The Gallimaufry - Sputnik: The beginnings of the space race

Sputnik: The beginnings of the space race

05/26/23 • 71 min

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a silver beach ball with extensions. It's Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite, launched by the USSR on October 4th 1957 to the shocked, amazed and terrified world. Come here the story of how it was made possible, fuelled by a fierce intellectual rivalry between a charismatic ex-Nazi and a former enemy of the Russian state, turned hero.

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Previous Episode

Ancient Serial Killers

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

We tend to think of serial killers as a modern thing and indeed the term is very recent (in the grand scheme of things!) but what about before we knew the term? Were there serial killers roaming the streets of...well Rome? Was saucy Jack just copying some French nobles and claiming to be original? Join us as we look at some of the worlds "first" serial killers from the ancient world to the middle ages.

Next Episode

Tea: From leaf to cup

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

How about a nice cup of Rosy Lee, cha, builders or just a plain brew? Tea is one of the mos popular drinks in the world, the second as it stands, but how much do we know about where its from? How its made? Or even what the right amount of milk (if any) we should pop in it. Join us as a we take a brief tour from its origin to the modern day, that takes us to China, India and back to Blighty.