The Origins of Ska Music
Jamaica’s musicians have had a profound impact on modern music. It’s best known for Reggae, but before that came Ska. Many of the early Ska stars came from an orphanage in Kingston, The Alpha Boys sch...
2 Mar 8min
Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA
Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. He compared the US’s actions to several massacres ...
2 Mar 9min
Syria's secret library
A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, th...
27 Feb 10min
Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial
In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leon...
26 Feb 10min
The Japanese invasion of Malaya
On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific.Invasion forces moved quickly down the British colony – which is now called Malay...
25 Feb 10min
The Aga Khan meets Florence Nightingale
In 1898, the British founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, invited the Muslim leader Aga Khan III around to her London home for tea. They were two of the most famous figures of the 20th cen...
24 Feb 10min
The storming of Spain's parliament
In February 1981, armed Civil Guards tried to take control of the Spanish parliament.A total of 350 politicians were held hostage for 18 hours in the debating chamber including Joaquin Almunia, a youn...
23 Feb 10min
The playboy spy who inspired James Bond
During the 1940s, a playboy spy became one of wartime’s most successful double agents, as well as the reported inspiration behind James Bond. A gambler and womanizer who spoke several languages, Dusko...
20 Feb 10min
