Krakatoa 1883 - The eruption heard around the...

A quick glance around the world or through history will reveal that no matter what we happen to believe is morally right and wrong, there is at least one person or culture that believes differently, and holds their belief with as much conviction as we do. 

When we think about the Greek myths we think of beasts like multi-headed dogs or giant eagles, but what about insects? 

Mount Vesuvius' eruption in the autumn of AD79 remains one of the deadliest and best-known in history. The plume of super-heated volcanic gases spewed skyward formed a cloud 21 miles high, with the volcano ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombin ...  Show more

After the first eruption of Krakatoa on August 26th, 1883, the citizens of the Sunda Strait may have assumed the worst was over. But they were about to experience a tsunami that would be the first of many over the next 24 hours. On top of this, pyroclastic flows were on their way ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of the eruption of Mt Tambora, in 1815, on the Indonesian island of Sambawa. This was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history and it had the highest death toll, devastating people living in the immediate area. Tambora has been ...  Show more

In 1883 between the south-Asian islands of Java and Sumatra, a deadly force was brewing. The volcano Krakatoa had been waiting to erupt for over a thousand years. Dutch colonizers ignored the warning signs, and Islanders had little mobility. It was a recipe for disaster. Soon, th ...  Show more