On 12 October 1406, Chen Yanxiang arrived in Seoul after a four-month journey from Java, becoming the only recorded Indonesian visitor to dynastic Korea across five centuries of records. Four hundred years later, on the same date in 1799, Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse became the first woman to parachute from a balloon, leaping into the frontier of aviation when the technology was barely two years old. In 2010, a Finnish television debate prompted nearly 50,000 viewers to resign from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in a matter of weeks. And in 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in Vienna in one hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds, breaking the two-hour barrier that had defined the limits of human endurance. Four moments from one calendar date, each capturing human audacity in vastly different forms. Clara Vale unpacks the extraordinary journeys, brave decisions, and barrier-breaking moments that make 12 October a date worth remembering.

• Introduction Clara Vale introduces the episode, focusing on quiet historical stories that almost slip past unnoticed. Today’s date is 12 October, and the journey begins on the island of Java.
• Chen Yanxiang Reaches Seoul In 1406, Chen Yanxiang completed a four-month journey from Java to arrive in Seoul on 12 October, becoming the only recorded Indonesian visitor to dynastic Korea. The story explores the extraordinary nature of this journey and what it means that only one such visit survives in the historical record across five centuries of the Joseon dynasty.
• Call to Action Clara invites listeners to follow the show and share it with curious friends.
• Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse and the Parachute On 12 October 1799, Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse became the first woman to parachute from a balloon. The segment examines her role at the frontier of early aviation technology and the audacity of her leap just two years after the first parachute jump.
• Homoilta and the Finnish Church On 12 October 2010, a Finnish television programme sparked nearly 50,000 resignations from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in the weeks that followed. The episode explores how a single broadcast crystallised public feeling and prompted mass action.
• Eliud Kipchoge Breaks Two Hours On 12 October 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in Vienna in one hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds, breaking the two-hour barrier. The segment discusses the significance of the achievement and the conditions that made it possible, while noting why it does not count as an official world record.
• Closing Thoughts Clara reflects on the four stories from one date, each illustrating human audacity in different forms, and signs off with her characteristic dry humour.

• https://www.korea.net/
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Majapahit
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Joseon-dynasty
• https://www.fai.org/page/icare-parachuting-history
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeanne-Genevieve-Labrosse
• https://yle.fi/
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/27/finns-leave-church-gay-debate
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/49983223
• https://www.worldathletics.org/
• https://www.ineos159challenge.com/