How abortion was legalised in Great Britain
In the 1960s, a young mother, Diane Munday became well-known in Britain for her work demanding abortion rights for women. She and others in the campaign faced fierce opposition, but in 1967 abortion was legalised in England, Scotland and Wales under certain circumstances. Diane has been speaking to Laura Jones.(Image: Diane Munday at her desk in the 1960s. Credit: Diane Munday)
11 Jul 202210min
The US’s first gay election candidate
In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States. He was called Jose Sarria and he was a drag queen. He was determined that gay people would no longer be second-class citizens and paved the way for future openly gay candidates, such as Harvey Milk. Josephine McDermott speaks to Jose’s friend and fellow drag performer Mike Michelle.(Photo: Jose Sarria in drag. Credit: The Jose Sarria Foundation)Credits: Jose Sarria archive material from the documentary, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria by kind permission of its director Joseph Castel. Black Cat monologue recorded by Ball Records.
8 Jul 202210min
How the smear test was invented
In 1928 Dr George Papanicoloau, a Greek immigrant living in New York, discovered he could detect pre-cancerous cell changes in the cervix. This led to the development of the smear test which has meant millions of women worldwide have not had to face cancer.Dr Papanicoloau's great niece Olga Stamatiou speaks to Laura Jones.(Image shows Dr Papanicoloau examining a slide in a laboratory. Credit: Getty Images)
7 Jul 202210min
Escaping Nigeria’s Civil War
The south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra. In response, Nigerian forces invaded the state on 6 July 1967, beginning the Nigerian civil war. More than a million people died before the fighting stopped. We bring you one child’s story of getting caught up in the frontline. In 2021 Paul Waters spoke to Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe, now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye, who was 13 years old when she had to try to escape the conflict. (Photo: The 13-year-old Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe, courtesy of Patti Boulaye)
6 Jul 20228min
Japanese university student riots
In 1968 and early 1969 university students across Japan fought pitched battles with riot police after they barricaded themselves into their lecture halls and went on strike. They were protesting about the poor quality of their education and the inequalities of Japanese society in a period of rapid economic change. Emily Finch talks to Kazuki Kumamoto who was a young student who joined the protests. This is a Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Photo of a policeman looking at Tokyo University Building. Credit: Getty Images)
5 Jul 20228min
The Higgs Boson: A scientific discovery that explains how the universe works
It is 10 years since scientists in Geneva said they believed they had found the Higgs boson - known by some as the God particle. In July 2012 after more than 40 years of searching, two teams on different experiments at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed the existence of the particle which gives everything mass. Dr André David from CERN speaks to Laura Jones.(Image: Artistic view of the Brout-Englert-Higgs Field. Credit: CERN)
4 Jul 202210min
Hong Kong: Abandoned children
In the 1950s and '60s hundreds of thousands of Chinese people fled to the British colony of Hong Kong to escape famine. Conditions for the arrivals were so desperate that some families chose to abandon their children in the streets so they would be taken in by orphanages. Many were adopted in homes in Britain and other English-speaking countries. Laura FitzPatrick talks to one of the adopted children, now known as Debbie Cook.(Photo: The young Debbie Cook with kind permission from the family)
30 Jun 20228min
Hong Kong - Kowloon Walled City
A unique way of life came to an end in Hong Kong in 1993 when Kowloon Walled City was demolished. When the rest of Hong Kong was a British colony, the seven acres of the Walled City were still nominally under the control of mainland China - but it became a lawless world of its own. At one point it was one of the most of the most densely populated places the world has ever seen. Lucy Burns speaks to Albert Ng, who grew up in Kowloon Walled City, and urban designer Suenn Ho, who studied it before its demolition.(Photo: Credit: Getty Images)
30 Jun 20229min
