World War One: Ordinary Lives

Recordings of two people who felt the cost of war both on the battlefield and at home

• 9 mins

The Exploding Whale

The story behind one of the most famous viral videos ever.

• 9 mins

The British Love Affair with Curry

Indian restaurants first became popular in the UK in the 1950s.

• 9 mins

The Windmill Theatre

A British national institution closed in 1964.

• 9 mins

The 'Disappeared' of Lebanon

Searching for the thousands who went missing during Lebanon's brutal civil war.

• 9 mins

Botswana's Diamonds

Huge diamond deposits were first discovered in the Kalahari desert in Botswana in 1967

• 9 mins

The Siege of Mecca

In 1979 Islamic militants took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam

• 9 mins

The Man Who Prosecuted Charles Manson

Charles Manson's followers murdered 9 people on his orders. But how to prove his guilt?

• 9 mins

The Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem

The president of South Vietnam was overthrown and murdered in a coup in November 1963.

• 9 mins

Toy Story - The First Digitally-Animated Feature Film

It was a box-office hit and a revolution in the world of animated films.

• 9 mins

The Exile of Wolf Biermann

East Germany's most famous singer-songwriter was exiled to the West in November 1976.

• 9 mins

The Case of Alger Hiss

The conviction of diplomat Alger Hiss was one of America's most notorious spy cases

• 9 mins

The Audacious Plot to Kill a Colonel

How El Salvador's leftist rebels led a top army officer into a deadly trap

• 9 mins

The Prestige Oil Disaster in Spain

How thousands of volunteers cleaned up after a huge environmental disaster in 2002

• 9 mins

The Poisoning of Litvinenko

Former colonel in the Russian secret service Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London.

• 9 mins

Science City in Siberia

Thousands of scientists moved to deepest Siberia to dedicate their lives to research.

• 9 mins

Mount Rushmore

Construction on one of America's most famous monuments started in 1927.

• 9 mins

Britain's withdrawal from South Yemen

In 1967 Britain's departure from Aden leads to the creation of an independent South Yemen

• 9 mins

Finland Wins Independence From Russia

In December 1917 Finland became an independent country for the first time.

• 9 mins

The Discovery of Whale Song

Whales were being hunted to extinction until a biologist realised they could sing.

• 9 mins

Art in Revolutionary Russia

Avant-garde art flourished in Russia after the 1917 revolution but was later suppressed

• 9 mins

Hypnotising Saddam's Son

How an American hypnotist went to Iraq to treat Uday, the eldest son of Saddam Hussein.

• 9 mins

Otis Redding

The great soul singer who was killed in a plane crash in December 1967

• 9 mins

The Unsung Hero of Heart Surgery

The African-American lab technician whose surgery helped save millions of babies..

• 9 mins

The Great London Smog

Thousands died as a thick polluted fog engulfed London in 1952

• 9 mins

The Disappearance of Harold Holt

The Australian Prime Minister went for a swim on December 17th 1967 - and never came back

• 9 mins

Somalia's Islamic Courts Union

How the Islamic movement brought a brief moment of peace to Mogadishu after years of war

• 9 mins

The Development of WiFi

Australian scientists were central to the development of wifi.

• 9 mins

The Exam That Changed China

The return of university entrance exams showed the Cultural Revolution had really ended.

• 9 mins

BR Ambedkar

The Indian independence leader and campaigner for Dalit rights died in December 1956.

• 9 mins