episode-header-image

Jun 2016

9m 3s

When TV Came to Bhutan

Bbc World Service

About this episode

There was a ban on television in Bhutan for decades because of fears it would ruin the country's traditional way of life. But in June 1999 the tiny Himalayan kingdom finally broadcast its first TV programme. Ashley Byrne has spoken to two people who remember the day well

Photo: The capital of Bhutan,Thimpu)

Up next

How BRICS got its name

In 2001, a few months after 9/11, economist Jim O’Neill was working at Goldman Sachs when he wrote a report about which countries might become big players in the world economy. That’s when he came up with the name BRIC - short for Brazil, Russia, India and China. At first, nothin ... Show More

Japan surrenders in Beijing

Eighty years ago, in the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire.The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese gen ... Show More

The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away

On 10 October 1961, a volcanic eruption threatened the population of Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, and all 264 islanders were evacuated to the UK. Two years later, the majority voted to return. In an interview she gave to the BBC in 1961, M ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

The Assassination of Philip and the Rise of Alexander the Great

Philip of Macedonia was a towering figure, and if he had been succeeded by anyone other than Alexander the Great, he would be far better known today. But in 336 BC, at the peak of his powers, Philip was assassinated, and it became Alexander's kingdom to expand. He would do so bey ... Show More

Philip the One-Eye and the Rise of Macedonia

For most of the history of ancient Greece, Macedonia was a backwater: a semi-barbarian kingdom on the fringes of the Greek world, only tangentially involved in the dealings of the sophisticated city-states to the south. But with the rise of King Philip II, father of Alexander the ... Show More

Alexander the Great Invades Persia

Alexander wasn't yet "The Great" when he invaded the westernmost provinces of the Persian Empire in 334 BC, but he quickly showed that he was a serious threat to the old and still-powerful state ruled by Darius III.Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Rena ... Show More

The Death of Alexander the Great

The last years of Alexander the Great's reign were a troubled time. The king wanted to keep fighting, but his soldiers were spent after years of campaigning. Then, quite suddenly, the king died, and it was up to his generals to determine the fate of the empire he'd built.Patrick' ... Show More

Philip the One-Eye and the Macedonian Conquest of Greece

We all know the name of Alexander the Great, but his father Philip the One-Eye was no less important a historical figure. In just 20 years, he turned Macedonia into the preeminent power in the Greek world, laying the foundation for the much better-known exploits of his son and he ... Show More

The Birth of the Roman Republic

In 509 BC, the last king of Rome - Tarquinius Superbus - was expelled from the city, and the Republic was born. But what do we actually know about the early years of the Republic? Not much, and what we do know is at odds with the much later traditions on which we tend to rely.Pat ... Show More

Being a Soldier During the Thirty Years War: Interview with Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels

What was it like to be a soldier during the Thirty Years War? I spoke with Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels, author of the upcoming book The War People: A Social History of Common Soldiers during the Era of the Thirty Years War, about what we can know of the thousands of men who fought ... Show More

The Successors of Alexander the Great

With mountains of treasure, huge armies, and ambitions that no amount of conquest could ever slake, Alexander's Successors spent the next 40 years after the king's death fighting over his inheritance.Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Fo ... Show More

Ancient India and China: from golden to silk roads

The best-selling historian William Dalrymple presents India as the great superpower of ancient times in The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. He argues that for more than a millennium India art, religions, technology, astronomy, music and mathematics spread fa ... Show More

Introducing Curse of: America's Next Top Model

When America’s Next Top Model premiered in the early 2000s, it looked like a golden ticket: a glamorous TV show that could catapult aspiring models into fame. But two decades later, many contestants describe its aftermath as a curse. Hosted by pop-culture journalist Bridget Armst ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami