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How the smear test was invented

The discovery by Dr George Papanicolaou in 1928 which led to the smear test

• 9 mins

The US’s first gay election candidate

In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States.

• 9 mins

How abortion was legalised in Great Britain

The campaign to allow abortion in Great Britain which resulted in a new law in 1967.

• 9 mins

Poland's strict abortion law

In 1993 abortion laws were tightened up in Poland after the fall of Communism

• 9 mins

When Tunisia led on women's rights

Tunisia became the first country in the Muslim world to legalise divorce and abortion.

• 9 mins

The man who invented the Pill

In 1951, Dr Carl Djerassi created the Pill's active ingredient from Mexican wild yams.

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Fighting for the pill in Japan

The contraceptive pill was approved for use in the US in 1960, but in Japan it was 1999.

• 9 mins

The school for telenovela stars

In 1987, in Mexico City, a TV station opened a school to train telenovela actors.

• 9 mins

Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Indian Cookery’

A ground breaking Indian cookery programme broadcast on the Â鶹Éç launched 40 years ago.

• 9 mins

Who shot JR?

The world's reaction to leading man JR, being shot in the American TV series, Dallas.

• 9 mins

The Soviet James Bond

The most successful TV spy series in the USSR went on air in 1973.

• 9 mins

Nigerian sitcom Papa Ajasco

In 1996, Wale Adenuga’s sitcom Papa Ajasco first hit Nigerian TV screens.

• 9 mins

Ukraine's Revolution on Granite

In 1990, a hunger strike led by Ukrainian students brought down the Soviet regime in Kyiv

• 9 mins

The Surkov leaks

In 2016, Ukrainian hackers leaked the emails of Vladimir Putin's aide, Vladislav Surkov.

• 9 mins

Inventing nicotine patches

Nicotine patches became available in the 1990s but their origins go back to the 1980s.

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The Tangshan Earthquake

A deadly earthquake hit the city of Tangshan killing hundreds of thousands of people.

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The Leaflet Bomber

In 1971 communist Bob Newland goes on a secret mission to South Africa to fight Apartheid

• 9 mins

Why Asians came to Uganda

In the early 20th century many South Asians migrated to Uganda in search of a better life

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When Asians were forced to leave Kenya

Many Asians migrated to Kenya in the early 20th century but were later forced to leave

• 9 mins

The exodus of Asians from Uganda

In 1972, dictator Idi Amin announced that all Asians had just 90 days to leave Uganda.

• 9 mins

The city shaped by Ugandan Asians

Some 10,000 Asians made Leicester their home after being expelled from Uganda in 1972.

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The return of Asians to Uganda

When Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, he asked exiled Asians to return to Uganda.

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The resignation of President Nixon

On 8 August 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign

• 9 mins

Sweden’s pronoun battle

How campaigners fought to get ‘hen’ included in Swedish dictionaries.

• 9 mins

Indonesia's forest fires

Forest fires in Indonesia caused huge damage and a dense smog across South East Asia

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Discovering Hale Bopp

The Hale Bopp Comet was discovered in 1995 which resulted in advances in science

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The nightclub that changed Ibiza

In June 1973, the nightclub Pacha opened in Ibiza and it changed the island forever

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India's Partition - Part One

Saleem was five when his family escaped to the new Muslim country of Pakistan in 1947

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India's Partition - Part Two

Chandra Joashi was caught on the wrong side of the border during India's partition

• 9 mins

The last Viceroy of India

The daughter of the last British viceroy in India remembers the transfer of power in 1947

• 9 mins