PODCAST

The History Hour

BBC World Service

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

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All Episodes

50:52

Technology and artificial intelligence

The History Hour ·

2024/10/11

We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC.Then we hear about the man who invented the original chatbot, called Eliza, but did not believe computers could achieve intelligence. We speak to Miriam Weizenbaum, daughter of Joseph Weizenbaum, who built Eliza chatbot.Following that, Dr Hiromichi

51:05

Latin America's longest plane hijacking and...

The History Hour ·

2024/10/04

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes.We start our programme in 1973, when two men claiming to be Colombian guerrillas hijacked a plane making it fly across Latin American for 60 hours.Our expert guest is Brendan Koerner author of 'The skies belong to us: Love and terror in the golden age of hijacking.'Then we take a look at the 2009 UN-backed war crime tribunals in Cambodia that aimed to hold the genocidal Khmer Rouge commanders to account. Following that we hear

51:13

South Africa’s Immorality Act and India's Mars...

The History Hour ·

2024/09/27

We start our programme with the story of a couple who were arrested under South Africa's Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people.Another law banned Inter-racial marriage in South Africa. In 1985, this was lifted. The first couple to marry under the new rules share their memories.Our guest is Dr Susanne Klausen, The Brill Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University in the USA. She talks about love,

51:00

New Zealand’s first dinosaur and India’s plague outbreak

The History Hour ·

2024/09/21

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes.We start our programme looking at the discovery of New Zealand’s first dinosaur by Joan Wiffen.Our expert guest is Professor Eugenia Gold, a paleontologist at Suffolk University, in Boston, United States, and the author of children’s book She Found Fossils.Then, we hear how the CT scanner was invented.Following that, we go to India in 1994 and an outbreak of the pneumonic plague.Plus, the story of how a small group of

50:52

Ethiopian history

The History Hour ·

2024/09/13

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We’re looking at key moments in Ethiopian history, as it’s 50 years since Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a military coup. We start our programme looking at the moment a military junta called the Derg who ousted the monarchy in September 1974. Then, we hear how, before this, the Emperor lived in exile in Bath, in the west of England.Our expert guest is Hewan Semon Marye, who is junior professor at the University of

49:55

Marriage bars and a Moon mission

The History Hour ·

2024/09/06

Myra Anubi presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about the Irish law that banned married women from working in state jobs until 1973 and Apollo 13's attempted trip to the Moon in 1970.Plus the Umbrella protest in Hong Kong, the ancient Egyptian mummy who flew to France for a makeover and the Argentine basketball player and wrestler nicknamed the Giant.Contributors:Bernie Flynn - one of the first married women to keep her job after the marriage bar was abolished in

51:13

Space travel and Mary Poppins

The History Hour ·

2024/08/30

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. Our guest is European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who completed the longest uninterrupted space flight of any European.First, we go to Australia in the 1990s when amateur radio enthusiast Maggie Iaquinto befriended Soviet cosmonauts on the Mir space station. She updated them on global news as the USSR crumbled back on Earth.Then, the inspiring story of Waris Dirie, who walked barefoot across the Somalian

51:09

Nazis in Egypt and Spain's La Tomatina

The History Hour ·

2024/08/23

A warning, this programme includes an account of antisemitic views and descriptions of violence.Egypt recruited thousands of Nazis after World War Two to bolster its security. We hear from Frank Gelli, who in 1964 met Hitler's former propagandist, Johann von Leers, in Cairo. Author, Vyvyan Kinross is our guest and talks about Nazis in Egypt. Also, the celebrity murder case that divided France and how in 2001, Argentina went through five leaders in two weeks. Shatbhi Basu, talks about how became

51:11

Indonesian’s independence and the last Olympic art...

The History Hour ·

2024/08/16

We hear about the founding father of Indonesian independence. Then, we look at how 'spray on skin' was used after the 2002 Bali bombings.Next, we hear about the last ever Olympic art competition.Plus, the most decorated Paralympian in history.And, the Brazilian singer who earned the title Queen of Samba. Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History and Sporting Witness interviews. Our guest is Professor of Indonesian history, Kirsten Shulze from the London School of Economics and

51:00

American presidents

The History Hour ·

2024/08/09

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.It's 50 years since Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign, following the Watergate scandal.To mark this anniversary, we're featuring first hand accounts from major moments in US presidential history.We start with the first ever presidential television debate. In 1956, the Democratic and Republican candidates sent female representatives. They were Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith.Our expert

51:07

Ice Bucket Challenge and Bulgaria's dancing bears

The History Hour ·

2024/08/02

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died.Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We take a look at the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral fundraising sensation that took over the internet in 2014. Our guest Professor Sander van der Linden breaks down the psychology behind virality and outlines the challenges facing those who conquered the algorithm. Plus, how one man smuggled

50:47

Moscow Metro and the Olympics

The History Hour ·

2024/07/26

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We go underground for a tour of the Moscow Metro, the subterranean transport network built by thousands of Russian workers in the 1930s.Our guest Mark Ovenden, author of Underground Cities, reveals how the Moscow system influenced many other countries around the world. Plus, more about a revolutionary new method for transporting medicines that was launched in Ghana in 1974. The cold chain system helped refrigerate vaccines

51:05

Cyprus: coups and clubbing

The History Hour ·

2024/07/19

Max Pearson presents this week's Witness History interviews on the history of Cyprus. Our guest is Dr Antigone Heraclidou, Senior Research Associate at CYENS Centre of Excellence in Cyprus.We hear Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot perspectives on the island's 1974 coup and subsequent invasion.Then, a Cypriot Olympic sailing hero takes us back to the London 2012 Games. And finally the 'Godfather of Ayia Napa' tells us how the island became a party destination.Contributors:Dr Antigone Heraclidou,

50:14

Brazil's ban on women in football and the first air...

The History Hour ·

2024/07/13

We hear about the law in Brazil which made it illegal for women and girls to play football for 40 years. Dilma Mendes shares her incredible experience of being arrested numerous times as a child, just for kicking a ball. Our guest, Alexandra Allred, herself a pioneering sportswomen, discusses the discrimination women have faced to break into competitive sport.Plus, the moment when the 'Queen of Salsa', banned from Cuba by Fidel Castro, was allowed to return to Cuban territory for one performance.We

50:02

Subway Art and terror in Georgia

The History Hour ·

2024/07/05

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We hear about the era-defining book Subway Art and how Fight the Power became a protest anthem. Artist curator Marianne Vosloo explains how both street art and hip-hop are linked.Plus, two stories from Georgia. Firstly, how Stalin carried out his most severe purge in Georgia in 1937, killing thousands of people, and then how after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly independent state was thrown into a political

50:02

The Sagrada Família and Hello Kitty

The History Hour ·

2024/06/28

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We hear the story of the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world and the creation of one of the most recognisable characters on the planet.Plus, an amazing first hand account of the expulsion of German-speakers from Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War, the man behind Dignitas, the assisted dying organisation in Switzerland, and the son of a Guatemalan president who was overthrown in an American-backed coup

50:55

Bungee jumping and the Benidorm boom

The History Hour ·

2024/06/21

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service on the history of travel. Our guest is Dr. Susan Houge Mackenzie, Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago in New Zealand. First, we'll hear from the man responsible for the first commercial bungee jump. Then, the pioneers of low-cost transatlantic flights and luxury cruises describe how they revolutionised travel. Finally, we hear the remarkable stories of how

50:55

Boko Haram massacre in Nigeria and the Irish...

The History Hour ·

2024/06/14

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.First, we hear about Boko Haram militants driving into Gwoza in north-east Nigeria in 2014, to begin an assault which left hundreds dead. Next, the Irish shopworkers who went on strike after refusing to handle South African goods.Then, it’s 25 years since Nato bombed the Serbian state TV station in Belgrade. Plus, Norway’s biggest industrial disaster.And, Brazil’s iconic egg-shaped telephone booth

51:15

The weather report that delayed D-Day and panda-mania...

The History Hour ·

2024/06/07

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.First, we hear how a young Irishwoman called Maureen Flavin Sweeney drew up a weather report that delayed the date of D-Day. Then, 99-year-old former field medic, Charles Norman Shay, shares his remarkable account of landing on the Normandy beach in France codenamed Omaha on D-Day. Next, we also talk to Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who hurled his shoes at the President of the United States

50:31

South American revolutionaries and the first...

The History Hour ·

2024/05/31

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died.Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.First, the story of Brazil's most wanted, Carlos Lamarca. He was a captain who deserted the army in the 1960s and joined in the armed struggle against the military regime in the country.Then, Bill Booth - historian of twentieth century Latin America at University

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