Baiae: A Roman Settlement at The Bottom of The Sea

“If Campi Flegrei were to blow at maximum capacity today, it would make the 79AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii look like a puppy’s sneeze.”

Source: BBC
Published: Jul 13, 2020
Length: 16 minutes (4,068 words)

The FBI Said I Was My Parents’ Stolen Baby

“One headline read: “200 search for stolen baby.” Another: “Mother asks kidnapper to return baby.” He recognised his parents in the pictures, looking distraught and much younger. Then he read that their baby son, Paul Joseph, had been kidnapped.”

Source: BBC
Published: Jun 20, 2018
Length: 12 minutes (3,212 words)

My Disabled Son’s Amazing Gaming Life in the World of Warcraft

Every year since Mats’ death in 2014, the World of Warcraft guild Starlight has held a memorial to share memories of their comrade, someone they never met in real life.

Source: BBC
Published: Feb 7, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,567 words)

The man who refused to freeze to death

The story of Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, an Icelandic fisherman who survived a six-hour swim in 5-degree water.

Source: BBC
Published: Feb 27, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,005 words)

Night Rider: 21 years sleeping on a London bus

For more than two decades after his asylum application was rejected, Sunny found refuge by spending his nights riding London buses.

Source: BBC
Published: Jan 12, 2020
Length: 7 minutes (1,797 words)

The story of Tunnel 29

In 1961, Joachim Rudolph escaped from one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships. A few months later, he began tunneling his way back in. Why?

Source: BBC
Published: Oct 21, 2019
Length: 22 minutes (5,524 words)

The Teenager Married Who’s Been Married Too Many Times to Count

“Despite being illegal in Iraq, the BBC found that mutaa marriages were widely available in Kadhimiya. Out of 10 clerics approached by a BBC undercover reporter, eight said they performed them. Of those eight, we had further conversations with two who agreed to approve them for girls as young as nine.”

Source: BBC
Published: Oct 4, 2019
Length: 14 minutes (3,554 words)

Why humans have evolved to drink milk

Humans didn’t start out being able to digest animal milk – but now many populations do. Why has evolution favored tolerating dairy?

Source: BBC
Published: Feb 20, 2019
Length: 9 minutes (2,259 words)

The Unexpected Magic of Mushrooms

Beneath a patch of woodland in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula there lies an organism over 1500 years old and heavier than three blue whales combined –  a mushroom. The secret of its longevity is an extremely low mutation rate – meaning it avoids potentially damaging alterations to its genetic code. Could this fungus hold the key to fighting some human diseases?

Source: BBC
Published: Mar 15, 2019
Length: 11 minutes (2,839 words)

Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months

Many countries are dealing with scorching temperatures this summer, and there is a growing consensus amongst climate scientists that the next 18 months will be critical in dealing with the global heating crisis.

 

 

Source: BBC
Published: Jul 24, 2019
Length: 6 minutes (1,648 words)