Introducing "Everything 80's"

In the 1990s there was a new wave of improvisational rock groups known as jam bands. By far the biggest was the genre defying foursome Phish from Burlington, Vermont. In this episode of History of the 90s we look back at their rise from college band to a touring sensation capable ...  Show more

In July 1991 President George HW Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court. Initial reaction to the nomination suggested there would be a contentious Senate confirmation battle that would probe Thomas’s conservative views on issues such as abortion and affirmative ac ...  Show more

With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality - shifting 40 million unit ...  Show more

This year marks the 40th anniversary of a lot of landmarks in pop culture, especially sci-fi and fantasy. So many franchises were born in 1984. Some came to define the genre or invent new genres. The great podcast Imaginary Worlds noticed this and produced a three-part series abo ...  Show more

October 2023 marks the centenary of the Walt Disney Company, which from its early days as one of the pioneers of animated films has grown to become a cultural behemoth. Speaking to Matt Elton, John Wills looks back at a hundred years of classic films, controversy and cultural dom ...  Show more

Lucy Robinson responds to your questions on Britain in the decade of Thatcherism, Live Aid, Bananarama and the rise of the yuppie It was the decade in which the Aids pandemic transformed our relationship with sex and sexuality, MTV transformed the way we consume music, Princess ...  Show more