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BBC World Service: Only Bleeding

BBC Stockholm correspondent Maddy Savage on provocative and practical ways Swedes made menstruation less taboo. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct2zjj

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Crossing the Line

Campaigner Louise Lancaster has gone from law-abiding teacher to law-breaking eco-activist, and been jailed for her actions. Is she a concerned campaigner or a reckless fanatic?

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BBC Witness History

The swine flu vaccine that appears to have triggered a narcolepsy sleep disorder. Maddy Savage reports for BBC Witness History: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct3bxp

Hey World, What's the Craic?

Patrick Kielty on Ireland's 1994. Patrick and producer Ruth Sanderson on how 1994 was an extraordinary faultline in Irish life, for Radio 4's Archive on 4. Listen on BBC Sounds.

Sweden's Summer Shutdown

In the summer of 1978, many Swedish workers relished the chance to take longer, paid vacations than ever before.This was thanks to an update to Sweden’s Annual Leave Act - or Semesterlagen in Swedish - passed the previous year.

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The law guaranteed all employees four consecutive weeks of vacation, and increased their total annual leave to five weeks, giving them some of the longest paid holidays in the world.These policies transformed the way Swedes do business. Many factories and offices shut down for an entire month during the summer. Today,Sweden retains its strong reputation for work-life balance, and the annual leave act has given rise to the 'sommar jobb' - short summer jobs that help cover holiday absences.

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(Photo: Inga Persson. Credit: Inga Persson)

Producer: Maddy Savage

A Bespoken Media production for BBC World Service.

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