1965 Singaporean independence
On 9 August 1965 Singapore announced it had left the Federation of Malaysia and become an independent sovereign state. Explaining the separation at a news conference, the prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew,...
8 Aug 202510min
Brazil’s biggest bank heist
In August 2005, a gang of theives tunnelled their way into a Brazilian bank vault in a heist straight out of the movies.Three months before, the thieves had set up a landscaping business, Grama Sintet...
7 Aug 202510min
The Assam-Tibet earthquake
On 15 August 1950, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake shook the Himalaya mountains – wiping out whole villages in Tibet and north-east India.The death toll was estimated to be about 4,800.The late British bo...
6 Aug 202510min
When Stalin silenced Shostakovich
Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. But in 1936, Joseph Stalin attended a performance of Shostakovich's opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The Sovi...
5 Aug 202510min
Nagasaki bomb
On 9 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing at least 74,000 people. It led to the end of World War Two in Asia, with Japan surrendering to the Allies six day...
4 Aug 202510min
Trailer. 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
The epic space story of a sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever. Told by the Nasa astronauts and team who made it happen. Our multi-award-winning podcast is back, hosted by space scientist Ma...
3 Aug 20253min
Japan's record-breaking rollercoaster
On 1 August 2000, a new rollercoaster opened to the public at a theme park in Japan.Named Steel Dragon 2000, it's located at the Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Kuwana.When it first opened, it br...
1 Aug 20259min
Chuquicamata: Chile's abandoned mining town
By 2007, the 25,000 residents of a Chilean mining town had moved out of their homes due to concerns about pollution levels from one of the largest copper mines in the world.Today, the ghost town of Ch...
31 Juli 202510min
