Podcast Episodes

When Sweden’s roads went right

In September 1967, all Swedish traffic had to change the habit of decades and swap to driving on the right-hand side of the road.

It brought them into…

3 years, 7 months ago

First women’s minister in Iran

Iran’s first ever minister for women’s affairs was appointed in 1975.

Mahnaz Afkhami was the first person in the Muslim world to hold that position. …

3 years, 7 months ago

The invention of the seat belt

In 1958, the late Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars.

It's estimated to have saved more than one million lives…

3 years, 7 months ago

Qatar's first female published author

In 1978, Kaltham Jaber published her first book – a collection of short stories. She is an assistant professor and acclaimed writer from Qatar. Her s…

3 years, 7 months ago

First Emirati female teacher

It was rare for women in what is now the United Arab Emirates to go to school in the 1960s.

At the time, the future country was a collection of emira…

3 years, 7 months ago

Inventing robot camel jockeys

In 2003, a Qatari engineer came up with the idea for a robot jockey, to replace child jockeys in camel racing.

Two years later, the robot was approved…

3 years, 7 months ago

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 Ar…

3 years, 7 months 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 Mi…

3 years, 7 months 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 Wor…

3 years, 7 months 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…

3 years, 7 months ago