The Reichstag fire
On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin, which was home to the German Parliament, was burned down. This was a key event in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship.Berlin-born journali...
8 Apr 202510min
The UN retreat from Somalia
In 1991, a horrific civil war erupted between rival warlords in Somalia. A US-led United Nations mission tried to restore order and provide humanitarian aid. But, the mission ended in an embarrassing ...
7 Apr 202510min
Resusci Anne: the world’s first life-saving resuscitation dummy
In 1960, Norwegian toymaker Åsmund Lærdal began selling his latest invention - a life-size training dummy designed to teach mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.Resusci Anne is made of soft plastic and resemb...
4 Apr 202510min
JFK’s 1963 Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech
United States President John F Kennedy gave a speech in Berlin at the height of the Cold War on 26 June 1963. It galvanised the world in support of West Berliners who had been isolated by the construc...
3 Apr 20259min
The Wonder Woman of DC Comics
In 1976, Jenette Kahn took on one of the biggest roles in comic books - publisher of DC Comics, home to superheroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. She was only 28, and the first female boss.H...
2 Apr 202510min
The invention of superglue
In 1951, American chemist Dr Harry Coover was experimenting with a substance called cyanoacrylate but it was sticking to everything.He realised its potential as an adhesive and it went on sale in 1958...
1 Apr 202510min
The 'ghost town' of Namibia
In the early 1900s, the first diamond was found in Kolmanskop, in the African country of Namibia. It led to a diamond rush and the town was created.Having become one of the wealthiest places, when the...
31 Mar 20259min
The father of Ethio-Jazz
For more than 50 years, Mulatu Astatke has been performing at venues around the world, inspiring audiences with his original genre of music known as Ethio-jazz.He recorded the volumes of ‘Afro-Latin S...
28 Mar 20259min
