Eyjafjallajökull: The volcano that stopped Europe
In 2010, a previously little-known Icelandic volcano erupted twice, sending a huge plume of volcanic ash all over Europe. The ash cloud grounded flights for days, causing inconvenience for millions of...
11 Touko 20228min
China opens up to capitalism
In May 1980 China allowed capitalist activity for the first time since the Communist Revolution, in four designated cities known as the Special Economic Zones. The most successful was Shenzhen, which ...
10 Touko 20229min
Soviet nuclear missile alert
In 1983, during a tense period of the Cold War, Soviet nuclear officials received a computer warning suggesting that the United States had fired five nuclear missiles towards Moscow. Fortunately, the ...
9 Touko 20229min
Fighting for Uyghur rights in China
In the 1980s, the minority Uyghur community in China staged some of the first protests against the all-powerful Communist Party. The Uyghurs were demanding that the Chinese government keep its promise...
6 Touko 20229min
The chemistry of cannabis
The Israel scientist Raphael Mechoulam has been researching what’s thought to be the world’s most popular drug since the 1960s. In 1964, he isolated Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – the compound that ge...
5 Touko 20228min
Roe v Wade
In 1973, a landmark decision was made in the US Supreme Court which made abortion legal. The late Sarah Weddington brought the case, even though she was fresh out of law school at the time. She spoke ...
4 Touko 20229min
Surviving the Falkands War
In 1982 British soldier Simon Weston was severely burned when Argentine planes bombed his ship, the Sir Galahad, as it unloaded troops in the Falkland Islands. Scott Wright hears how Weston was not in...
3 Touko 20228min
The sinking of the Belgrano
The Argentine ship, General Belgrano, was sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands War on 2nd of May 1982. 323 people died in the attack. Dario Volonte, now an opera singer, was one of the sur...
2 Touko 20229min
