PODCAST

The History Hour

BBC World Service

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

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51:17

The creation of Ghana's flag and the oldest person at...

The History Hour ·

2023/10/13

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear from Kwasi Okoh about how his mother Theodosia Okoh designed Ghana’s flag after it became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence.Our guest, former diplomatic and foreign affairs editor, Tim Marshall, explains the importance of flags for national identity and their changing purpose through history. We also learn about the moment in 1966 when Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa's

52:10

Marking 50 years since the 1973 global oil crisis

The History Hour ·

2023/10/06

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. To mark 50 years since the global oil crisis, we’re focusing on oil - from discovery to disaster. We hear from Dr Fadhil Chalabi, then the deputy secretary general of Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) about what happened during the 1973 crisis. Our guest Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, explains why oil became the lifeblood of industrial

50:48

The Lampedusa disaster and cat cafes

The History Hour ·

2023/09/29

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the sinking of a migrant boat off Lampedusa in 2013 which was one of the Mediterranean’s worst shipwrecks. Also, we find out about Wally Hendrickson, the US physicist who volunteered to be dropped into the front line of the Vietnam War to remove fuel rods from a reactor. Plus, the opening of the world's first cat cafe in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1998.Contributors: Amnasager Araya who

51:48

Nazi eugenics and the year of the vuvuzela

The History Hour ·

2023/09/22

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear about the people with disabilities who were sterilised in Germany following an order in 1933, passed by the then Chancellor Adolf Hitler.Also, we find out about the first man to descend into the “Gates of Hell”, the Darvaza Crater, in Turkmenistan.Plus the story behind the vuvuzela which was dubbed the “world’s most annoying instrument”.Contributors: Helga Gross who was sterilised in Germany

51:07

Israeli and Palestinian history

The History Hour ·

2023/09/15

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It's thirty years since the Oslo Accords were signed. This agreement in 1993 aimed to bring about peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. So this week, we're bringing you stories from Israeli and Palestinian history. We hear about attempts at peace - the secret talks behind the Oslo Accords, and President Bill Clinton's failed attempt to end the conflict at Camp David. Plus, one of the

51:42

The Chilean coup and Zanzibar’s most famous singer

The History Hour ·

2023/09/09

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from Chilean politician Hermógenes Pérez de Arce, who helped oust President Allende in 1973. We also hear from the widow of folk singer Victor Jara, who was killed during the military coup.Our guest is Dr Camila Vergara, who is a historian and journalist from Chile, and a senior lecturer at the University of Essex Business School in the UK. She tells us more about the aftermath of the

50:43

Historic Korean summit and goat island

The History Hour ·

2023/09/01

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jean H. Lee, an American journalist who has covered both North and South Korea extensively. Jean is also the co-host of the BBC World Service podcast, The Lazarus Heist. She tells us more about the relationship between the two countries.The programme begins with the historic meeting between North and South Korea's leaders almost 50 years after the Korean War. We hear from Sameh Elbarky

50:53

Ireland's 'ghost estates' and the first Rose of Tralee

The History Hour ·

2023/08/25

Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History stories from the BBC World Service, this week we are focusing on Irish history. In 2006, Ireland’s economic boom, known as the Celtic Tiger, ended. It meant thousands of people, like Michelle Burke, were left devastated as house construction stopped. In 1959, Tralee, in Ireland, hosted a festival to promote the town and build Irish connections around the world. The Rose of Tralee is now one of Ireland’s oldest and largest festivals. Veteran RTE

52:25

Judy Garland's legacy and the Benin Bronzes

The History Hour ·

2023/08/18

A compilation of this week's Witness History episodes. Gerald Clarke, the author of Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, speaks to Max Pearson about the legacy of the stage and screen actress who died in 1969.We also look at how a chance encounter led to the return of two of the looted Benin Bronzes, ancient artworks which were among thousands stolen from Benin City by the British Army in 1897.And we head back to 2008, when a nine-year-old boy tripped over a fossil that would lead to one of the most

50:48

Presidential diamonds and Tupperware parties

The History Hour ·

2023/08/11

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories from the BBC World Service. Journalist Claude Angeli discovered French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing received diamonds from a depraved African emperor, which contributed to him losing the presidential election in 1981. How Bosnia’s small Jewish community helped people from all sides of the conflict, during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. The story of the gang of thieves, who held up a British Royal

51:50

Dinosaur discoveries and a Berlin Wall treehouse

The History Hour ·

2023/08/05

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about a prehistoric discovery in India - a nest full of dinosaur eggs found in 1982. Plus, why a Mongolian dinosaur skeleton became the centre of a 2012 court battle in a case known as United States V One Tyrannosaurus Bataar.Our guest, palaeobiologist Neil Gostling reveals how newly-uncovered dinosaurs are named, and tells us which fossilised beast was the first to be christened.José Mujica

52:06

West African food and computer viruses

The History Hour ·

2023/07/28

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Ozoz Sokoh, Nigerian food writer and author of the Kitchen Butterfly food blog, who tells us about the history of West African food.The programme begins with the story of Mr Bigg's, Nigeria's answer to McDonald's. Then, we hear about the 1960 coup against the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, from his grandnephew.In the second half of the programme, a Jewish survivor tells us about

51:16

Wartime surrenders and the birth of Barbie

The History Hour ·

2023/07/21

Max Pearson presents a compilation of stories from this week’s Witness History episodes.In the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese generals handed over their swords in China's Forbidden City in Beijing.Historian James Holland, talks about the ritual and significance of a surrender.Also, the first Barbie doll was sold in 1959. It took Ruth Handler, who created it, years to convince her male

52:12

Five great inventions that changed the world

The History Hour ·

2023/07/14

Max Pearson presents a selection of this week’s Witness History stories.In 1999, Aibo: the world's first robot dog, hit the shops in Japan and sold out in just 20 minutes. We hear from Toshitada Doi who spent six years on the project when he worked at Sony. Plus we hear from Dr Ella Haig about the development of artificial intelligence.Japanese software developer Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji in 1999. Valerie Hunter Gordon, from England, invented disposable nappies in 1947 after the birth

52:03

Tourism arrives in the Maldives and a royal night out

The History Hour ·

2023/07/07

Max Pearson presents a selection of this week’s Witness History stories.In 1972, tourists arrived in the Maldives for the first time. We hear from one of the people who made it happen, plus analysis of the growth of tourism around South East Asia with Ploysri Porananond.Also, on the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service in the UK, one of the first doctors shares his experience.Lawyers for both the prosecution and defence of concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk, discuss his trial.The

51:19

South Korea store collapse and Lady Gaga's meat dress

The History Hour ·

2023/06/30

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories.In 1995, the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in the South Korean capital, Seoul, killed and injured hundreds of people. Explaining the impact it had on urban planning is Dr Youngmi Kim, senior lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh.Also, the speech President John F Kennedy made at the height of the Cold War on 26 June 1963. It galvanised the world in support of West Berliners who had been isolated

52:50

Somalia's civil war and golf on the moon

The History Hour ·

2023/06/24

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories.Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, a fighter pilot in the Somali air force defied orders to bomb civilians in 1988. Explaining more about the Somali civil war and its legacy is BBC Monitoring's regional analyst Beverly Ochieng.Also, the demonstrations in East Germany that triggered martial rule in 1953. From the archive, Sam King recalls arriving in England on the Empire Windrush in 1948, one of 802 pioneering Caribbean migrants. Plus, the

51:43

Amazing photographs and the people who took them

The History Hour ·

2023/06/16

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories. We focus on some of the world’s best known photographs - and the photographers who took them. We find out why Lee Miller was in Hitler’s bath in the dying days of World War Two; and historian Dr Pippa Oldfield discusses the women who were the pioneers of war photography.Also, Sir Don McCullin tells the story behind one of his most famous images of the Vietnam War.Plus, more on the party pictures that shone a light on an unseen

51:57

Inuit children taken from families and Le Mans crash

The History Hour ·

2023/06/09

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History and Sporting Witness stories.We hear about the Inuit children taken away from their homes and culture, to be educated in Canadian cities. Adamie Kalingo tells his story about being placed with a foster family in Ottawa in 1964. Dr Raven Sinclair explains how Adamie’s story was part of a wider program of resettling Indigenous children.Also, the crash at Le Mans which killed 80 people in 1955; the ceremony in 2005, organised by

51:47

Scaling Everest, the highest mountain in the world

The History Hour ·

2023/06/02

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes focusing on Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world.It's 70 years since Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to reach the summit of Everest in 1953.We hear about some of the earliest, tragic attempts to scale the mountain, and from those who've blazed a trail up the slopes for others to follow.Contributors: Peter Hillary - Sir Edmund Hillary's son. Jamling Tenzing Norgay - Tenzing

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