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Society & Culture

Little Tiny

ABC Radio

Explore world history through the small things that have shaped it.

Episodes

11 episodes

The pill — a dinner party conversation starts a sexual revolution

A scientist who experiments on randy rabbits and an infamous Women’s Liberation activist have an unlikely, but fateful meeting at a New York...

0:09:12Jan 15, 2019

The leaf — a Portuguese princess introduces a national pastime to England

A Portuguese princess sold into marriage, an English king suffocated in debt and an exotic leaf that will unlock England’s future. A tale of...

0:10:33Jan 15, 2019

The static — the search for a strange space sound helps prove the Big Bang Theory

Two astronomers discover a curious sound in space that will drive them to madness — or at least have them chasing pigeons for two years — an...

0:11:11Jan 15, 2019

The wine — a deadly 16th century illness reveals the hidden danger of lead poisoning

An entire German city is dying of a mysterious illness, and the royal physician is sent to a nearby monastery to find out what the cause is,...

0:08:50Jan 15, 2019

The manicure — a Hollywood star helps spark a new industry for Vietnam War refugees

A small group of Vietnamese refugees and a Hollywood actress collude to find refugees work in a hostile America, chasing an American Dream t...

0:09:47Jan 15, 2019

The Key — the missing key that sinks the Titanic

After the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people, an inquest was held to find out how it happened. Theories abou...

0:07:09Feb 8, 2018

The Doughnut — the delicious treat that makes war more palatable for the American people

America has a reputation for supporting war efforts, but this wasn’t always the case. Mere months before they joined World War I, the US vot...

0:09:07Feb 8, 2018

The Rabbit — the lucky rabbit that transforms Walt Disney from animator into Empire

Walt Disney’s first great success wasn’t a cartoon mouse. Years before Mickey paraded onto our screens, Disney created a cartoon that took h...

0:08:37Feb 8, 2018

The Clot — the blood clot that stops an Emperor... and starts a new era in China

Wu Zetian is the first, and only, woman Emperor of China. Behind her success is a trail of blood and intrigue that begins with the stranglin...

0:09:00Feb 8, 2018

The Coin — the gold coin donation that kills Marie Antoinette

Queen Marie Antoinette is infamous for provoking the 18th century French Revolution with her excessive spending. But her trial, execution an...

0:09:02Feb 8, 2018

INTRODUCING — Little Tiny

History is full of Little Tiny things that have made a big difference in the world. Whether it’s the key that sank the Titanic, the coin tha...

0:00:49Jan 19, 2018