Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchHow 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…
2 years, 5 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 bee…
2 years, 5 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 w…
2 years, 5 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…
2 years, 5 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 …
2 years, 5 months ago
Ukraine's 'museum of corruption'
In February 2014, Ukraine’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.
His estate was abandoned by security guards, so for the first time o…
2 years, 5 months ago
How to win friends and influence people
In 1936, Dale Carnegie wrote one of the world’s most popular self help books - How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The idea was suggested by a bo…
2 years, 5 months ago
How the Milgram 'obedience' experiment shocked the world
In 1961, the American psychologist Stanley Milgram began a series of controversial experiments on ‘obedience to authority’.
His study aimed to show ho…
2 years, 5 months ago
Finding the victims of Stroessner's Paraguay
It’s 70 years since General Alfredo Stroessner seized power in Paraguay in a military coup.
Stroessner remained in power for almost 35 years, before …
2 years, 5 months ago
Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile
On 13 December 1990, the anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa after 30 years in exile.
As the president of the banned Afric…
2 years, 5 months ago