The History Hour
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- 14 Nov 2026
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A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.
Épisodes 523
Malaysia’s space agency and the 'guardian angel' of Route 66
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, a historian of spaceflight at the Smithsonian National Air and Space …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, a historian of spaceflight at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, USA.
We start with the founding of Malaysia's space agency in 2002, and a competition to find the country's first astronaut.
Then, we hear how, in the US, lethal injection was used as a form of execution for the first time in 1982.
We find out how, in 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to ban single-use plastic bags.
Next we head to Denmark in 1962, for a ground-breaking archaeological excavation of five Viking ships.
Then in Sporting Witness, how Wales surprised the world in 2016 by making it to the semi-finals of the European Championships in France.
Finally, we meet the 'guardian angel' of one of the world's most famous highways, Route 66.
Contributors:
Professor Mazlan Othman, founding director of the Malaysian National Space Agency.
Bill LaRowe - former director of the Texas Center for Correctional Services.
Dr. Shahriar Hossain - pioneer in the global campaign to ban single-use plastic bags.
Girth Lerche - student member of the archaeological team for the Skuldelev Viking ships.
Hal Robson-Kanu - former Wales striker.
Angel Delgadillo - 'guardian angel' of Route 66.
(Photo: Malaysia's first astronaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 10 October 2007. Credit: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
Mexico’s Day of the Dead parade and the Pope in Peru
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes. We learn about how the James Bond film Spectre inspired Mexico City’s first Day of the Dead parade in 2016. Our guest, Professor Erica …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.
We learn about how the James Bond film Spectre inspired Mexico City’s first Day of the Dead parade in 2016.
Our guest, Professor Erica Borgstrom, takes us around the world to learn how death is celebrated in different cultures.
Plus, how one woman survived Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013; a former altar boy’s memories of Pope Leo XIV’s time in Peru and Brazil’s Mariana dam disaster of 2015.
In Sporting Witness, the story of the Island Games.
And finally, we meet the father of stencil graffiti in France.
Contributors:
Alejandra González Anaya – organiser of Mexico City’s first Day of the Dead parade
Erica Borgstrom - professor of Medical Anthropology at the Open University
Joanna Sustento – survivor of Super Typhoon Haiyan
Héctor Camacho – friend of Pope Leo XIV
Paula Geralda Alves – survivor of the Mariana dam disaster
Pal Joensen – Island Games competitor
Xavier Prou – father of stencil graffiti
(Photo: The James Bond inspired Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City in 2016. Credit: Maria Calls/AFP via Getty Images)
The Siege of Paris and earthquakes in Mexico
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.We hear a survivor's incredible archive account of living through the Siege of Paris in 1870. Sydney Snell was in her 80s when she …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.
We hear a survivor's incredible archive account of living through the Siege of Paris in 1870. Sydney Snell was in her 80s when she recorded her memories with the BBC in 1946.
Our guest Professor Beatrice Heuser, from the General Staff College of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg, Germany, explains how sieges in other military campaigns have influenced history.
There’s more on why newly reunified Germany held a vote in 1991 to decide which city would become its capital: Bonn or Berlin.
Plus, the world’s first public earthquake warning system launches in Mexico. And the story behind singer George Michael's cheeky video response to his arrest in a public toilet in Beverly Hills.
Also, the creation of CAMRA, one of Europe's most successful consumer movements. And in Sporting Witness, German football embraces its first shirt sponsor in 1973.
Contributors: Sydney Snell – survivor of the Siege of Paris. Professor Beatrice Heuser – historian, General Staff College of the Bundeswehr, Hamburg Jürgen Nimptsch – former mayor of Bonn. Wolfgang Schäuble – former German interior minister. Juan Manuel Espinosa Aranda – Seismic Instrumentation and Record Centre director. Bernd Gersdorff – retired footballer. Graham Lees – CAMRA co-founder. Vaughan Arnell – video director.
(Image: Army cannons at Le Raincy, the siege of Paris, 1870. Credit: API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Berlin Wall mural and a new kind of zoo
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.American artist Keith Haring's bold 1986 mural on the Berlin Wall and British naturalist Gerald Durrell's 1950s mission to save species …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.
American artist Keith Haring's bold 1986 mural on the Berlin Wall and British naturalist Gerald Durrell's 1950s mission to save species from extinction.
We discuss other examples of art which aim to bring peace and unity around the world with Dr Lucy Weir, head of art history at the University of Edinburgh.
Plus Malta's divorce referendum in 2011, Hungary's 1956 uprising, the first Refugee Olympic Team of 2016 and how Ten Canoes made cinema history in Australia in 2006.
Contributors: Alexandra Hildebrandt - the chairwoman of the Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Dr Lucy Weir - the head of the history of art at the University of Edinburgh. Gerald Durrell - British naturalist. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando - Maltese MP. Péter Pallai - survivor of the Hungarian uprising. Frances Djulibing - actor in Ten Canoes. Rose Lokonyen - 800m runner for the Refugee Olympic Team.
(Photo: Keith Haring painting his mural on the Berlin Wall in 1986. Credit: Patrick Piel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The chimpanzee who learned American sign language and monkeys in space
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear about the tests on baby rhesus monkeys which would become some of the most controversial in modern …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear about the tests on baby rhesus monkeys which would become some of the most controversial in modern science. Also, the chimpanzee who apparently learned American sign language.
Our guest zoologist Megan McCubbin discusses how ethics around using animals in experiments have changed over the years. And we hear about the two monkeys that were sent into space in the late 1950s.
Also the campaign to get chimps listed as endangered, and the murder of the mountain gorilla scientist Dian Fossey. Finally in this week's Sporting Witness, we learn why Manchester City fans started taking inflatable bananas to games in the late 80s.
Contributors:
Harry Harlow - psychologist.
Roger Fouts - worked with Washoe the chimpanzee.
Megan McCubbin - zoologist and author.
Dr Ron Nowak - led the team which declared chimpanzees endangered.
Lieutenant Joe Guion - commander of the USS Kiowa.
Kelly Stewart - Dian Fossey’s colleague.
Dr Gary James - football historian.
Imre Varadi - former Man City striker.
(Photo: Monkeys Able and Baker at a press conference to mark their return from space. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
The Falklands War and the assassination of Anwar Sadat
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear from one of the Peruvian pilots who secretly flew fighter jets to help Argentina during the Falklands …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear from one of the Peruvian pilots who secretly flew fighter jets to help Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982. We discuss with our guest, Iberian and Latin American historian Stella Krepp from Bern University, about the stance Peru and other countries from the region took in the conflict.
Plus, the killing of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981, the mirrors that brought winter sunshine to a Norwegian town, the rats that were trained to detect landmines, and the real-life boy who inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh books.
Finally, this week's Sporting Witness – the day Australia’s cricket captain had to choose between setting a personal record and his team’s chance to win.
Contributors:
Rubén Mimbela – former Peruvian Air Force pilot.
Jehan Sedat – Anwar Sadat’s widow.
Martin Andersen – inventor and artist.
Bart Weetjens – product designer.
Christopher Robin Milne – son of author A.A. Milne (archive).
Mark Taylor – Australia’s former cricket captain.
(Photo: Argentina's Air Force patrol during the Falklands War. Credit: Fireshot/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Sulawesi's historic cave art and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr. April Nowell, a paleolithic archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Dr. April Nowell, a paleolithic archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria in Canada.
We start by hearing how in 2012, archaeologists on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi made a discovery that changed our understanding of early human history.
Next, we're in the UK in 1957, as the final touches are made to what was then the largest radio telescope in the world: Jodrell Bank.
Plus, how the contraceptive pill was finally legalised in Japan in 1999, after decades of campaigning.
Then we go back to 1947 for what's been described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century: the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And we hear one soldier's account of the siege of Ladysmith, a key moment in the Boer War in 1899.
Finally, we're in Kenya for the start of one athlete's historic journey to javelin gold at the World Athletics Championships in 2015.
Contributors:
Professor Maxime Aubert - archaeologist, Griffith University, Australia
Sir Bernard Lovell - British radio astronomer and physicist (archive)
Yoriko Madoka - Japanese politician
Gerald Lankester Harding - British archaeologist (archive)
James Dalton - British Army bandsman with the Gordon Highlanders (archive)
Julius Yego ('Mr YouTube Man') - Kenyan track and field athlete
(Photo: Cave painting, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Maxime Aubert)
Manchester's racially inclusive nightclub and the artist who portrayed Nelson Mandela from life
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We dedicate this edition to Manchester, in England. We hear about the man who opened the city's first racially …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We dedicate this edition to Manchester, in England. We hear about the man who opened the city's first racially inclusive nightclub in 1962. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. Our guest Kath McDermott, a Mancunian DJ and producer at BBC 6 Music, tells us about Manchester's musical scene and how it helped shape the town’s culture and identity.
The acclaimed artist Harold Riley was a local to Greater Manchester and also the only one granted access to paint Nelson Mandela from life.
Plus, we remember the time the city hosted the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945, where activists from around the world met to discuss the struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination.
And we go back to 1948, when the University of Manchester developed ‘Baby,’ the world’s first stored-program computer.
Also, the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District that challenged private landownership to demand access to the countryside.
And the UK’s first female football photographer.
Contributors: Lisa Ayegun – daughter of Phil Magbotiwan, the founder of The Reno. Harold Riley – artist (archive). Peter Abrahams – African National Congress activist and writer. Tom Kilburn – creator of the 'Baby' computer (archive). Hakim Adi – historian. Benny Rothman – organiser of the Kinder Scout mass tresspass (archive). Harry Rothman – son of Benny Rothman. Magi Haroun – football photographer.
(Photo: Albert Square in Manchester in 1968. Credit: Manchester Evening News Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Norway's teacher resistance and Ireland's deadly nightclub fire
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear how Norwegian teachers resisted peddling Nazi propaganda during the German occupation of the Second …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear how Norwegian teachers resisted peddling Nazi propaganda during the German occupation of the Second World War and our guest, Dr Rachel Pistol, talks us through other examples of resistance around Europe.
Plus, the Stardust nightclub fire in Dublin in 1981, the Iranian engineer who connected homes to the internet using cable TV and the birth of India's call centre industry.
Finally, this week's Sporting Witness - the most successful Paralympian and the discovery of the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks.
Contributors: Mr Roll Hansen - Norwegian teacher. Dr Rachel Pistol - a historian specialising in the Second World War, from the University of Southampton. Antoinette Keegan - survivor of the Stardust nightclub fire. Rouzbeh Yassini - father of the cable modem. Pramod Bhasin - businessman who set up India’s first call centre. Trischa Zorn-Hudson - the most successful Paralympian. Juan Manuel Santos - former President of Colombia.
(Photo: German troops marching through Oslo in occupied Norway during World War Two in 1940. Credit: European / FPG / Getty Images)
The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two.
Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us through the finer details of the famous medieval tapestry.
Plus, communist fighters struggling to survive while following Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War in 1935.
The firefighter who survived the collapse of the North Tower with his crew during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The Irish woman whose report changed the date of D-Day, and the winner of the first Rubik's Cube World Championship.
We also learn how reports of a moving statue in rural Ireland drew thousands of visitors in 1985.
Contributors:
Sylvette Lemagnen - former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Catherine Clarke - Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Zhong Ming - soldier in Mao Zedong's army
Jay Jonas - former New York firefighter
Edward Sweeney - son of Maureen Flavin
Minh Thai - Rubik's Cube World Champion 1982
Ita Dungan - pilgrim to the site of the reported moving statue in Ballinspittle
(Photo: The Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau)
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys
Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA.
Actor Peter Coyote looks back on the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, sharing memories from the set and reflecting on the film's enduring appeal.
We hear the story of Octavia E. Butler, who overcame poverty, racism and sexism to become one of the most influential voices in science fiction.
Plus, how American television boldly went where it had never gone before with what is claimed to be the country’s first interracial kiss broadcast on television, in an episode of Star Trek in 1968.
We also hear about Turkish Star Wars, the cult film that would go on to gain a reputation as one of the world's worst movies.
And how the success of the original Star Wars transformed toy marketing forever.
Then, in Sporting Witness, the story behind Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien's legendary reaction to Norway's 2-1 victory over England in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo in 1981.
Contributors: Lisa Yaszek - Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA. Peter Coyote - actor in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Nisi Shawl - friend of Octavia E. Butler. Nichelle Nichols - actress who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek (archive). Çetin İnanç - film director (archive). Jim Swearingen - toy designer. Marius Lillelien - son of Bjørge Lillelien.
(Photo: On the set of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Credit: Universal/Getty Images)
Voting for water and surviving a hurricane
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the world to do …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.
We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the world to do so. And environmental historian Ellen Arnold reveals how water has shaped human history.
Also, we tell the story of the fatal hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan, 40 years ago. And how the island of Antigua was devastated when Hurricane Luis hit the Caribbean in 1995.
We find out more about the abandoned Nazi photo album revealing the chilling normality of life at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Plus, how a Northern Ireland peace movement was born from one family’s tragedy.
Finally, in Sporting Witness, why Ghana’s sprinting superstar Alice Annum won the nickname ‘Baby Jet’.
Contributors: Carmen Sosa - member of the water workers trade union. Ellen Arnold – environmental historian. Eli Fuller – Antigua resident. Madhvi Bahunga - Pan-American Airways flight attendant. Rebecca Erbelding – archivist and historian. Gerry Grehan - chairperson of the Peace People. Alice Annum - Ghanian sprinter.
(Photo: A woman casts her ballot in Montevideo, 2004. Credit: Miguel Rojo/AFP via Getty Images)
The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA.
We start by hearing some groundbreaking frontline reporting from the Battle of Mandalay in World War Two.
Then, we hear how in 1950s Canada, a controversial government scheme saw the relocation of nearly 30 thousand people.
Next, a pioneering scientist on his role in the fight against a flesh-eating parasite, the New World screwworm in the 1950s.
Plus, the extraordinary life and times of India's "Queen of Melody", Asha Bhosle.
Then, the formation of the English Premier League in 1992.
Finally, how, an Australian recipe book brought novelty birthday cakes to the masses in 1980.
Contributors: Dr Elisabeth Fondren - Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA. Douglas Cleverdon - BBC radio producer (Archive). Don White - one of thousands relocated under a Canadian government scheme (Archive). Edward Knipling - entomologist known for his development of the Sterile Insect Technique (Archive). Asha Bhosle - celebrated Indian playback singer (Archive). David Dein, co-founder, English Premier League. Agnes Lee - former home economist at The Australian Women's Weekly.
(Photo: British and Indian Troops of the 14th Army in Burma, March 1945. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.Caroline …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.
We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.
Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutality of the conflict between Kenya’s Land and Freedom Army, the British and Kenyan loyalists.
Next, when Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel, a lodge in the Aberdare National Park.
In 1997, scientists travelled to Kenya, in search of a cave believed to have been the den of the man-eating lions that terrorised railway workers in 1898.
Plus, we hear how Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga signed an unprecedented power-sharing deal to end a wave of violence that left more than 1,200 people dead.
And the heartwarming story of the friendship between a baby hippo and a 130-year-old giant tortoise.
Finally for our Sporting Witness story, we head to the first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1983.
Contributors: Caroline Elkins - Professor of History at Harvard University, and author of Britain's Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya. Muthoni Kirima - Field Marshall in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army. Frank Gillard - BBC correspondent. Thomas Gnoske - Scientist. Alan Patterson - British Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson's grandson. Maina Kiai - Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in 2008. Maini Schildt - Swedish Ultimate Frisbee player.
(Photo: Mau Mau suspects are rounded up by police outside the camp in Manyani, Kenya, 1955. Credit: Getty Images/Authenticated News)
Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of God
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the end of decades-long martial law in Taiwan and discuss its impact on the country's literature with Ti-han …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.
This week, we hear about the end of decades-long martial law in Taiwan and discuss its impact on the country's literature with Ti-han Chang, the Deputy Director of Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS University of London.
Next, the making of City of God, the film that showed the raw reality of children's gangs in Brazil's favelas.
Plus, we remember Ashley Kriel, the young activist who became an anti-apartheid icon on the Cape Flats.
We also hear about the first carbon offset scheme that planted millions of trees in Guatemala.
We go back 50 years to the first time women played basketball in the Olympic Games.
And the birth of Club Med, the resort that pioneered the all-inclusive holiday.
Contributors: Fred Chin - former Malaysian student imprisoned during Taiwan's White Terror. Katia Lund - co-director of City of God. Adiel 'Gorie' November - former anti-apartheid activist. Roberto Antonio Alvarado - planted the saplings that became some of the world’s first carbon offsets. Pierre-Xavier Bécret - son of Club Med employees. Juliene Brazinski Simpson - former US basketball player.
(Photo: Green Island former prison, Taiwan. Credit: James Wendlinger/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
The first Comic Con and making Oasis’ Wonderwall
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear how a comic book fan and his friends began the very first comic convention in New York in 1964. Our …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
We hear how a comic book fan and his friends began the very first comic convention in New York in 1964.
Our guest is comic book expert Dr Barbara Postema, from the University Groningen in the Netherlands.
Next, we hear how Oasis 1995 hit Wonderwall was made with the man who was the sound engineer on the record.
Plus, the memories of the cellist of Auschwitz in World War Two and the final use of a barbaric execution method in Franco’s Spain.
Sporting Witness takes us back to Hearts of Midlothian’s heartbreaking season of 1986.
And finally, we learn how Sweden gave its workers some of the longest paid holidays in the world in 1970.
Contributors:
Bernie Bubnis – organiser of the first Comic Con
Dr Barbara Postema - lecturer in the English programme at the University of Groningen
Nick Brine – sound engineer on Oasis’ song Wonderwall
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch – the cellist of Auschwitz
Carme Puig Antich – brother of Salvador Puig Antich
Gary Mackay and striker John ‘Robbo’ Robertson – former Hearts players
Inga Persson - beneficiary of Sweden’s long summers
(Photo: Oasis performing in 1996. Credit: Bernd Mueller/ Redferns via Getty)
Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar power with …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.
This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar power with Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, in the UK.
Plus, the start of the largest mountain carving in the world in honour of Native American warrior Crazy Horse, Mexico's 'little old lady killer' and the birth of the 'African Oscars', FESPACO.
Finally, when American football came to Europe and how a Peruvian instrument, the cajon, revolutionised flamenco.
Contributors: Bertrand Piccard - one of the pilots of Solar Impulse 2. Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford. Monique Ziolkowski - daughter of the sculptor who started the Crazy Horse Memorial. Dr Feggy Ostrosky - neuropsychologist who worked with Juana Barraza. Alimata Salembéré - president of the first organising committee of the Pan African Film and Television Festival. Oliver Luck - former president of NFL Europe. Rubem Dantas - percussionist who helped introduce the cajon into flamenco.
(Photo: Solar Impulse 2 flies over the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco in 2016. Credit: Jean Revillard via Getty Images)
The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Professor Sir …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Professor Sir Paul Preston, who explains how the conflict transformed Spain and paved the way for the rise of General Francisco Franco. We hear the story of a young refugee who fled the fighting but later returned home while the war was still under way.
We then travel to the Canadian Arctic, where the Inuit fought for greater control over their land and way of life. Their campaign would eventually lead to the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest and largest territory.
We also hear the story behind ‘The Kiss of Life’, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that captured a life-saving rescue.
From Turkey, we hear memories of the failed military coup of July 2016, a night of violence that left hundreds dead.
Plus, the story of the Birkin bag, the oversized handbag created in the 1980s that became one of the world's most coveted fashion accessories.
And from Sporting Witness, why do thousands of sports fans around the world suddenly stand up, throw their arms into the air and sit down again? We discover the origins of the Mexican wave and how it became a global sporting tradition.
Contributors: Professor Sir Paul Preston – historian, author and professor at London School of Economics Paul Quassa- Inuit politician and activist JD Thompson- American lineman in ‘The Kiss of Life’ photograph Can Cumhurcu - Mukhtar of Çengelköy, Istanbul Jane Birkin – creator of the Birkin bag in interviews from BBC Archive Krazy George Henderson – creator of the Mexican Wave
(Photo: Spanish Civil War in September 1936. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Buildings of power and the Dada art movement
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the editor of …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the editor of the book, On Power in Architecture.
We start with Jackie Kennedy's 1962 renovation of the United States' White House and the immigrant workers who protested against rent hikes and living conditions in 1970s France.
Next, the toxic explosion in a chemical factory in northern Italy in 1975 and South Sudan's celebration of independence in 2011.
Plus, the art movement Dada which began 110 years ago and went on to influence Surrealism and punk.
Finally, the Wimbledon final of 2008 between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer which some call the greatest tennis match ever played.
Contributors: Jackie Kennedy - featured in a CBS TV special in 1962. Mohammed Kherbachi - witness to the foyer strikes of the 1970s. Giuseppe Cassina - former Mayor of Seveso. Malual Bol Kiir - on the time of South Sudan's independence. Richard Huelsenbeck - interviewed in 1959 for the BBC programme, The Meaning of Dada. Rafael Nadal - winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
This episode has been updated since its original broadcast to clarify the national origins of some artists.
(Photo: The White House in 1962. Credit: Getty Images)
The return of Chief Long Wolf and The Statue of Liberty's facelift
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jan English from the American Museum and Gardens in Bath in the UK. We start with the moment …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Jan English from the American Museum and Gardens in Bath in the UK.
We start with the moment the remains of a Native American chief were returned to the US, more than a century after his death in England in 1892.
Next we head to 1959 when Hawaii was brought into the United States of America as the 50th state with the passing of the Hawaiian Admission Act.
And we go back to the 1940s, when a Mexican American launched the US's first radio service in Spanish.
We fast forward to the 1980s, when the Statue of Liberty was showing her age and was given a multi-million-dollar facelift.
To the story of Rosa Parks who made civil rights history in 1955, when she refused to give up her seat on the bus, despite segregation laws discriminating against black people. This story contains outdated language.
Finally, the creative vision behind West Germany's 1990 World Cup shirt which became a design classic and is now one of the most sought-after by kit collectors around the world.
Contributors: Mary Black Feather Condon - Chief Long Wolf’s great‑granddaughter. John Waihe'e - Former governor of Hawaii. Jan English - American Museum and Gardens Collections and Public Engagement Director. Guillermo Nicolas - Raoul Cortez's grandson. Peter Dessauer - Architect who oversaw the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Rosa Parks - Civil rights activist. Ina Franzmann - Designer of West Germany’s 1990 football shirt.
(Photo: The Statue of Liberty surrounded by scaffolding during its restoration. Credit: Terry Disney/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Slip Slop Slap campaign and the Brexit referendum
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.We …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.
We start with the birth of an Australian campaign to get people to take care in the sun and Ireland's response to the UK Brexit vote.
Next, the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and the Hong Kong bookseller detained for selling material critical of China's leaders.
Finally, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo's knee injury in 2000 and the story behind a famous insulting song in Mexico - Rata de dos Patas.
Contributors: Professor David Hill - former head of Cancer Council Victoria. Professor Devi Sridhar - Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh. Rory Montgomery - former diplomat, who led Ireland's Brexit negotiating team. Lam Wing-kee - Hong Kong bookseller who was detained for selling material critical of China’s leaders. Nilton Petroni - Ronaldo Nazario's former physiotherapist. Manuel Eduardo Toscano - composer of Rata de dos Patas.
(Photo: Sid the Seagull, mascot for the Slip Slop Slap campaign. Credit: Cancer Care Victoria)
An uprising in South Africa and an exodus in the Caucasus
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern African History at Durham University in the …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern African History at Durham University in the UK.
We begin with the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which became a defining symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. We hear from one of the students who took part in the protest, which was violently suppressed by South African security forces in June 1976.
Then we have the harrowing account of an ethnic Georgian poet who fled his home in Abkhazia when the breakaway region was engulfed in war in 1993.
We also hear from one of the Greek Cypriot women who, in 1987, marched towards the ceasefire line dividing Cyprus to protest against the island’s partition.
Next, the scientist who identified Lyme disease in 1976.
Plus, the discovery of the remains known as “Mungo Man”, a 42,000‑year‑old skeleton that transformed understanding of Australia’s ancient past.
And Brazil’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup, which happened on home soil in 2014.
Contributors:
Professor Rachel E. Johnson – Professor of Modern African History, Durham University
Bongi Mkhabela – Soweto Uprising participant
Guram Odisharia – Georgian poet from Abkhazia
Niki Katsaouni – Greek Cypriot peace activist
Dr Jim Bowler – geologist
Prof Allen Steere – rheumatologist
Thomas Müller – German footballer
(Photo: Black students protesting against the compulsory teaching of Dutch-based Afrikaans in schools. Credit: Getty Images)
Opening the archives: A cellist, a playwright and a king
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to highlight the importance of protecting …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to highlight the importance of protecting the world's historical records.
Our guest is BBC curator Joe Schultz who talks about some of the jewels in the BBC radio collections. We find out why cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in 1978.
Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela reveals how he survived prison in South Africa. Plus, Pablo Picasso and his fellow artists enjoy a Surrealist summer in 1930s France. And more on the inspiration behind Anton Chekhov's most famous play, Three Sisters.
We hear about the Jordanian king who survived numerous assassination attempts to become one of the Middle East’s longest serving leaders. And finally, Pickles the dog: the four-legged hero who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy ahead of the 1966 World Cup.
Contributors:
Joe Schultz – BBC curator.
Mstislav Rostropovich - virtuoso cellist.
Nelson Mandela – former president of South Africa.
Eileen Agar – Surrealist artist.
Paul Shishkoff – friend of playwright Anton Chekhov.
King Hussein of Jordan.
Jack Pizzey – TV documentary-maker.
Pickles the dog – hero of the 1966 World Cup.
David Corbett – Pickles' owner.
(Photo: Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, 1950. Credit: Michael Ward/Getty Images)
The creation of Inspector Montalbano and Australia's first Big Thing
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London.
We start with the author Andrea Camilleri on the creation of his fictional detective Inspector Montalbano in 1994, and his influence on Italian noir.
Then we explore the tapes recorded in the 1950s with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.
We hear about the Chinese protests in 1989 that led up to the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Plus, the launch of Ireland's first Irish language television channel in 1996.
Next, when Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup in 1994.
Finally, we hear from the artist behind the first of Australia's 'Big Things', the giant novelty sculptures that became a national phenomenon.
Contributors:
Professor Giuliana Pieri - an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London
Andrea Camilleri - Italian crime-writer (archive)
Saskia Sassen - daughter of Dutch journalist Willem Sassen, who recorded interviews with Adolf Eichmann
Wu'er Kaixi - Chinese student organiser of pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square
Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir - first live presenter to speak on Teilifís na Gaeilge: Ireland's first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language
Alan Rothenberg - former president of the US Soccer Federation
Paul Kelly - Australian artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster
Christobel Kelly - daughter of Paul Kelly
(Photo: Italian writer Andrea Camilleri, Rome, Italy, 2011. Credit: Luciano Viti/Getty Images)
Mexican history: A love song and a gas explosion
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Michelle Meinhart, a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Michelle Meinhart, a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. We start by hearing about a Mexican song that captivated lovers in World War Two. Then, a marketing strategist recalls how he worked on a Mexican election campaign in 2000 that saw a change of government for the first time in 71 years. We hear how millions of indigenous women in Mexico won the right to vote and stand in elections in 2014. Plus, a woman recalls her family's escape from a deadly gas explosion in Mexico City in 1984. Finally, we find out how Titanic, one of the most successful films in movie history, was made in Mexico in 1997. Contributors: Mariano Rivera Velazquez - son of singer Consuelo Velazquez who wrote Bésame Mucho. Michelle Meinhart - a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Francisco Ortiz - marketing strategist. Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza - campaigner for indigenous women's rights. Virginia Martínez Tellez - San Juanico resident. Antonio Moreno - sports journalist. Luisa Gomez de Silva - assistant coordinator in the art department for the movie Titanic. (Photo: A welcoming kiss. Credit: Topical press agency/Hulton archive/Getty images)
Belgium’s royal affair and Montenegro gains independence
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. First, the story of the Belgian teenager who exposed a scandal within the country’s Royal Family in 1999 …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
First, the story of the Belgian teenager who exposed a scandal within the country’s Royal Family in 1999.
Our guest, Professor Kate Williams takes us through some other royal scandals from history.
We hear how a group of women set up an underground newspaper in communist Poland and how an E-Coli outbreak caused one of Canada’s worst public health emergencies.
Plus, how Montenegro achieved independence from Serbia through a 2006 referendum.
Our sporting story this week takes us to Eastern Ukraine and the rise of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Contributors: Mario Danneels – teenager who exposed King Albert II of Belgium’s secret child Professor Kate Williams – royal historian Helena Luczywo – former editor of Polish underground newspaper Mazovia Weekly Bruce Davidson – resident who experienced Canada’s E-Coli outbreak Ivan Vujovic – independence campaigner in Montenegro Darijo Srna – former captain of Shakhtar Donetsk
This programme has been updated since the original broadcast after it was identified that an archive interview used in it was wrongly attributed.
(Photo: Queen Paola and King Albert II of Belgium in 1999. Credit: Reuters)
The first reality game show and a joik performance on Eurovision
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.We start with the launch of Expedition Robinson in Sweden in 1997 and discuss how reality TV began around …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
We start with the launch of Expedition Robinson in Sweden in 1997 and discuss how reality TV began around the world with our guest Misha Kavka, Professor of Cross-Media Culture at the University of Amsterdam.
Plus, a Norwegian Sami protest song that made history in 1980, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission which investigated residential schools and the uncovering a lost burial ground in Brazil in 1996.
Also, the 'sporting miracle' of 5,000-to-one outsiders Leicester City FC winning the English Premier League and the discovery of the fossil that revealed the first feathered dinosaur.
Contributors: Martin Melin - the first winner of Expedition Robinson. Misha Kavka - Professor of Cross-Media Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Chief Wilton "Willie" Littlechild - former Commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Philip Currie - palaeontologist who helped identify the first fossil of a feathered dinosaur. Wes Morgan - former captain of Leicester City FC. Inga Haetta - sister of Mattis Haetta, who performed the first joik at Eurovision.
(Photo: Captain Wes Morgan and manager Claudio Ranieri of Leicester City lift the Premier League Trophy on 7 May 2016. Credit: Michael Regan / Getty Images)
Sir David Attenborough's first Zoo Quest and a WW2 sabotage mission in Norway
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.We start with the broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. To mark his 100th birthday, we go back …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
We start with the broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. To mark his 100th birthday, we go back to the mid 1950s and the television programme that launched his career. Our guest is Dr Paula Kahumbu, a Kenyan conservationist and head of the conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct.
Then, the story of a World War Two sabotage plot carried out by a team of Norwegian resistance fighters.
We hear about Africa's worst stadium disaster, at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana.
Plus, a Spanish nun reflects on the killing of two fellow sisters during the Algerian civil conflict in the 1990s.
We also hear how the world's most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was found in South Dakota, USA, in 1990.
Finally, how the Nigerian 4 x 400m relay team were declared Olympic champions, 12 years after the race.
Contributors:
Sir David Attenborough - naturalist and broadcaster (BBC archive)
Dr Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Kenyan conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct
Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen - nephew of the Norwegian resistance fighter Lieutenant Peter Deinboll
Herbert Mensah - former chair of the football club Asante Kotoko
Sister Lourdes Migueles - Spanish nun who chose to stay in Algeria during civil conflict
Peter Larson - American commercial fossil collector and researcher
Enefiok Udo-Obong - former Nigerian sprinter
(Photo: Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster, with two ring-tailed lemurs. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
The world’s first perfume archive and Dutch car-free Sundays in the global oil crisis
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear from a perfumer who in 1990 helped create the world’s first perfume archive in …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear from a perfumer who in 1990 helped create the world’s first perfume archive in Versailles France. Our guest is Dr William Tullett, a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York and author of Sniff, History of Smells.
Then, we hear how in 1991 African journalists created the Windhoek declaration - a set of free press principles. It led to World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May.
Next, the global oil crisis of 1973. A former Dutch politician tells us how the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to introduce car-free Sundays.
Plus, the philosopher on how his 1972 essay on the Drowning Child thought experiment inspired the Effective Altruism movement.
And President Obama’s speech writer on how secret negotiations in 2014 improved relations between the US and Cuba.
Finally, a Sporting Witness on the Juventus match-fixing scandal in 2006.
Contributors:
Jean Claude Ellena - perfumer
Dr Will Tullett - Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York and author of Sniff, History of Smells
Wim Meijer - State Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Social Work in the Den Uyl Labour Government
Peter Singer - philosopher
Ben Rhodes - Barack Obama’s speech writer
Paddy Agnew - journalist
(Photo: Perfume bottles. Credit: Walter Zerla via Getty Images)
Cleaning up Chernobyl and Canada’s war in the woods
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. On the 40th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, we hear from one man involved in the clean-up …
Notes de l’épisode
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
On the 40th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, we hear from one man involved in the clean-up operation.
Our guest is Jordan Dunbar, presenter of the BBC documentary ‘The Last Dance Floor in Chernobyl’.
Next, we hear about the worst floods in 50 years that the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced and the race to save thousands of animals in Paraguay and Brazil in 1982.
Plus, the unexpected drought in the Danube River in 2011 and when Canada saw their largest ever campaign of civil disobedience in 1993 to save a rainforest.
In our episode of Sporting Witness, the tale of the 1981 film ‘Escape to Victory’.
Contributors:
Yurіy Skaletskyy – former radiological officer in Soviet Union military
Jordan Dunbar – BBC presenter
Marco Franco – emergency co-ordinator for the Red Cross in Mexico
Dario Perez Chena – rescue worker in the Mymba Kuera operation
Kristian Yakimov - an ecologist and tourist guide in Bulgaria
Tzeporah Berman – environmental activist in Canada
(Photo: Chernobyl in the aftermath of the explosion in 1986. Credit: SHONE/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
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