The Estonia ferry disaster
In 1994, the MS Estonia ferry sank in the Baltic Sea with the loss of 852 lives. It was one of the deadliest shipping tragedies since the sinking of the Titanic. The Estline ferry was sailing overnigh...
27 Sep 20249min
South Africa’s first inter-racial marriage
In 1949, inter-racial marriage and relationships were banned by South Africa’s apartheid government. In June 1985, the ban was lifted. Suzanne La Clerc and Protas Madlala were the first couple to tie ...
26 Sep 20249min
Arrested for 'immorality' in South Africa
In 1969, a white man and an Indian woman were put on trial in South Africa for conspiring to have sex.Dr Zureena Desai and Professor John Blacking were the most high profile couple to be arrested unde...
25 Sep 20249min
Why Tupac was fired from Menace II Society
In 1993, a gritty and unflinching crime movie called Menace II Society was released to huge acclaim.The debut picture from the teenage directors, Allen and Albert Hughes, provided a deep dive into the...
24 Sep 20248min
India's Mars Orbiter Mission
In 2014, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission meant the country was the first in the world to successfully place a satellite into orbit around Mars on its initial attempt.The mission, named Mangalyaan, was on...
23 Sep 202410min
Designing the Google logo
Millions of us see the Google logo every day. Ruth Kedar is the designer of the logo. The story of how she got the job starts in a martial arts class in 1998.The Brazilian artist and designer was invi...
20 Sep 202410min
The discovery of New Zealand’s first dinosaur
On 2 December 1972, Joan Wiffen, her husband, son and daughter started a camping trip. But it was far from ordinary. They were obsessed fossil-hunters and they were deep in the largest rainforest of N...
19 Sep 20249min
India’s plague outbreak
In 1994, the pneumonic plague broke out in the city of Surat, causing mass panic. It saw the largest migration across India since independence was declared in 1947. Ashley Byrne speaks to Doctor Vibha...
18 Sep 20249min
