Podcast Episodes

The Burma protests of 1988

In August 1988, people took to the streets of Burma, or Myanmar, to protest against the country's military government. The bloody uprising would lead…

5 years, 7 months ago

The Arab Spring of 2011

In the early months of 2011 a wave of social unrest swept across the Arab world as people protested against repressive and authoritarian regimes, eco…

5 years, 8 months ago

Hitler's beer hall putsch

Hitler made his first attempt at seizing power in Germany in 1923, ten years before he eventually became Chancellor. The failed "beer hall putsch" - …

5 years, 8 months ago

Attack at the US Capitol

In 1954, Puerto Rican militants opened fire in the US House of Representatives, wounding five Congressmen - we hear how the assault was one of many p…

5 years, 8 months ago

Buddhist on Death Row

How US inmates turned to Buddhism to face execution in 1990s Arkansas, and we look at the history of the death penalty in the US with Prof Vivien Mil…

5 years, 8 months ago

75 years of Unesco

Unesco - the United Nations Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organisation - was set up 75 years ago, in the aftermath of the Second World War.

It’…

5 years, 9 months ago

Film special

We hear from eye-witnesses to some classic moments in cinema history – from It’s a Wonderful Life to Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy via Studio Ghibli, th…

5 years, 9 months ago

The birth of Bangladesh

How Pakistan's first democratic elections in 1970 led to war, the break up of Pakistan and the creation of a new country, Bangladesh. Also Gibraltar …

5 years, 9 months ago

The first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize

When Chief Albert Luthuli won the Nobel Peace Prize he was living under a banning order in rural South Africa. He won the prize for advocating peacef…

5 years, 9 months ago

The fall of Addis Ababa

In May 1991, the brutal Ethiopian dictator, Colonel Mengistu and his military regime were on the verge of collapse after years of civil war. The end …

5 years, 10 months ago