The contraceptive pill gets legalised in Japan
After decades of campaigning in Japan, the pill was finally legalised in 1999. In contrast, the male impotency drug Viagra was approved for use in just six months, and legalised before the contracepti...
30 Sep 10min
Sulawesi's cave art and the origins of storytelling
In 2012, the discovery of rock art in caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi changed our understanding of early human history. Archaeologist Maxime Aubert tells Leo Dunlop how his team used a new ...
29 Sep 10min
The birth of Jodrell Bank
On an English field in 1957, the final touches were made to what was then the largest radio telescope in the world. But designing and building the Jodrell Bank Observatory hadn’t been easy.Sir Bernard...
28 Sep 10min
Harold Riley: Painting Nelson Mandela
Harold Riley was the only artist in the world given the opportunity to paint Nelson Mandela from life.When Mandela agreed to pose for the English artist, it marked the beginning of a remarkable relati...
25 Sep 10min
Kinder Scout mass trespass
In 1932, hundreds of walkers organised a mass trespass on Kinder Scout, the highest point in England's Peak District.It was a major step in the campaign by workers from the industrial city of Manchest...
24 Sep 10min
The gathering that helped shape decolonisation
The Fifth Pan-African Congress was held in Manchester, England, in 1945, helping to shape the post-war struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination. Prominent black activists, intellectuals ...
23 Sep 10min
‘Baby’ computer is invented
In June 1948, the ‘Baby’ was invented. It was the first stored-program computer, meaning it was the first machine to work like the ones we have today. It was developed in England at the University of ...
22 Sep 10min
The nightclub that changed Manchester
In 1962, Nigerian-born Phil Magbotiwan opened a brand-new nightclub in Manchester, England. In part because of his own personal experiences of racism, Phil wanted to create somewhere where everyone wo...
21 Sep 10min
