Best KING AFRIKA Podcasts (2026)

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Battle of Gallipoli 10:52

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42m ago10:52

10:52

It's 110 years since the end of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was one of the deadliest in World War One. Among the 40,000 dead was a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops who became known as the Anzacs. Soldier Rupert Westmacott was injured and shared his memories with the BBC. Professor of Australian history, Carl Bridge, spoke to Si…

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Sazae-san: World's longest-running cartoon 10:39

7m ago10:39

10:39

In 1969, a cartoon about a traditional Japanese family premiered on Fuji TV. More than 55 years later, Sazae-san still airs in its original time slot. It is set in a more patriarchal time when women stay at home and do the housework, and men go to work and like getting drunk. Sunishi Yukimuro was one of the first writers. He tells Vicky Farncombe h…

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Tracey Emin’s unmade bed 10:45

19h ago10:45

10:45

In 1999, Dame Tracey Emin’s unmade bed was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Turner art prize opening up conversations about how we define art. The installation titled, My Bed, was Dame Tracey’s bed surrounded by empty bottles and detritus. Dame Tracey said: “It’s like a time capsule of a woman from the '90s.” After eventually losing out on the T…

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Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits 9:40

10m ago9:40

9:40

In 1982, Isabel Allende published her debut novel, The House of the Spirits. The characters are based on her family, and the story reflects Chile’s 20th Century history, including the 1973 military coup in which her relative, President Salvador Allende, was overthrown. The book began as a letter to her dying grandfather, but it grew into an epic mu…

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The Hillsborough Disaster 10:29

23h ago10:29

10:29

On 15 April 1989, there was a crowd crush at a football match in Sheffield, England, which led to the death of 97 fans. It was the semi-final of the FA Cup between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and the worst sporting disaster in UK history. Rachel Naylor speaks to Jenni Hicks, whose daughters died in the disaster. This programme contains distress…

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South Africa's luxury train 10:12

4d ago10:12

10:12

In 1986, South African businessman Rohan Vos was sitting in the bath when he decided to pursue his passion and launch a vintage railway business. However, the venture nearly bankrupted him, and he was forced to sell his family home. But, improved economic conditions in the 1990s and a chance encounter with a travel agent in London saved the busines…

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The American Freedom Train 9:37

7d ago9:37

9:37

In April 1975, the American Freedom Train set out on a tour across the United States to celebrate 200 years of American independence. On-board were more than 500 priceless artefacts, documenting important moments in America's history - including an original copy of the Constitution, Thomas Edison's first working light bulb and a NASA lunar rover. O…

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The longest musical composition 10:25

6d ago10:25

10:25

On 31 December 1999, a piece of music started playing in a lighthouse in East London. It’s called Longplayer, and it’s set to keep going, without repeating, until the year 2999. It was created by Jem Finer from The Pogues, using 234 Tibetan singing bowls. Megan Jones has been to meet Jem Finer, to find out why he wanted to create a one thousand yea…

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Radio Free Europe 9:36

7d ago9:36

9:36

Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. It initially broadcast to Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania and programmes were produced in Munich, Germany. It now reaches nearly 50 million people a week, in 27 languages in 23 countries. Rachel Naylor speaks to former dep…

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SMS: The invention of text messaging 10:02

8d ago10:02

10:02

In October 1984, as the market for mobile phones was just opening up, one man decided it would be useful if the new technology could be used to send and receive short, electronic messages. But colleagues of Friedhelm 'Fred' Hillebrand - an engineer for Germany's Deutsche Telekom - told him the system's 160-character limit for text messages rendered…

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Creating the board game Catan 10:45

11d ago10:45

10:45

In 1995, Klaus Teuber’s board game Catan launched in Germany. The board is made up of hexagonal tiles, and it's a game about strategy and collecting resources. It's since sold over 40 million copies and been translated into more than 40 different languages. Klaus Teuber died in 2023. Megan Jones speaks to his son Benjamin, who now runs the company,…

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Tamagotchi is born 9:43

14d ago9:43

9:43

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company. Measuring just a few centimetres long, the egg-shaped digital gadget was home to a series of pixelated alien pets. Owners had to feed, clean and play with their pets by pressing three tiny buttons. Looking af…

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How the hoverboard was created 10:36

13d ago10:36

10:36

It was Back to the Future II that made a generation of children dream of travelling by hoverboard. In the 1989 film, the hero Marty McFly escapes from his arch nemesis Biff by jumping on a flying skateboard. But it wasn’t until 2011 that inventor Shane Chen came up with the next best thing – a motorised skateboard that moves intuitively and gives t…

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Inventing Play-Doh 10:34

14d ago10:34

10:34

In 1956, one of the world’s most beloved children’s toys went on sale for the first time, but its origins were surprising. The modelling clay had started out as a household cleaning product. In the days when homes were heated by coal fires, it was used to clean soot and dirt from wallpaper. But its manufacturer ran into trouble as oil and gas heati…

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The invention of Jenga 10:51

15d ago10:51

10:51

It's just over 30 years since the brick game was introduced to the world at a department store in London. Made of 54 wooden blocks stacked into a tower in rows of three by three, each player takes a turn to remove a block from the tower and place it at the top. When the tower falls, the game is over. Surya Elango speaks to its British designer Lesl…

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The first television opera 10:32

18d ago10:32

10:32

On 24 December 1951, in the United States, television history was made with the live broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever composed specifically for TV. Written by acclaimed Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti, the opera almost didn’t happen. Struggling with writer’s block and a looming deadline, Menotti feared he wouldn’t…

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When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub 10:25

19d ago10:25

10:25

In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performed a show at the nearby Nottingham Empire. Stan’s sister, Olga Healey, was the landlady. Customers and staff said the duo spent time serving behind the bar, signing autographs and chatting with regular…

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When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan 10:11

20d ago10:11

10:11

In the late 1980s, Norway needed a new market for its growing farmed salmon production. Fish-loving Japan and its lucrative sushi market seemed to fit the bill. But salmon was one fish the Japanese did not eat raw. Lars Bevanger speaks to Bjørn-Eirik Olsen, the man who came up with the idea of putting salmon on sushi rice, and who spent years convi…

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India's disability law 10:36

21d ago10:36

10:36

In December 1995, India's parliament passed the country's first disability rights legislation. The landmark law aimed to give full participation and equality rights to an estimated 60 million people - around five percent of India's population who are affected by physical or mental disabilities. In 2015, Farhana Haider spoke to disability rights act…

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How NFL tickets caught fugitives 10:37

22d ago10:37

10:37

Operation Flagship was a U.S Marshals sting operation, where some of Washington DC’s most wanted fugitives, were lured to a convention centre under the pretence of having won coveted NFL tickets in December 1985. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by cheerleaders and mascots – all law enforcement officers in disguise. It led to one of America’s …

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Introducing The Bomb: Kennedy and Khrushchev 4:11

24d ago4:11

4:11

The world is on the brink of nuclear war. How can the Soviet Union and the USA prevent it? Hosts Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of the superpower leaders President John F Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, tell the personal and political history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Together Nina and Max explore what drove JFK and Khrushche…

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The Paris climate agreement 10:04

25d ago10:04

10:04

On 12 December 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris climate agreement. It legally committed countries to climate action plans, designed to stop global temperatures rising 2C above pre-industrial levels. Those commitments have influenced government policy and people's lives ever since. Christiana Figueres was head of climate negotiations at …

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The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa 11:14

26d ago11:14

11:14

Following the abolishment of Apartheid in the 1990s, South Africa had to find a way to confront its brutal past without endangering the chance for peace. But it was a challenging process for many survivors of atrocities committed by the former racist regime. Sisi Khampepe served on the Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, s…

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The discovery of the coelacanth 10:20

27d ago10:20

10:20

In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered a coelacanth, a fish that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million years. It is thought to be our ancestor and the missing link between how fish evolved into four-legged amphibians. Produced and presented by Rachel Naylor in collaboration with BBC Archives. Eye-witn…

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Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park 10:38

1M ago10:38

10:38

In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars. Working under cover of darkness, the street artist created Dismaland - a 'bemusement park' offering a satirical twist on mainstream resorts. The temporary exhibition featured a fire-ravaged castle, a…

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The Balcombe Street IRA siege 9:10

1M ago9:10

9:10

In December 1975, four members of one of the IRA’s deadliest units were chased by police through the streets of London before hiding out in a small flat owned by a middle-aged couple called John and Sheila Matthews. The resulting six-day siege was covered live on television and radio, and gripped Britain. It ended when Metropolitan Police negotiato…

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How Lagos Fashion Week began 10:56

1M ago10:56

10:56

In 2011, Lagos Fashion Week debuted, putting Nigerian style on the map. Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of designers internationally. It has grown into a major fashion event and won the 2025 Earthshot Prize for sustainability. In 2023, Omoyemi Akerele spoke to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the first show. Eye-witne…

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Wole Soyinka: Imprisoned during Nigeria’s Biafra war 10:20

1M ago10:20

10:20

In 1967, Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka tried to stop the country’s Biafra war, in which Nigeria’s Igbo people responded to violence by seceding from the rest of the country. They proclaimed a new Republic of Biafra. When the fighting began, Soyinka was building a reputation as a poet and playwright abroad. However, in a last-ditch attempt to avert c…

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Escaping Nigeria's Biafra war 10:36

1M ago10:36

10:36

When the south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra, civil war broke out in May 1967. More than a million people died before the fighting stopped. In 2021, Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe, now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye, spoke to Paul Waters about escaping the conflict. Eye-witness accounts brought…

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Building the New Afrika Shrine in Nigeria 11:00

1M ago11:00

11:00

It's 25 years since the opening of the New Afrika Shrine, an open-air entertainment centre in Nigeria. A hub for Afrobeat music and culture, it's dedicated to the legacy of Fela Kuti who pioneered the genre. Omoyeni Anikulapo-Kuti, also known as Yeni Kuti, is Fela’s eldest daughter. She speaks to Surya Elango about building the New Afrika Shrine. E…

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West Africa fights back against Boko Haram 11:11

1M ago11:11

11:11

In 2015, West African countries fought against the jihadist militant group Boko Haram which controlled large areas of northeastern Nigeria. The group, whose name means 'western education is forbidden', had killed thousands and displaced millions in the years preceding 2015. They made worldwide headlines in 2014 when they kidnapped 276 girls from a …

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Ravi and George 10:38

1M ago10:38

10:38

Following the Beatles final concert tour, George Harrison travelled to India in 1967 to learn sitar under the renowned musician Ravi Shankar. Fleeing Beatlemania he travelled in disguise to Mumbai and then to Srinagar in Kashmir. Listening to BBC archive and using excerpts from a Martin Scorsese documentary, we hear one of the world's most famous g…

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India goes to the UN 10:33

1M ago10:33

10:33

In 1946, an Indian woman made history by leading her country’s first delegation to the United Nations. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit described it as a moment that reshaped her life. As the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, she was already in the public eye, but stepping onto the global stage was far from easy. She grappled with doub…

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The Howard Hughes literary hoax 10:04

1M ago10:04

10:04

In 1971, the publishing world was rocked by one of the biggest hoaxes in literary history – a fake autobiography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Hughes was an aerospace engineer, film producer, record-breaking aviator and business tycoon, who’d built a $2 billion fortune to become one of the richest people in the world. But for years he…

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Colombia's Salt Cathedral 10:35

1M ago10:35

10:35

In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine in Colombia. The idea came from the miners building makeshift altars in the mine in the 1930s, to pray for their safety before starting their shifts. It’s now a major tourist attraction, attracting more than 600,000 visitors a year. Rachel Naylor speaks to the engineer behin…

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Toy Story: the first digitally-animated feature film 10:47

1M ago10:47

10:47

Released in 1995, this buddy movie about a cowboy doll and a toy astronaut was the first to use entirely computer-generated images. The story, about a group of toys who come alive when humans are not around, appealed to audiences around the world. In 2017, animator Doug Sweetland spoke to Ashley Byrne about his work on the Pixar film. This was a Ma…

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How the Bosnian war ended 10:12

2M ago10:12

10:12

The Dayton Peace Accords were signed on the 21 November 1995, ending the three-and-a-half-year war in Bosnia. The war was part of the break-up of Yugoslavia; it is estimated that 100,000 people were killed. In 2010, Lucy Williamson spoke to Milan Milutinović who was one of the leading negotiators for the Serbian delegation about the final 24 hours …

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The Spanish king reclaims his throne 10:38

2M ago10:38

10:38

In 1975, the death of General Francisco Franco was announced in Spain, bringing to an end 36 years of dictatorship. Franco had already chosen his successor: Prince Juan Carlos, grandson of the last monarch, Alphonso XIII. This was the man who - Franco thought - would continue his authoritarian, anti-democratic and deeply conservative regime. But Ju…

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The death of Franco 10:32

2M ago10:32

10:32

General Francisco Franco died in November 1975, ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain. The general had been in power since 1939 after winning the country’s bloody civil war, and his death followed a long illness. He was mourned by conservative Spaniards but those on the left celebrated, calling him a fascist who had once been an ally of Hitler…

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Angela Merkel suspends EU asylum rules in 2015 10:47

2M ago10:47

10:47

In the summer of 2015, there was a surge in the number of people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, seeking asylum in Europe. Social Democrat politician Aydan Özoğuz was Angela Merkel's minister of state concerned with immigration, refugees and integration from 2013 to 2018. She describes to Josephine McDermott visiting her father's home city of Kil…

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Reagan and Gorbachev: The Geneva Summit 10:18

2M ago10:18

10:18

Forty years ago, in November 1985, two of the world’s most powerful leaders met for the first time. With Cold War tensions running high and the nuclear arms race dominating global politics, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev came together for the first time at the Geneva Summit. Using archive recordings, Megan Jones expl…

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When Maldives' ministers met underwater 10:51

2M ago10:51

10:51

On 17 October 2009, the Maldives’ top government officials donned their scuba gear for the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. Fish floated around while ministers communicated with hand gestures, white boards and special underwater pencils. Meanwhile on the surface, journalists jostled to see what was happening. The watery meeting was filmed …

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Bataclan attack in Paris 10:33

2M ago10:33

10:33

On 13 November 2015, 90 people were shot dead by gunmen at the Bataclan theatre in France during an Eagles of Death Metal concert. A further 40 people were killed in co-ordinated terror attacks by jihadists across the city on the same night. Rachel Naylor speaks to British couple Justine Merton-Scott and Tony Scott, who managed to escape the venue …

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Prosecuting Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials 11:09

2M ago11:09

11:09

In November 1945, the first major war crimes trial in history opened in the German city of Nuremberg. Senior Nazis who had committed atrocities during World War Two were prosecuted by the victorious Allied powers of Britain, the USA, France and the Soviet Union. In 2014, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Benjamin Ferencz, who helped unearth evidence of mass …

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Birth of the G7 10:35

2M ago10:35

10:35

In November 1975, a summit took place at Rambouillet, France, where the heads of six of the world’s most industrialised nations and their finance ministers came together. The leaders of the US, France, Germany, Britain, Japan and Italy hoped to solve the ongoing economic crisis. The summit marked the birth of an institution now known as the G7. Fra…

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Breaking the sound barrier 10:30

2M ago10:30

10:30

On 14 October 1947, American Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. Despite having two broken ribs, Chuck reached Mach 1.06 – a speed of more than 1,100km per hour. He flew an orange, single-seated, rocket-powered Bell X-1, 13,000m above the Mojave Desert in California. Produced and presented by Rachel Naylor, in…

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Discovering the largest dinosaur ever 10:41

2M ago10:41

10:41

In 2012, a shepherd uncovered a bone belonging to a new species of dinosaur on a ranch in Patagonia, in Argentina. A team from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio found more than 150 bones, belonging to six skeletons. The Patagotitan, a type of titanosaur, was 40 metres long, 20 metres tall and weighed 77 tonnes. Rachel Naylor spoke to Dr Di…

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The ‘father of e-books’ 10:22

2M ago10:22

10:22

In 1971, an American historical document typed out on a university computer played a vital role in the digital revolution of electronic books. It became the foundation of Project Gutenberg. Michael Hart, the visionary behind the project, later became known as the ‘father of e-books’. His close friend, Greg Newby, who was Project Gutenberg’s CEO and…

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The creation of Miffy 10:47

2M ago10:47

10:47

It's 70 years since Miffy was created. The little rabbit with two dots for eyes and an X for a mouth went on to feature in 32 books translated into more than 50 languages. The Dutch author and illustrator Dick Bruna reveals in his own words from the BBC archive that in the beginning, his black outlined illustrations with bold colours were controver…

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President Clinton is impeached 10:48

2M ago10:48

10:48

In 1999, the US Senate chamber in Washington DC was turned into a court to put President Bill Clinton on trial, after he admitted lying about an affair with an intern called Monica Lewinsky. In 2011, Bill Clinton’s former press secretary spoke to Neil Razzell. Joe Lockhart recounted the impeachment and the fight to save his presidency. Eye-witness …