Vidkun Quisling: Norway's traitor
In December 1939, fascist Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling travelled to Berlin from Oslo for a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler.Quisling suggested to Hitler that the British were planning to move into Norway for their own strategic needs. Norway hadn’t been a concern for the Nazis but the meeting alarmed Hitler and within months Germany started its invasion of Norway.From that moment, Quisling was consigned into history as a traitor. So much so that in the time since, his name has become a byword for traitor in numerous languages.Matt Pintus hears from Norwegian journalist, Trude Lorentzen, who decided to study Quisling’s life after stumbling across his suitcase in an online auction.As part of her voyage of discovery, Trude interviewed Quisling’s Jewish neighbour Leif Grusd who was forced to flee to Sweden when the Nazis took over Norway.Leif Grusd's interview was translated from the NRK podcast "Quislings koffert" - Quisling's suitcase - released in 2021. It was made by production company Svarttrost for NRK.(Photo: Vidkun Quisling and Adolf Hitler. Credit: Getty Images)
22 Jan 202410min
Jamuna Tudu: The real life 'Lady Tarzan'
In the early 2000s, a woman called Jamuna Tudu set out on a mission to protect her home state of Jharkhand's forests from India's so-called timber mafia. She inspired thousands of people to care for their natural environment and established an army of women to fight back against the illegal cutting down of trees.Her conservation efforts have led to the country's media dubbing her 'Lady Tarzan', and she is now known across India for her bravery.She speaks to George Crafer about her run-ins with the mafia and her hero status.(Photo: Jamuna Tudu amongst the trees she loves. Credit: Jamuna Tudu)
19 Jan 20249min
Ibadan Zoo
British zoologist Bob Golding turned the University of Ibadan's zoo into one of Nigeria's biggest tourist attractions in the 1970s.The zoo was famous for two gorillas he rescued from traffickers. And Bob's animal kingdom even had its own TV show.His wife, Peaches Golding, tells Ben Henderson how he did it. (Photo: Bob Golding. Credit: bobgolding.co.uk)
18 Jan 20249min
Tortured in Iran's Evin Prison
In June 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest against what they considered a rigged presidential election.The hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 62% of the vote. All three defeated candidates disputed the results.The protests gave rise to the 'Green Movement', named after its signature colour, which opposed Ahmadinejad.Journalist Maziar Bahari was accused of being a Western spy and spent 118 days being interrogated in Iran's Evin Prison. He tells Dan Hardoon about the torture he endured.(Photo: Maziar Bahari in 2015. Credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
17 Jan 20248min
The Green March: Moroccans take over the Sahara
On 6 November 1975, tens of thousands of Moroccans poured into Spanish Sahara in a bid to claim it for their own.They danced, waved flags and played music as they faced off, unarmed, against gun-carrying Spanish soldiers.The so-called Green March led to a diplomatic victory for Morocco's King Hassan, but sparked a guerrilla war and decades of instability.In 2013, TV cameraman Seddik Maaninou and North Africa expert Francis Gillies told Simon Watts about that momentous protest.(Photo: Protestors on the Green March. Credit: Jacques Haillot/Apis/Sygma/Sygma/Getty Images)
16 Jan 20249min
The hunger-striking Bolivian president
In Bolivia, on 25 October 1984, President Hernán Siles Zuazo announced he was going on hunger strike. He was trying to stop the booming cocaine industry in his country. It was the second time he had taken the job of president and he had been on hunger strike several times before. His daughter Marcela Siles, tells Laura Jones about her father.(Photo: President Zuazo. Credit: Getty Images)
15 Jan 20249min
Gürtel scandal: Spain's Watergate
For two years, José Luis Peñas risked his life making secret recordings that revealed one of Spain's biggest corruption scandals.It forced the ruling party from power and brought down Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in 2018.José Luis Peñas speaks to Ben Henderson.(Photo: Mariano Rajoy (right) moments after resigning. Credit: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/Pool via Getty Images)
12 Jan 20248min
The first World Laughter Day
On the 11 January 1998 in Mumbai, India, the first World Laughter Day took place.It was the idea of Dr Madan Kataria, a medical doctor who wanted to test the theory that laughter is the best medicine.He tells Gill Kearsley how this unusual event started. (Photo: World Laughter Day in Mumbai in 2016. Credit: Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
11 Jan 20249min
