Best Adolf In Space Podcasts (2025)

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The birth of Médecins Sans Frontières 10:42

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4m ago10:42

10:42

In 1971, 13 men sat down in a Paris office to launch what would become one of the world’s best known humanitarian organisations: Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors without Borders. The men were among hundreds of volunteers responding to an appeal by the French medical journal, Tonus, after a major cyclone devastated East Pakistan. The campaign sp…

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The start of Scouting 10:29

10m ago10:29

10:29

In the early 1900s, while serving in the British Army, Lord Robert Baden-Powell laid the foundations for what would become one of the largest international youth movements, Scouting. His vision was to create an organisation that would build friendships, experiences, and skills for life. Gill Kearsley used archive to trace the origins of the movemen…

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Omar Sharif stars in Lawrence of Arabia 10:31

5h ago10:31

10:31

In 1962, Egyptian actor Omar Sharif made his Hollywood debut in Lawrence of Arabia, a sweeping epic that would become one of cinema’s most popular films. Using archive recordings, Gill Kearsley tells the story of the movie legend’s transformation into the enigmatic Sherif Ali and brings to life the moment he stepped into the desert and onto the wor…

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The Aswan High Dam 11:02

4d ago11:02

11:02

In the early 1960s, Unesco appealed for scientists to go to Egypt to save antiquities that were threatened by the construction of one of the largest dams in the world, the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile. Professor Herman Bell answered that call from the UN. He spoke to Louise Hidalgo in 2020. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witne…

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Egypt criminalises sexual harassment 10:55

3d ago10:55

10:55

In 2014, Egypt’s outgoing president, Adly Mansour, issued a decree which categorised sexual harassment as a crime punishable by a minimum six-month jail term and a fine of 3,000 Egyptian pounds which is around $60. It was a move campaigners welcomed, saying it was the first step towards ending an endemic problem. Among those who made the change hap…

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Reforming Egypt’s divorce laws 10:35

5m ago10:35

10:35

In 1979, Egypt’s former first lady Jehan Sadat helped lead a campaign to grant women new rights to divorce their husbands and retain custody of their children. Married to President Anwar Sadat, she wanted to play a more active role than the wives of previous leaders and told her husband it was his duty to make Egypt more equal for women. After some…

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Mohamed Morsi: Egypt's first democratically elected president 10:09

6m ago10:09

10:09

In June 2012, Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first democratically elected president. In 2022, Ben Henderson spoke to Rabab El-Mahdi, chief strategist to one of Morsi’s rival candidates. She described what it was like to be involved in the first election of its kind, how Morsi tried to recruit her, and the persona…

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How the Philippines saved Jews during World War Two 10:31

7d ago10:31

10:31

In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced in Nazi Germany. In 1938, seven-year-old Lotte Hershfield and her family left their home in Breslau, which was part of Germany and is now known as Wroclaw in Poland. Their journey took them across continents by ship, train and on horse and cart. They eventually arrived in Manila, the capital of …

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9/11: The generosity of Gander 10:29

7d ago10:29

10:29

On 11 September, 2001, a small Canadian town called Gander became a haven for thousands of airline passengers and crew stranded after the 9/11 terror attacks. The attacks on the World Trade Center had forced the closure of US airspace leaving many flights unable to land. Within hours, 38 planes with 7,000 passengers, had been diverted to Gander, ef…

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The story behind The Peter Principle book 10:46

9d ago10:46

10:46

In 1969, a satirical book, The Peter Principle, suggested promotion led to incompetence. It was written by a Canadian Professor of Education, Dr Laurence J Peter and playwright Raymond Hull. The book was a parody of management theory, but its core message struck a chord with many: “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incomp…

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The Enabling Act 10:33

9m ago10:33

10:33

On 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed in Germany, handing Adolf Hitler unchecked power. It became the legal foundation of his dictatorship. But in that moment, one voice spoke in defiance. Otto Wels, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, stood alone in the Reichstag: “Freedom and life can be taken away from us, but not honour.” His words…

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Festac ’77: Nigeria’s largest festival of African arts and culture 10:03

1d ago10:03

10:03

In 1977, Nigeria hosted the largest festival of African arts and culture there had ever been. About half a million visitors attended, as well as 16,000 delegates including Stevie Wonder and Miriam Makeba. Dozens of African nationalities, and people from the African diaspora were represented. Headed by a military dictatorship, Nigeria spent hundreds…

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‘How I sold my clothes and created a $5 billion Vinted empire’ 10:15

17d ago10:15

10:15

In 2008, Lithuanian student Milda Mitkutė realised she had too many clothes when she was moving out. She told her friend Justas Janauskas and together they came up with a website to sell them. It later became Vinted, the online marketplace, which now has more than 500 million items listed for sale across 23 countries. Milda speaks to Rachel Naylor …

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World's first womb transplant baby 10:43

5d ago10:43

10:43

In September 2014, the world's first baby was born to a mother with a transplanted womb, making headlines around the globe. Malin Stenberg had the pioneering surgery over a year earlier when she received the donated organ from a family friend, giving birth to her son Vincent at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden. Reena Stanton-Sharma speaks …

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The Chindits 10:19

9d ago10:19

10:19

During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan. Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer. This programme is made in collaboration with BBC Archives. It contains outdated and offens…

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The founding of USAID 10:39

9d ago10:39

10:39

On 3 November 1961, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was founded, bringing all existing aid work under one single agency. A key proponent of it was Barbara Ward, a pioneering British economist and journalist who had the ear of presidents and prime ministers across the world. Later known as Baroness Jackson, she spoke t…

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Discovering the Titanic 10:08

8d ago10:08

10:08

In September 1985, the wreck of the Titanic was discovered around 400 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, during a joint American-French expedition. It had remained undisturbed, 13,000 feet underwater in the North Atlantic Ocean, since it sank during its maiden voyage in 1912. The team spotted a boiler using a remotely controlled …

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John Lennon's final headline concerts 9:03

24d ago9:03

9:03

In 1972, after leaving The Beatles, John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed in the United States at the One to One benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York. They were helping to raise money for children with disabilities from Willowbrook State School, after a television exposé by journalist Geraldo Rivera showed the conditions and failings. I…

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The making of the Third Man: A film noir classic 9:00

22d ago9:00

9:00

In 1948, filming began on a post-war thriller that would become one of the greatest British movies of all time. Directed by Sir Carol Reed, the film captured the atmosphere of a divided, ruined Vienna. But much of its lasting power lies with Orson Welles, whose magnetic, menacing turn as Harry Lime stole the show - despite his limited screen time a…

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Washington DC’s Mount Pleasant riot 9:29

14d ago9:29

9:29

In May 1991, a female police officer shot and wounded a young immigrant from El Salvador in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood in Washington DC in the United States. It sparked several days of disturbances in the largely Hispanic area, as the population vented its frustrations at years of feeling sidelined by city officials. Shops were burnt down, ca…

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Creating CAPTCHA 10:07

14d ago10:07

10:07

In 2000, as the internet expanded, websites faced a growing challenge to stop spam bots from flooding their systems. To separate humans from machines, researchers at the United States’ Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, created the Completely Automated Public Turing test. From its early development to its evolution into reCAPTC…

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The creation of the International Criminal Court 10:23

15d ago10:23

10:23

In 1998, at a conference organised by the United Nations, a blueprint was devised for what would be the world's first permanent International Criminal Court. Judge Phillipe Kirsch chaired the Rome conference that led to the formation of the court. He tells Gill Kearsley about the negotiations, which he describes as the most difficult professional t…

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Geneva Conventions 10:02

18d ago10:02

10:02

In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the Battle of Solferino, in Italy. He couldn’t believe the lack of aid for the wounded soldiers and came up with two ideas – a voluntary aid organisation and an international treaty to protect those injured in wartime. They went on to become the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 and t…

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The rise and fall of BlackBerry 9:50

19d ago9:50

9:50

In the early 2000s, BlackBerry was the phone that ruled the world. But within a decade, it collapsed, overtaken by the touch screen revolution. Sam Gruet speaks to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie about BlackBerry’s meteoric rise, its battle against Apple, and the moment he knew it was all over. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness H…

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The book that changed Norway’s view of immigrants 10:13

20d ago10:13

10:13

In 2010, a book came out in Norway that transformed the way people looked at paperless immigrants. The author, a 25-year-old Russian woman, fled North Ossetia as a child with her parents. They were never granted asylum, yet she managed to earn a university degree and eventually had to make a choice: continue living in hiding or face deportation. He…

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One man’s escape from McCarthyism 10:10

28d ago10:10

10:10

In 1951, at the height of the McCarthy era, a time when the US government pursued suspected communists, Victor Grossman was drafted into the army. A committed communist since his teens, he hid his political beliefs. Stationed in West Germany and under FBI scrutiny, he faced the threat of a possible court martial. To avoid prison, he fled to the Sov…

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Spot the Dog 10:34

22d ago10:34

10:34

In 1978, British artist Eric Hill designed an interactive book about a yellow puppy for his two-year-old son, Chris. Eric had noticed Chris kept lifting up the paper he was working on to see what was underneath and it inspired him to come up with a new format for a children’s book - lift-the-flap. Since Where’s Spot? was published in 1980, more tha…

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Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The banned author of Indonesia 10:28

25d ago10:28

10:28

In 1969, Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer was imprisoned without trial in the notorious labour camp on Buru Island. He spent 10 years there. He is best known for his novels about the rise of Indonesian nationalism. He wrote much of his work in captivity. As he was denied pen and paper on the island, his most famous work, the Buru Quartet, be…

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Jakarta’s ban on dancing monkeys 10:38

1M ago10:38

10:38

In 2013, Jakarta's governor moved to outlaw the use of dancing monkeys on the city’s streets. The Indonesian tradition saw macaques made to perform for passers-by - often restrained by chains and dressed in plastic masks. Campaigners said the animals were frequently subjected to harsh treatment and poor living conditions. Animal rights activist Fem…

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Discovery of the 'Hobbit' 10:52

1M ago10:52

10:52

In 2003, archaeologists on the island of Flores, in Indonesia, discovered the skeleton of a new species of human - Homo floresiensis. It was nicknamed the 'Hobbit', because they were just over a metre in height, and it's thought they became extinct around 70,000 years ago. Rachel Naylor spoke to Peter Brown, the Australian paleoanthropologist who i…

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Borobudur Temple 10:17

28d ago10:17

10:17

In 1983, Borobudur Temple in Indonesia reopened. The worlds’ largest Buddhist monument is in the shadows of an active volcano and was once lost to the jungle. In 1973, major restoration work started on the temple. One of the workers on the project, Werdi, explains his role in the restoration and describes why the temple has left a deep impression o…

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The Santa Cruz Massacre 9:53

29d ago9:53

9:53

On 12 November 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on independence activists in East Timor's capital, Dili. During a protest march to the Santa Cruz cemetery after a memorial service for an independence supporter, Indonesian troops opened fire, killing 271 people. In 2015, Marco Silva spoke to British cameraman Max Stahl who filmed the attack on un…

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1965 Singaporean independence 10:47

1M ago10:47

10:47

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, was overcome with emotion. Fifty years later in 2015, Catherine Davis spoke to Manjeet Kaur who was 15-years-old when Singapore became independent. E…

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Brazil’s biggest bank heist 10:30

2M ago10:30

10:30

In August, 2005, a gang of robbers 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 Sintetica - or Synthetic Grass, from a house close to the Banco Central in Fortaleza. But it was a plot to disguise their real activity. Working in shifts…

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The Assam-Tibet earthquake 10:35

1M ago10:35

10:35

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 botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward was camping in Tibet with his wife Jean when the ground beneath them began to sag. “I felt as though we were lying on a pi…

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When Stalin silenced Shostakovich 10:24

1M ago10:24

10:24

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 Soviet leader was unimpressed and left early. Days later, the state newspaper Pravda published a scathing review titled 'Muddle instead of music', castiga…

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Nagasaki bomb 10:29

1M ago10:29

10:29

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 days later. The Nagasaki bomb, alongside the Hiroshima bomb on 6 August, remain the only times nuclear weapons have been used in a war. In an interview h…

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Trailer. 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle 3:29

2M ago3:29

3:29

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 Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She tells the story of triumph and tragedy - of a dream that revolutionised modern space travel forever. You can listen to the trai…

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Japan's record-breaking rollercoaster 9:52

2M ago9:52

9:52

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 broke world records, being named the longest rollercoaster in the world, at just under 2.5km long. Kurt Brookes hears from its designer, Steve Okamoto…

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Chuquicamata: Chile's abandoned mining town 10:10

1M ago10:10

10:10

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 Chuquicamata, located in the Atacama Desert, lies empty. But once a year, the former residents return to celebrate the life they once had there with a …

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Cleveland Balloonfest '86 9:15

1M ago9:15

9:15

In 1986, a world record attempt was launched by the city of Cleveland, in the US. One and a half million balloons were blown up by volunteers ready to be released into the sky, with thousands of people watching. It was meant to be a dazzling publicity stunt, but due to strong winds and a cold front, the balloons didn't float away as expected. Colm …

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Eta’s assassination of Juan Mari Jáuregui 10:20

1M ago10:20

10:20

On 29 July 2000, retired Spanish politician Juan Mari Jáuregui was assassinated by Basque separatists Eta. Deemed a terrorist organisation by the European Union, Eta killed more than 800 people between 1968 and 2010. Its goal was to create an independent Basque state out of territory in south-west France and northern Spain. Following Jáuregui’s mur…

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The Russian revolutionaries nearly stranded in London 10:42

2M ago10:42

10:42

In 1907, the men who would go on to lead the Russian Revolution met in London for a crucial congress. But the revolutionaries – including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky – were nearly stranded after running out of funds. The late British journalist Henry Brailsford played a key role in securing their fare home. In 1947, he told the …

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A Chorus Line 9:52

2M ago9:52

9:52

It's 50 years since theatre history was made - the premiere of A Chorus Line. It was seen as a seminal moment, turning the spotlight on the people who make the show for the first time. Baayork Lee tells Josephine McDermott how she played Connie Wong in the original production. Like many of the first cast, her true life experiences made it into the …

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The invention of Kevlar 10:31

2M ago10:31

10:31

In 1965, a new fibre was discovered by Polish American scientist Stephanie Kwolek. It was called Kevlar and it was found to be five times stronger than steel. Since that discovery it’s been used to save thousands of lives through its use in bulletproof vests, but it’s also used in hundreds of other products from aeroplanes to protective clothing fo…

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President Clinton plays the sax in Prague 9:50

2M ago9:50

9:50

In January 1994, two presidents enjoyed a memorable night in the Czech Republic – ending with an impromptu jazz performance. Five years after the fall of communism, the US president Bill Clinton visited Prague to share his hopes for a new transatlantic alliance. Key to his vision was his friendship with the Czech president Vaclav Havel, a playwrigh…

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The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes 10:35

2M ago10:35

10:35

On 22 July 2005, an unarmed Brazilian man was shot dead by anti-terrorism police at Stockwell Tube station, in London. Jean Charles de Menezes was shot seven times in the head because he was mistaken for a terror suspect. The killing made headlines all over the world and his family demanded justice. Matt Pintus spoke to Jean Charles’ cousin and bes…

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Irawati Karve: India’s groundbreaking anthropologist 10:35

2M ago10:35

10:35

Irawati Karve became India’s first female anthropologist - studying tribes that nobody had investigated, and taking her children on expeditions deep in the rainforest. In 1927, she dared to defy the racist theory of Eugen Fischer, a famous German professor during her PhD in Berlin. Irawati scientifically rejected human differences to justify discri…

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Italo disco 10:43

2M ago10:43

10:43

In the late 1970s, disco died in America and a new wave of Italian producers took advantage of the advances in electronic instruments to craft their own dancefloor fillers. The result was Italo disco – a genre of music recognisable for its synthesiser beats, heavily accented English lyrics and catchy melodies. One of the biggest hits was Dolce Vita…

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The 'Turbot War' 10:38

2M ago10:38

10:38

In 1995, an international row broke out between Canada and Spain over fishing quotas. It started with gunfire and ended with a deal. The dispute began after Canada set up restrictions to protect fish stocks, including the turbot. A 320km (200 mile) controlled zone was placed around the country’s north Atlantic coast. Fishermen also had to stick to …