Podcast Episodes

Baghdad heavy metal

In the late 1990s, a heavy metal band called Acrassicauda formed in Iraq, when the country was under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Over the next decade, the pioneering band found themselves on …

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

How nuclear testing changed politics in French Polynesia

It's 20 years since elections in French Polynesia in 2004, where the independence movement stunned the France-aligned government of the day, propelling pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru to the pre…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

The creation of the state of Israel

On 14 May 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.

Tears and applause met the declaration, witnessed by 200 dignitaries, but fighting intensified in the days that followed.

In 2010, Arieh Handler and …

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

The ‘Catastrophe’ for Palestinians

In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes in the Middle East.

The period after World War Two in the region was tense, at times violent and politically complex…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal

In 1992, a photograph of Princess Diana alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal became one of the most famous photos in the world.

Anwar Hussein was a photographer who documented the lives of the…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

How a billion Indians got a digital ID

In 2009, the Indian government embarked on an ambitious task to register all of the country's billion-plus citizens with a unique digital ID.

Aadhaar - which means foundation in many Indian languages…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

The pioneering eye surgery that led to Lasik

In 1963, Dr Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner performed the first surgery on a human eye aimed at correcting short-sightedness.

The ophthalmologist had been developing his technique for years, believing th…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

East Germany's coffee from Vietnam

In the 1980s, a thirst for caffeine caused an unusual global collaboration.

Coffee-loving East Germans were left without after a crop failure in the world’s biggest exporter of the drink, Brazil.

So th…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

Friends: The making of a smash hit

When a new show called Friends hit American TV screens in September 1994, it made household names of its cast.

Over 10 series, it charted the lives of six young New Yorkers, through marriages, divorce…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

The Channel Tunnel breakthrough

Thirty years on from the opening of the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, we look at the moment the two halves of the tunnel were connected in 1990.

Graham Fagg was the man who made the break…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago