of the longest lasting marriage bars in the world.

Rachel Naylor speaks to Bernie Flynn, who postponed her weddin…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Ramesses II's 'mummy makeover'

In 1976, the 3,000-year-old mummy of Ramesses II was found to have a fungal infection.

The embalmed body of the Egyptian pharaoh was flown from Cairo to Paris for a once-in-a-deathtime makeover.

It rec…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

I led the 'Umbrella' protests

On the 26 September 2014 Nathan Law stood on a makeshift stage outside Hong Kong's central government complex and chanted ‘Democracy Now’ and ‘Freedom’ into a microphone.

He was leading hundreds of pr…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

The woman who spoke to the space station

Amateur radio enthusiast Maggie Iaquinto spent a year trying to make contact with Russian cosmonauts on the Mir space station using special equipment.

It took careful planning as she had to know whe…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Guatemala's disappeared

More than 200,000 people were killed during Guatemala's 36-year civil war between the military and left-wing rebels which ended in 1996.

Of these, an estimated 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Waris Dirie

In 1987, an unknown 18 year-old Somalian model called Waris Dirie walked into the studio of renowned British photographer Terence Donovan.

She had never had her picture taken before but after striking…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

The writer of Mary Poppins

In 1964, the Disney film 'Mary Poppins' was released. It was based on the character created by writer PL Travers.

Travers disliked the Oscar-winning Disney production so much, that she never allowed a…

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Canada’s first UFO landing pad

In 1967, the small town of St Paul, Canada declared that they were a place that welcomed everyone, even the aliens.

They did this by building a giant UFO landing pad, hoping to attract intergalactic …

Published on 1 year, 3 months ago

Spain's La Tomatina

In 1945, a fight broke out between two groups of teenage boys during a parade in the Spanish town of Buñol in Valencia. The boys ended up throwing tomatoes at each other.

They decided to repeat the d…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago