Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
It has been 50 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, so we're exploring Swedish history. Also in 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. One father who took the leave tells us about this pioneering policy. We hear from one of the inventors of Bluetooth. The technology was named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king. Our expert guest is Eva Krutmeijer, Swedish science writer and co-author of the book ' Innovation, the Swedish Way’.
Plus, the invention of the three-point safety belt for cars, that is estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world, and the story behind Sweden’s Cinnamon Bun Day. Finally, 1974 was just the beginning for the Swedish quartet, Abba, who shared their name with a herring company. By the end of the decade, they were one of most recognisable music acts of the 20th century. Contributors: Per Edlund - one of the first fathers in his town to take split paid parental leave Sven Mattison - one of the inventors of Bluetooth Eva Krutmeijer - Swedish science writer and co-author of the book 'Innovation, the Swedish Way' Gunnar Ornmark - stepson of Nils Bohlin who invented the three-point safety belt for cars Kaeth Gardestedt - who came up with the idea of Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day Görel Hanser - manager of Abba (Photo: Abba in 1974. Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
Chipko: India’s tree-hugging women
Darfur's ethnic war
When the Taliban ruled Kabul
North Korea's 1990s famine
Supernatural sightings
The Confederate flag and America’s battle over race
When Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor
The war on drugs
Amilcar Cabral: an African liberation legend
When Egypt said Enough
Why a British MP was filmed taking mescaline
The IRA hunger strikes
The killing of Osama Bin Laden
How the NRA became a US political lobbying giant
The first woman in the US Supreme Court
The women who reclaimed the night
Black Jesus
The History Hour
The History Hour
The women of Egypt's Arab Spring
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The Infinite Monkey Cage
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Elis James and John Robins