Podcast Episodes

Burj Khalifa: Designing the world’s tallest building

The tallest building in the world opened in 2010. There was a glitzy firework display to celebrate the occasion.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is nearly three times the height of th…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Formation of the United Arab Emirates

A new country, the United Arab Emirates, was formed in 1971. It’s a federation of seven states that has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East’s most important economic centres.

Laura…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

The child evacuees of World War Two

The 1 September 1939 was Kitty Baxter’s ninth birthday, it was also the day her life and millions of other people’s changed with the beginning of World War Two.

Kitty was among the hundreds of thousa…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Māori protests stops South African rugby tour

In 1981, the South African rugby tour of New Zealand was disrupted by Māori anti-racism campaigners who invaded pitches.

They wanted to highlight the injustice of apartheid in South Africa and the di…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

The assassination of Pim Fortuyn

It has been 20 years since one of the most controversial politicians in Europe was assassinated just days before a general election. On 6 May 2002, Pim Fortuyn was shot dead by an animal rights activ…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

First rape crisis centres in the US

1972 was a time of feminist action in the US. People were talking more openly about rape and sharing their experiences. It led to rape crisis centres being set up, which offered support for women.

Ac…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Polynesian Panthers

In the early 1970s, New Zealand’s government cracked down on Polynesian migrants who had overstayed their work permits.

They carried out what became known as the Dawn Raids, when police raided Polyne…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Umuganda: Rwanda's community work scheme

In 1975, President Juvénal Habyarimana introduced Umuganda in Rwanda, where citizens had to help with community projects like planting trees and building schools, every Saturday morning.

Rachel Naylor…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Dame Carmen Callil: Feminist publisher

Dame Carmen Callil, who died in October this year, founded feminist publisher Virago Press in 1972 to promote women’s writing.

In this programme first broadcast in 2019, she tells Claire Bowes how sh…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Campaigning against sex-selection in India

Over the last 50 years an estimated 46 million girls have been aborted in India.

The cultural preference for boys and the development of pre-natal sex determination tests like ultrasound in the 1980s…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago