The History Hour

BBC World Service
  • 4.2 (99)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

  1. 1D AGO

    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 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)

    1h 1m

  2. MAY 1

    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 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)

    1h 1m

  3. APR 25

    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 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)

    1h 1m

  4. APR 18

    Winning the Booker Prize and discovering a lost fairytale

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, the moment when Irish writer Roddy Doyle discovered he'd won one of the most prestigious honours in fiction: The Booker Prize. And our guest, Merritt Moseley, emeritus professor of English at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, discusses the history of the award. Plus, we look back at the assassination of radical African leader Thomas Sankara in 1987, and find out more about the Indonesian province that introduced Sharia law. Also, how Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale' was discovered in Danish archives, and the female rollerblader who beat the men to grab X Games glory. Finally, the story behind the creation of the children's playtime favourite, My Little Pony, in 1983. Contributors: Roddy Doyle – author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. Merritt Moseley - emeritus professor of English at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. Paul Sankara – brother of Captain Thomas Sankara. Bonnie Zacharle – toymaker. Azwar Abubakar - acting governor of Aceh. Ejnar Askgaard - curator and senior researcher, Museum Odense. (Photo: Roddy Doyle with his prize winning book, 1993. Credit: PA Images)

    1h 1m
  5. Hitler’s teeth and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

    APR 11

    Hitler’s teeth and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

    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 hear a Nepalese activist recall the massive protests that led to the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1990. Plus, a childhood memory of the first major surrealist exhibition in New York. Finally, we hear of the current whereabouts of Jorge, a popular Argentine sea turtle. Contributors: Lyubov Summ - granddaughter of interpreter Yelena Rzhevskaya. Nunziante Squeglia - professor of geotechnics at the University of Pisa. Durga Thapa - Nepalese activist. Carroll Janis - performer at the first major surrealist exhibition. Nicky Salapu - former goalkeeper for American Samoa, Alejandro Saubidet - Argentine marine biologist. (Photo: Pisa Leaning Tower and Pisa Cathedral, in the celebrated Piazza dei Miracoli. Credit: Getty)

    1 hr

  6. APR 4

    The discovery of the Terra Nova shipwreck and Echo the elephant

    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 e-cigarette. And, the life of Echo the elephant - the star of the world's longest-running study of wild elephants in Kenya. Finally, "fan man" James Miller and boxing's most bizarre night. Contributors: Leighton Rolley - oceanographer. Dr Sarah Ward - maritime archaeologist from the Australian National University. Claus Meyer - Danish food entrepeneur. Ambassador Rafael Fernandez-Quintanilla - Spanish diplomat (from BBC archive). Hon Lik - inventor of the e-cigarette. Dr Cynthia Moss - founder of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. Marc Ratner - former representative of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. (Photo: The Terra Nova held up in the pack, Antarctica, 1910. Credit: Herbert Ponting/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images)

    1h 1m

  7. MAR 28

    A papal visit and German reunification

    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 1984. Next, the first official penalty shootout in 1970 that changed football forever. Finally, we look at an essay published in 1999 that was an unfiltered look into restaurant kitchen culture. Contributors: Michael Jarka - a man who met Pope John Paul II. Paulina Guzik - OSV News. Joachim Bitterlich - a key advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Dalmas Tiampati - founder of Ildalalekutuk Maasai Action for Development. Yaohui Dong - one of the first to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China. Frankie Banks - former Hull City player. Martyn Kelly - a football fan. Philip Lajaunie - Anthony Bourdain's former boss at Les Halles restaurant, New York. (Photo: Pope John Paul II blesses the crowd during Mass at Auckland Domain. Credit: Reuters/Luciano Mellace)

    1h 1m

  8. MAR 21

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

    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 also learn about the questionable conviction of four men in Mauritius, who became known as the L’Amicale Four, and about how Tunisian independence helped improve women’s rights 70 years ago. And finally, the remarkable story of when the unfancied Czech Republic reached the final of Euro 96. Contributors: Renos Lyssiotis - former Cypriot lawyer. Dr Rebecca Bryant – Professor of cultural anthropology at Utrecht University. Ronen Sen – former Indian ambassador to the United States. Luciana Parvaneh Zehi – friend of Benjamin Hermansen. Imran Sumodhee – one of the L’Amicale Four. Saida El Gueyed – founding member of the Women’s Union in Tunisia. Patrik Berger – former Czech footballer. (Photo: British troops searching for EOAK fighters in 1956. Credit: Bert Hardy/Getty Images)

    1 hr
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4.2
out of 5
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About

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    496
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    The History Hour

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