PODCAST

The History Hour

BBC World Service

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

history personal journals

All Episodes

60:15

Hitler’s teeth and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The History Hour ·

2026/04/11

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Sahar Saleem, an Egyptian paleoradiologist specialising in using medical imaging technology to study mummies and ancient artefacts.We start with the story a Jewish interpreter who helped guard Adolf Hitler's teeth in the final days of the Second World War. Then, the engineering efforts to reduce the tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - which kept it closed to the public for 11 years.We

60:32

The discovery of the Terra Nova shipwreck and Echo...

The History Hour ·

2026/04/04

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Sarah Ward, a maritime archaeologist from the Australian National University. We start with the discovery of the sunken Terra Nova, Scott of the Antartic's ship.We hear from the Danish food entrepeneur Claus Meyer - a driving force behind New Nordic Cuisine.Then, the long journey that finally took Picasso's Guernica to Spain.Plus, the Chinese pharmacist who invented the

60:30

A papal visit and German reunification

The History Hour ·

2026/03/28

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Paulina Guzik, International editor with the Catholic wire service, OSV News.We start in 1986 when Pope John Paul II visited New Zealand.Then, we hear about the reunification of Germany in 1989 from a key political advisor.How one Maasai community overcame a devastating drought in 2013.The recollections of one of the first people to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China in

60:29

The 'Cyprus Emergency’ and India’s nuclear mango deal

The History Hour ·

2026/03/21

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear from a Cypriot lawyer, imprisoned by the British for almost two years during the "Cyprus Emergency” of 1955-1959. Our guest, Professor Rebecca Bryant, explains how this period impacted life in Cyprus in the following years. Plus, the story of India’s controversial nuclear deal with the USA in 2006 and when thousands of people rallied against a racially motivated killing in Norway. We

60:46

Movie history: Seven Samurai and Casablanca

The History Hour ·

2026/03/14

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is media, culture and creative industries lecturer Sarah Jilani.We start in 1954 with the Japanese film Seven Samurai which is widely considered to be one of world cinema's most influential films. Then, we hear about the 2006 Hindi film Rang de Basanti which broke box-office records and inspired thousands of young Indians to march for justice. We delve into the BBC Archives to hear

61:40

Sweden and the USA's diplomatic freeze and Elvis in...

The History Hour ·

2026/03/07

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear how a speech by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, in 1972, caused a break down in relations with the USA. Our guest is an expert in the historic relations between Sweden and the US, Dr Saniya Lee Ghanoui from the University of El Paso in Texas. Plus, the story of India’s secret first nuclear test in 1974, and Portugal’s worst train crash which killed 150 people. We also learn about

59:57

Blood diamonds and the meeting between Florence...

The History Hour ·

2026/02/28

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest, gemmologist James Evans discusses the creation of synthetic diamonds.We begin with the trial of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. It was claimed that he traded in arms and ammunition in return for so-called blood diamonds.Next we head to Syria where a group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the civil war. Plus the

60:12

The Shetland Bus and Toxic shock syndrome

The History Hour ·

2026/02/21

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Guri Hjeltnes, an author and World War Two historian. We start with Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway during World War Two by hearing about a secret resistance operation known as “The Shetland Bus”. Then, we learn about a playboy spy who, during the 1940s, became one of wartime’s most successful double agents and the reported inspiration behind James Bond.We hear how a

60:38

Italian history

The History Hour ·

2026/02/14

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Scottish writer, editor and music programmer Arusa Qureshi.We start in 1989 when the British rock band Pink Floyd played a highly controversial concert in Venice. Then, we cover Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini whose bedroom experiments won her the Nobel Prize.We hear from a man who worked on the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which opened in 1965.A survivor describes Florence's devastating flood in 1966

61:26

Creating Mr Men and the Austrian wine scandal

The History Hour ·

2026/02/07

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes from the BBC World Service.What does a tickle look like? That was the question eight-year-old Adam Hargreaves asked in 1971. He explains how it led his father Roger Hargreaves, to create the children's book series Mr Men. Our guest Professor Nina Christensen, head of the Centre for Children's Literature and Media at Aarhus University, on the wider history of children's literature. We hear a

60:37

Chile’s Penguin Revolution and the 5,000-year-old...

The History Hour ·

2026/01/31

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.We travel back to Chile in 2006 where more than 600,000 schoolchildren are marching through the streets to protest about their schools. The nationwide demonstrations will become known as the "Penguin Revolution".Our guest Dr Laura Tisdall, a historian from Newcastle University, explains why this isn’t the first time children have challenged authority.And we examine another protest in Kaohsiung,

59:49

The priest behind a new airport and Agatha Christie

The History Hour ·

2026/01/24

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest Sugandhi Jayaraman, lecturer in air transport management at the University of Westminster, discusses the changes in airports over time. We hear about the Irish priest whose dream of air travel in a remote part of West Ireland became a reality. And we travel back to 1943 to one of the most audacious hoaxes of World War Two. Plus the Challenger Shuttle disaster where a member of the public

60:14

The birth of the modern fitted kitchen and the...

The History Hour ·

2026/01/17

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is food historian Dr Annie Gray.She discusses the impact of the first modern, fitted kitchen - the Frankfurt Kitchen - on the kitchens of today. It all goes back to 1926 and the reluctant Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky who said she wanted to be remembered for more than designing a "damned" kitchen. Sorry Margarete.Next is the invention of the board game Cluedo, or Clue in

61:13

The House of the Spirits and Tracey Emin's unmade bed

The History Hour ·

2026/01/10

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This programme contains distressing details.Our guest is Bárbara Fernández Melleda, Assistant Professor in Latin American Studies at the University of Hong Kong.We start with Chilean author Isabel Allende on her debut novel, The House of the Spirits, in 1982 which reflects Chile’s 20th century history.Then, we hear the memories of a soldier injured in the Battle of Gallipoli.The recollections of a

60:30

The American Freedom Train and the invention of text...

The History Hour ·

2026/01/03

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Barbara Keys, a specialist in US history at Durham University.We start with a celebration of the American Freedom Train, as the US prepares to mark 250 years of independence. Then, the South African railway enthusiast who created one of the most luxurious train services in the world.We hear about the invention of text messaging and how it changed the way we communicate.

61:11

The history of toys

The History Hour ·

2025/12/27

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We learn about how Play-Doh evolved from a cleaning product to a childhood favourite and the creation of one of the best-selling board games of all time, Catan. Our guest is the editor of Toy World Magazine, Caroline Tonks, who takes us through the history of toy crazes. We also hear about the invention of the hoverboard, and how the Tamagotchi allowed people to have their own virtual pet. Plus,

60:48

Norway’s sushi contribution and Laurel and Hardy’s...

The History Hour ·

2025/12/20

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We learn about how a Norwegian businessman brought salmon sushi to Japan in the 1980s. Our guest is cookbook author Nancy Singleton Hachisu, who tells us more about the history of sushi in Japan and around the world. We hear about the first opera written for TV in 1950s America and how U.S Marshalls used fake NFL tickets to capture some of Washington DC’s most wanted. Plus, how disability rights

60:55

Banky's 'Dismaland' and the Paris climate agreement

The History Hour ·

2025/12/13

We start with the street artist Banksy, and his 2015 dystopian 'bemusement park'.Then, we talk to roller coaster enthusiast Megan MacCausland, from the European Coaster Club. Plus, we go back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the coelacanth, a fish believed to have been extinct for 65 million years. Next, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up after the abolishment of apartheid in the 1990s. This programme contains contains harrowing testimony and graphic descriptions

4:11

Introducing The Bomb: Kennedy and Khrushchev

The History Hour ·

2025/12/11

The world is on the brink of nuclear war. How can the Soviet Union and the USA prevent it? Hosts Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of the superpower leaders President John F Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, tell the personal and political history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Together Nina and Max explore what drove JFK and Khrushchev during the darkest days of October 1962. And when the crisis moves beyond their control, as a U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba, how do they avoid

60:19

Nigerian history

The History Hour ·

2025/12/06

Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes, all with a Nigerian theme.We hear two personal stories of the Biafra war, which began in 1967, including the writer Wole Soyinka who was jailed for trying to stop it. Plus, we hear from Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe about escaping the conflict. She's now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye.We speak to Dr Louisa Egbunike, who is an Associate Professor in African Literature at Durham University in England.Also, a

493 results

The History Hour

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai