"How dare you?": 10 iconic speeches that made history

History has been made through iconic speeches that changed the world: From ‘I Have a Dream ’, ‘Are Women Persons?’ to ‘The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself ’, tectonic shifts have occurred after these words were spoken. All written and delivered by masters of ideas and expression, discover the ultimate 10 manifestos that modified how people felt, thought, and acted.

On the 28th of August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dr Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech I Have a Dream, which was one of the most defining moments in history. This incredible speech was the climax of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which drew over 250,000 supporters to the city. Through his words, King galvanized the American Civil Rights movement, calling for racial equality and an end to legalized discrimination.

Through the reiteration of the title phrase, he managed to express hope powerfully, stating his wishes for the nation as a whole, in a relatable and inspiring way for all: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character".

This iconic speech was delivered by Winston Churchill on June 4th, 1940, in the House of Commons, while he was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was the second of a three-speech series given by Churchill around the time of the Battle of France, where tough things had to be said, without losing all hope.

The objective of this delivery was quite complex: to warn the British public of a possible invasion attempt by the Nazi regime, without casting doubt about their eventual victory: "...we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone".

During John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address on January 20th, 1961, he had a climactic moment which has been remembered throughout history: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

His goal was for it to be a call to civic action, urging ordinary citizens to prioritize public service, community sacrifice, and the greater good over individual self-interest.

It was on April 20th, 1964, when the future leader of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, the eldest son of a Xhosa-speaking Tembu chief, had a difficult time ahead of him: He faced the death penalty for alleged sabotage and treason against the white-minority-ruled state and its segregationist policies during what was known as the Apartheid regime.

Mandela, also known as Madiba, used the trial in Pretoria to outline the ideals of the African National Congress (ANC). His closing statement, which became a defining document for the global struggle for human rights, shocked the courtroom: "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

On the 23rd of September of 2019, during the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York, Greta Thunberg delivered a speech titled: "How Dare You?" Just like Malala Yousafzai, she was 16 years old at the time, but she confronted world leaders on their inaction on climate change in a way that had rarely been seen before.

She demanded urgent measures to be taken to save the planet, urged them to stop ignoring scientific warnings, and accused those present of stealing her generation's future with empty promises: "We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"

During his First Inaugural Address on March 4th, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered this pivotal speech while facing the depths of the Great Depression. His intention was to assure the American public that, instead of the economic crisis itself, despair, inaction, and hopelessness were their biggest enemies.

The full historic passage reads: "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

On her 16th birthday, on July 12th, 2013, Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, delivered her historic speech at the United Nations Assembly in New York to urge leaders around the globe to provide free and compulsory education for every child.

Incredibly, this took place just nine months after Malala survived an assassination attempt on her life by the Taliban for advocating for girls' education. In her address, she declared that the extremists were "afraid of books and pens" and that the power of education frightened them.

Following her arrest for illegally voting in the 1872 presidential election, Susan B. Anthony posed a powerful question in her groundbreaking speech of 1873: "Is it a crime for a United States citizen to vote?", where she passionately argued that the United States Constitution guaranteed women’s rights. Anthony famously stated, "The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not."

Since women are persons, she argued they are inherently citizens, pointing out that the Preamble of the Constitution begins with "We, the people," and does not say "white male citizens," or "male citizens," concluding that any state law denying women the right to vote was unconstitutional, null, and void.

In the Farewell Address given by J. Robert Oppenheimer to the Association of Los Alamos Scientists on November 2, 1945, he argued that scientific progress cannot be divorced from humanity, and that moral responsibility must guide the pursuit of knowledge.

"But there is another thing: we are not only scientists; we are men, too. We cannot forget our dependence on our fellow men. I mean not only our material dependence, without which no science would be possible, and without which we could not work; I mean also our deep moral dependence, in that the value of science must lie in the world of men, that all our roots lie there."

The British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst delivered her famous speech "Freedom or Death" on November 13, 1913, in Hartford, Connecticut, a speech that was a defining moment in the women's suffrage movement.

In the opening, she famously declared: "I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle to explain—it seems strange that I should have to explain it—what civil war is like when women wage it."

DECODING DNA

10 Surprising Facts About Genetics and DNA

Image: Sangharsh Lohakare

Genetics can both fascinate and befuddle us with its complexity, but understanding its mechanisms just might be the key to deciphering the building blocks of our entire existence. From genes that are shared between different species to viruses that insert themselves into our DNA, here are 10 things you—likely—didn’t know about genetics and DNA.

Image: Ganapathy Kumar

We vastly underestimate the amount of DNA we carry around in our cells. If you were to unravel all the DNA molecules in your body and lay them end to end, they would stretch an astonishing 10 billion miles—enough to reach the moon and back over 40 thousand times! However, despite the vast amount of DNA in our bodies, if we were to gather and weigh all of it together, it would surprisingly amount to only around 8 ounces.

Image: Harshad Khandare

Surprisingly, humans share about 50% of their DNA with bananas! But this shouldn’t be too surprising given the fact that all life on Earth evolved from a single organism, roughly 3.5 billion years ago. Every living creature on our planet has the same type of DNA, undergoing almost identical processes in order to live and reproduce.

Image: Pedro Lastra

Certain species, like salamanders and starfish, possess remarkable regenerative abilities, allowing them to regrow lost limbs. Other species like axolotls or jellyfish can even go further, regenerating anything from parts of their brains to crucial internal organs, or even recovering from being cut in half! Understanding the genetic mechanisms behind this ability holds promise for regenerative medicine and even tissue engineering.

Image: Hillshire Farm

Surprisingly, we inherit slightly more DNA from our mother’s side. While everyone receives 50% of DNA from each parent, a small portion of mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down exclusively from mother to child, contributes to this imbalance. Mitochondrial DNA also allows for tracing the ancient relationships of human populations, and for this reason, it is extensively studied in anthropology and evolutionary biology.

Image: Pietro Jeng

Scientists have already successfully stored digital data within DNA molecules, and many believe the technique has potential as a long-term storage solution. Its vast storage capacity and durability make it very attractive to store digital information, but the technology is still in development.

Image: George Prentzas

DNA is sort of a blueprint that determines most of our traits and characteristics, but it is far from having the last say on how particular traits or genes will express themselves. Environmental factors can modify gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence, potentially impacting health and development. This is the reason that even identical twins have noticeable differences, like unique fingerprints.

Image: Transly Translation Agency

Studies have shown that certain environmental factors experienced by parents, like exposure to stress or traumatic events, can leave chemical marks on DNA that are passed down to offspring. This phenomenon is called transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and though it seems to contradict some of the tenets of Darwinian ideas, it is now widely accepted as one of the many mechanisms of genetic inheritance in most living organisms.

Image: Fusion Medical Animation

Rare genetic mutations can give natural immunity to certain diseases. In time, if these genes can be distributed sufficiently within a given population this can even lead to collective immunity. For example, there is a genetic mutation called CCR5-delta 32 that provides natural immunity to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) by altering the structure of a specific protein these viruses use to infect cells. Studying these unique phenomena can be promising for developing cures and more effective treatments.

Image: Sangharsh Lohakare

A significant portion of the human genome consists of non-coding DNA, often referred to as "junk" DNA because it does not code for proteins. However, recent research suggests that this non-coding DNA plays important roles in gene regulation and genome stability, challenging the notion of it being just 'junk'.

Image: Belinda Fewings

Horizontal gene transfer is a very weird phenomenon where genetic material is transferred between completely different species, bypassing traditional vertical inheritance from parent to offspring. Although the mechanism behind this process is poorly understood, scientists believe that it played a significant role in the evolution of many organisms. In fact, certain types of viruses force this to happen in order to encode themselves into the DNA of their hosts and reproduce.