Podcast Episodes

My father directed Seven Samurai

Akira Kurosawa's film, Seven Samurai, is an epic three-and-a-half hour long black and white film set in 16th century Japan.

It was released in 1954 an…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

Triumph of the Will: A Nazi propaganda film

In 1934, one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made - Triumph of the Will – was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally. The two-hour p…

3 months, 2 weeks ago

The invention of the mobility scooter

In 1967, American plumber Al Thieme promised his wife with multiple sclerosis that he would find her an alternative to a wheelchair.

He came up with …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

India’s first nuclear test

In May 1974 India successfully detonated its first atomic device. It had been developed in secret with the codename Smiling Buddha.

India called it a…

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Portugal’s worst train disaster

On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people.

The impa…

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Elvis visits Scotland

In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport.

It's believed to be the only…

3 months, 3 weeks ago

The Origins of Ska Music

Jamaica’s musicians have had a profound impact on modern music. It’s best known for Reggae, but before that came Ska. Many of the early Ska stars cam…

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. …

3 months, 3 weeks ago

Syria's secret library

A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and e…

4 months ago

Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.

His trial would last more than three y…

4 months ago