The History Hour

BBC World Service
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A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

  1. -2 J

    The Shetland Bus and toxic shock syndrome

    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 black and white photograph taken in 1982, of a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest, became a symbol of Argentina’s resistance. Plus, the public health crisis in America in 1980 that led to the setting up of the Tampon Task Force. In sport, we speak to the BMX rider known as "The Canadian Beast" who took part in the first Extreme Games in 1995. Finally, we hear from an Austrian mountaineer who spent seven years in Tibet and, in 1948, became friends with the country’s spriritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Contributors: Leif Larsen – Norwegian sailor and a skipper on “The Shetland Bus”. Dusko Popov – British double agent during World War Two. Adriana Lestido - Argentinian newspaper photographer. Nancy King Reame – Professor Emerita Columbia University and researcher with the Tampon Task Force. Jay Miron - Canadian BMX rider. Heinrich Harrer – Austrian mountaineer who became a tutor to the Dalai Lama. (Photo: Leif Larsen (middle) and other member of The Shetland Bus. Credit: Scalloway Museum)

    1 h

  2. 14 FÉVR.

    Italian history

    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. Finally, the story of how the actress Gina Lollobrigida interviewed Cuba's leader Fidel Castro. Contributors: Fran Tomasi and Andrea Pattaro - witnesses to Pink Floyd's Venice concert. Arusa Qureshi - Scottish writer, editor and music programmer. Franco Cuaz - Mont Blanc Tunnel's first operations manager. Antonina Bargellini - survivor of the Florence flood. (Photo: Pink Floyd performing in Venice. Credit: Andrea Pattaro)

    1 h 1 min

  3. 7 FÉVR.

    Creating Mr Men and the Austrian wine scandal

    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 remarkable account from Captain Chris Fraser-Perry, who took part in the Jugroom Fort rescue mission, during the war in Afghanistan. Plus from Cuba, we learn about the Mariel boatlift of 1980 in which thousands of people left for the United States and in 2022, the controversial visit to Cuba by former US President Jimmy Carter. And the story behind the contamination of Austria's fine wine in 1985. Our Sporting Witness episode this week looks at the first sister-brother duo to win Alpine Ski World Cup races on the same day. Contributors: Adam Hargreaves - Roger Hargreaves son Nina Christensen - head of the Centre for Children's Literature and Media at Aarhus University Captain Chris Fraser-Perry - British Royal Marine Mirta Ojito - Cuban-born journalist Jennifer McCoy - former director of the Carter Center Ivica Kostelic - Croatian alpine skier Janica Kostelic - Croatian alpine skier Heidi Schroek - Austrian wine-maker (Photo: English author Roger Hargreaves. Credit: Monti Spry/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    1 h 1 min

  4. 31 JANV.

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

    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, Taiwan, in 1979 which became a seminal moment in the country’s transition to democracy. Plus, one of the most defining moments of World War Two – the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazis’ largest death camp in 1945. And the remarkable story of the 5,000-year-old mummy found frozen and perfectly preserved in Europe’s Ötzal Alps in 1991. In sport, we explore the inspiring story of how rugby union came to thrive in Syria - despite mass protests and violent government crackdowns during 2011... Finally, we celebrate 100 years since a technological breakthrough that would change the world. The start of television. Contributors: Karina Delfino – one of the leaders of the Penguin Revolution. Dr Laura Tisdall - lecturer in Modern British History, Newcastle University. Yao Chia-wen – protester in the Kaohsiung Incident. General Vasily Petrenko – Soviet army commander who helped liberate Auschwitz. Konrad Spindler – archaeologist. Rainer Henn - forensic pathologist. Mohamad Jarkou – Syrian rugby union player. Iain Logie Baird – grandson of John Logie Baird, the inventor of television. (Photo: High school students in Santiago, 2006. Credit: Claudio Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)

    1 h 1 min

  5. 24 JANV.

    The priest behind a new airport and Agatha Christie

    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 had been chosen to join the experienced astronaut crew. We also commemorate Agatha Christie and we go back to 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini flew back to Tehran from Paris after being exiled. Contributors: Pearce Concannon - firefighter at Knock airport Sugandhi Jayaraman - lecturer Roger Morgan - amateur historian Barbera Morgan - trained alongside the Challenger team Mathew Prichard- Agatha Christie's grandson Mohsen Sazegara - worked for the Ayatollah (Picture: Cabin crew with Monsignor James Horan at Knock Airport. Credit: Independent News And Media/Getty Images)

    1 h

  6. 17 JANV.

    The birth of the modern fitted kitchen and the creation of Cluedo

    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 the United States, which stemmed from playing the piano at murder mystery parties in English country houses and hotels in the 1930s. Then, we enter the murky world of computer viruses. The first one to affect personal computers in 1986 became known as 'Brain'. We hear from a survivor of the deadly mudslides which affected Venezuela in December 1999. A Lotus mechanic gives his account of Brazilian racing star Ayrton Senna's first Formula 1 win in 1985. And finally, a glimpse into a period of freedom in Afghanistan from 2005 when a TV musical talent contest called Afghan Star gripped audiences. Contributors: Christine Zwingl - architect. Marcia Lewis - daughter of the creators of Cluedo. Amjad Farooq Alvi - founder of Brain Computers. Leydys Crespo - survivor of Venezuelan mudslides in 1999. Chris Dinnage - Ayrton Senna's mechanic. Jahid Mohseni - the development producer for Afghan Star. (Picture: A 1950s fitted kitchen. Credit: Getty Images)

    1 h

  7. 10 JANV.

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

    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 mother who lost both her daughters in a crowd crush at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 - the UK's worst sporting disaster. How a British artist's unmade bed was nominated for a prestigious art prize in 1999. Next the swimsuit made ahead of the Beijing Olympic games in 2008 that was so good it had to be banned. Finally, we learn about the world's longest running animated TV series that began in 1969. Contributors: Isabel Allende - a Chilean author. Rupert Westmacott - a soldier (from archive). Jenni Hicks - a mother who lost her two daughters in the Hillsborough tragedy. Dame Tracey Emin - an artist. Jason Rance - former head of Speedo's global research and development team. Sunishi Yukimuro - an animated cartoon writer. (Image: Chilean author Isabel Allende. Credit: Felipe Amilibia/AFP via Getty Images)

    1 h 1 min

  8. 3 JANV.

    The American Freedom Train and the invention of text messaging

    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. Plus, 75 years of Radio Free Europe broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. The thousand-year-long musical composition that's due to end in 2999. And our Sporting Witness looks at how a British teenager won a six-month contract to play for Italian champions Inter Milan. Contributors: Lou Nelson - former security guard on the American Freedom Train 1975-76. Rohan Vos - founder and CEO of Rovos Rail. Friedhelm "Fred" Hillebrand - inventor of SMS and text messaging. Arch Puddington - former deputy director Radio Free Europe. Jem Finer - musician and composer of Longplayer. Ben Greenhalgh - Margate player-manager and winner of reality show "Football's Next Star". (Photo: American Freedom Train, 1976. Credit: NARA/DVIDS)

    1 h 1 min
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A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

Informations

  • Création
    BBC World Service
  • Années d’activité
    2013 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    485
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Site web de l’émission
    The History Hour

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