The History Hour

BBC World Service

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

  1. 12 hr ago

    The return of Chief Long Wolf and The Statue of Liberty's facelift

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jan English from the American Museum and Gardens in Bath in the UK. We start with the moment the remains of a Native American chief were returned to the US, more than a century after his death in England in 1892. Next we head to 1959 when Hawaii was brought into the United States of America as the 50th state with the passing of the Hawaiian Admission Act. And we go back to the 1940s, when a Mexican American launched the US's first radio service in Spanish. We fast forward to the 1980s, when the Statue of Liberty was showing her age and was given a multi-million-dollar facelift. To the story of Rosa Parks who made civil rights history in 1955, when she refused to give up her seat on the bus, despite segregation laws discriminating against black people. This story contains outdated language. Finally, the creative vision behind West Germany's 1990 World Cup shirt which became a design classic and is now one of the most sought-after by kit collectors around the world. Contributors: Mary Black Feather Condon - Chief Long Wolf’s great‑granddaughter. John Waihe'e - Former governor of Hawaii. Jan English - American Museum and Gardens Collections and Public Engagement Director. Guillermo Nicolas - Raoul Cortez's grandson. Peter Dessauer - Architect who oversaw the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. Rosa Parks - Civil rights activist. Ina Franzmann - Designer of West Germany’s 1990 football shirt. (Photo: The Statue of Liberty surrounded by scaffolding during its restoration. Credit: Terry Disney/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    1hr 2min

  2. 27 Jun

    The Slip Slop Slap campaign and the Brexit referendum

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. We start with the birth of an Australian campaign to get people to take care in the sun and Ireland's response to the UK Brexit vote. Next, the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and the Hong Kong bookseller detained for selling material critical of China's leaders. Finally, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo's knee injury in 2000 and the story behind a famous insulting song in Mexico - Rata de dos Patas. Contributors: Professor David Hill - former head of Cancer Council Victoria. Professor Devi Sridhar - Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh. Rory Montgomery - former diplomat, who led Ireland's Brexit negotiating team. Lam Wing-kee - Hong Kong bookseller who was detained for selling material critical of China’s leaders. Nilton Petroni - Ronaldo Nazario's former physiotherapist. Manuel Eduardo Toscano - composer of Rata de dos Patas. (Photo: Sid the Seagull, mascot for the Slip Slop Slap campaign. Credit: Cancer Care Victoria)

    1hr 1min

  3. 19 Jun

    An uprising in South Africa and an exodus in the Caucasus

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern African History at Durham University in the UK. We begin with the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which became a defining symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. We hear from one of the students who took part in the protest, which was violently suppressed by South African security forces in June 1976. Then we have the harrowing account of an ethnic Georgian poet who fled his home in Abkhazia when the breakaway region was engulfed in war in 1993. We also hear from one of the Greek Cypriot women who, in 1987, marched towards the ceasefire line dividing Cyprus to protest against the island’s partition. Next, the scientist who identified Lyme disease in 1976. Plus, the discovery of the remains known as “Mungo Man”, a 42,000‑year‑old skeleton that transformed understanding of Australia’s ancient past. And Brazil’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup, which happened on home soil in 2014. Contributors: Professor Rachel E. Johnson – Professor of Modern African History, Durham University Bongi Mkhabela – Soweto Uprising participant Guram Odisharia – Georgian poet from Abkhazia Niki Katsaouni – Greek Cypriot peace activist Dr Jim Bowler – geologist Prof Allen Steere – rheumatologist Thomas Müller – German footballer (Photo: Black students protesting against the compulsory teaching of Dutch-based Afrikaans in schools. Credit: Getty Images)

    1hr 1min

  4. 13 Jun

    Opening the archives: A cellist, a playwright and a king

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to highlight the importance of protecting the world's historical records. Our guest is BBC curator Joe Schultz who talks about some of the jewels in the BBC radio collections. We find out why cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in 1978. Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela reveals how he survived prison in South Africa. Plus, Pablo Picasso and his fellow artists enjoy a Surrealist summer in 1930s France. And more on the inspiration behind Anton Chekhov's most famous play, Three Sisters. We hear about the Jordanian king who survived numerous assassination attempts to become one of the Middle East’s longest serving leaders. And finally, Pickles the dog: the four-legged hero who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy ahead of the 1966 World Cup. Contributors: Joe Schultz – BBC curator. Mstislav Rostropovich - virtuoso cellist. Nelson Mandela – former president of South Africa. Eileen Agar – Surrealist artist. Paul Shishkoff – friend of playwright Anton Chekhov. King Hussein of Jordan. Jack Pizzey – TV documentary-maker. Pickles the dog – hero of the 1966 World Cup. David Corbett – Pickles' owner. (Photo: Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, 1950. Credit: Michael Ward/Getty Images)

    1hr 1min

  5. 6 Jun

    The creation of Inspector Montalbano and Australia's first Big Thing

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London. We start with the author Andrea Camilleri on the creation of his fictional detective Inspector Montalbano in 1994, and his influence on Italian noir. Then we explore the tapes recorded in the 1950s with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. We hear about the Chinese protests in 1989 that led up to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Plus, the launch of Ireland's first Irish language television channel in 1996. Next, when Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup in 1994. Finally, we hear from the artist behind the first of Australia's 'Big Things', the giant novelty sculptures that became a national phenomenon. Contributors:   Professor Giuliana Pieri - an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London Andrea Camilleri - Italian crime-writer (archive) Saskia Sassen - daughter of Dutch journalist Willem Sassen, who recorded interviews with Adolf Eichmann Wu'er Kaixi - Chinese student organiser of pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir - first live presenter to speak on Teilifís na Gaeilge: Ireland's first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language Alan Rothenberg - former president of the US Soccer Federation Paul Kelly - Australian artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster Christobel Kelly - daughter of Paul Kelly (Photo: Italian writer Andrea Camilleri, Rome, Italy, 2011. Credit: Luciano Viti/Getty Images)

    1hr 1min

  6. 30 May

    Mexican history: A love song and a gas explosion

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Michelle Meinhart, a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. We start by hearing about a Mexican song that captivated lovers in World War Two. Then, a marketing strategist recalls how he worked on a Mexican election campaign in 2000 that saw a change of government for the first time in 71 years. We hear how millions of indigenous women in Mexico won the right to vote and stand in elections in 2014. Plus, a woman recalls her family's escape from a deadly gas explosion in Mexico City in 1984. Finally, we find out how Titanic, one of the most successful films in movie history, was made in Mexico in 1997. Contributors: Mariano Rivera Velazquez - son of singer Consuelo Velazquez who wrote Bésame Mucho. Michelle Meinhart - a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Francisco Ortiz - marketing strategist. Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza - campaigner for indigenous women's rights. Virginia Martínez Tellez - San Juanico resident. Antonio Moreno - sports journalist. Luisa Gomez de Silva - assistant coordinator in the art department for the movie Titanic. (Photo: A welcoming kiss. Credit: Topical press agency/Hulton archive/Getty images)

    1 hr

  7. 23 May

    Belgium’s royal affair and Montenegro gains independence

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. First, the story of the Belgian teenager who exposed a scandal within the country’s Royal Family in 1999. Our guest, Professor Kate Williams takes us through some other royal scandals from history. We hear how a group of women set up an underground newspaper in communist Poland and how an E-Coli outbreak caused one of Canada’s worst public health emergencies. Plus, how Montenegro achieved independence from Serbia through a 2006 referendum. Our sporting story this week takes us to Eastern Ukraine and the rise of Shakhtar Donetsk. Contributors: Mario Danneels – teenager who exposed King Albert II of Belgium’s secret child Professor Kate Williams – royal historian Helena Luczywo – former editor of Polish underground newspaper Mazovia Weekly Bruce Davidson – resident who experienced Canada’s E-Coli outbreak Ivan Vujovic – independence campaigner in Montenegro Darijo Srna – former captain of Shakhtar Donetsk This programme has been updated since the original broadcast after it was identified that an archive interview used in it was wrongly attributed. (Photo: Queen Paola and King Albert II of Belgium in 1999. Credit: Reuters)

    51 min

  8. 16 May

    The first reality game show and a joik performance on Eurovision

    Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with the launch of Expedition Robinson in Sweden in 1997 and discuss how reality TV began around the world with our guest Misha Kavka, Professor of Cross-Media Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Plus, a Norwegian Sami protest song that made history in 1980, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission which investigated residential schools and the uncovering a lost burial ground in Brazil in 1996. Also, the 'sporting miracle' of 5,000-to-one outsiders Leicester City FC winning the English Premier League and the discovery of the fossil that revealed the first feathered dinosaur. Contributors: Martin Melin - the first winner of Expedition Robinson. Misha Kavka - Professor of Cross-Media Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Chief Wilton "Willie" Littlechild - former Commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Philip Currie - palaeontologist who helped identify the first fossil of a feathered dinosaur. Wes Morgan - former captain of Leicester City FC. Inga Haetta - sister of Mattis Haetta, who performed the first joik at Eurovision. (Photo: Captain Wes Morgan and manager Claudio Ranieri of Leicester City lift the Premier League Trophy on 7 May 2016. Credit: Michael Regan / Getty Images)

    1hr 1min
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About

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    504
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    The History Hour

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