Non-Fiction

Mountains take our breath away. People get up early to watch the sun rise over them or charter planes to fly around them and climbers risk death trying to ascend them. Find out how mountains were formed and how important they have been throughout human history. (930 words)

Patty Hearst was born into a rich and powerful American family but in 1974 she was kidnapped by a terrorist group. Some weeks later she turned up on security camera footage taking part in the armed robbery of a bank in San Francisco. She was arrested and sentenced to 35 years in prison but was eventually pardoned. Read and listen to this story to find out why. (1,170 words)

Rivers play a vital role in the earth's water system and the development of human civilisation. This is an introduction to the great rivers of the world and the impacts that they have on people's lives. (1,025 words)

The Spanish Civil War was one of the great battle grounds between the left and right wing during the 20th Century and it attracted artists, poets and intellectuals to the republican cause. This is the background to the conflict, how the republic lost and how General Franco then held on to power. (1,315 words)

A political scandal and miscarriage of justice in the late 19th century based on antisemitism caused a split in French society and had far-reaching global consequences. When the French found they had a spy in their military they blamed the face that didn't fit - a Jewish one, rather rather than the real culprit. An innocent military officer spent many years in prison as the scandal unfolded over the next 10 years. (1,250 words)

Toussant L'ouverture was a black slave in Haiti and, yet, he could take on the might of Napoleon's French Empire and secure independence for his island nation. Although he was eventually captured, he was an inspiration to his people and freed them from the burden of colonialism and slavery. This is his story (1,870 words).

When Europeans arrived in South America, they made empires and became unbelievably rich. They killed tens of thousands of local people but they also changed how the world ate. They discovered new foods that they exported and they imported crops like wheat. So began the great food exchange that changed the world. (345 words)

Andrei Chikatilo murdered more than fifty young girls and boys all over the Soviet Union. The police arrested him once but had to let him go. How did he escape justice for so long and what made this man kill so often and so many? (1,550 words)

In Britain, people live for Saturday and Sunday, the weekend. But in Saudi Arabia, the weekend is Friday and Saturday. How did this happen and why? Here we explore where the names of the days of the week come from and how they differ across the world. (965 words)

Bruno Sammartino was born just before the Second World War in a mountain village in Italy. As a child he was weak because his mother could not get enough food for him to eat but he went on to become the world champion of wrestling. He is one of the most famous and best loved wrestlers of all time. (870 words)

Since time began, disease has worried and killed huge numbers of people. The Black Death killed nearly half the population of Europe six hundred years ago and malaria takes the lives of 300 million every year. People used to think that disease was God’s punishment for human wrongdoing but now we think about viruses and bacteria. (910 words)

John Haycraft was a pioneer in the field of teaching English to non-native students of the language. He believed that communication between nations makes the world a more interesting and safer place. He is not a very well-known figure: he did not win wars; govern countries or star in films. If you are learning English though, he has probably had an effect on your life. (1,385 words)

The Kayan women are famous all over the world because they wear metal rings around their necks which make their necks seem like giraffes. This article explores why they do this. (590 words)

The kidnapping and murder of the two-year old son of Colonel Lindbergh, the first man to fly across the Atlantic from the U.S. to France and a national hero, was a very big story in 1932. Someone was executed for the crimes but there are still many unanswered questions in this sad story. (1,820 words)

Less people where hats nowadays but at one time nobody went out without one. This article looks at the incredible hats that people have worn in European history and asks why the hat became less popular. (680 words)