The History Hour

BBC World Service

4.3 (539)
HISTORY
UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

3 HR. AGO

Death of a language and the world’s longest kiss

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear about the death of one of the oldest languages in the world, when an 85 year old woman died and took it with her in 2010. Our expert guest is Dr Mandana Seyfeddinipur, who is the Head of the Endangered Languages Archive which endeavours to preserve languages that are disappearing at “an alarming rate.” We also hear about the historian who helped bring a former Stasi officer to justice decades after he killed a man. Also the moment Bolivia elected its first ever indigenous president in 2005. The Thai couple that broke the world record for the longest kiss twice. Plus, it’s 60 years since the controversial black activist, Malcolm X was assassinated. We hear from a man who was in the audience in New York when it happened. This programme contains outdated and offensive language. Contributors: Dr Anvita Abbi – linguist who documented one of the oldest languages before it died Dr Mandana Seyfeddinipur – Head of the Endangered Languages Archive Dr Filip Gańczak – the historian who helped convict a former Stasi officer of murder Herman Ferguson who was in the audience when Malcolm X was assassinated Álvaro García Linera – Vice President of Bolivia under Evo Morales for 14 years Ekkachai – one half of the couple who broke the record for the world’s longest kiss (Photo: Boa Senior in Hospital. Credit: Anvita Abbi)

51 min
FEB 15

Great speeches from around the world

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We discuss the 1992 speech given by Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, in which he acknowledged the moral responsibility his government should bear for the horrors committed against Indigenous Australians, with our guest Dr Rebe Taylor from Tasmania University. We also look at two female orators from opposite ends of the political spectrum: Eva Peron, also known as Evita, from right-wing Argentina and Dolores Ibárruri, who was a communist and anti-fascist fighter in the Spanish Civil War. There are also two speeches from the USA, one which is remembered as one of the great presidential speeches of all time and another which help to change the view of AIDS in the country. Contributors: Don Watson - who wrote Paul Keating's Redfern speech in 1992. Dr Rebe Taylor - Australian historian from the University of Tasmania. Archive of Eva Peron - former first lady of Argentina. Mary Fisher - who addressed the Republican Party convention in 1992. David Eisenhower and Stephen Hess - Dwight Eisenhower's grandson and former speechwriter. Archive of Delores Ibárruri - former anti-fascist fighter in the Spanish Civil War. (Photo: Paul Keating Credit: Pickett/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

51 min
FEB 8

Cult films and a 'rockstar' philosopher

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is film critic and journalist Helen O'Hara who dissects what makes a cult film classic, after we hear about the making of the 1989 American film Heathers. We also learn about the French philosopher behind the theory of deconstruction and how the world first became aware of coral bleaching in the 1980s. As the climax of the American Football season approaches we look back at one of the most memorable moments from Super Bowl history. Contributors: Lisanne Falk - American star of the film Heathers. Helen O'Hara - film critic and journalist. Helene Cixous - lifetime friend of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Agathe Hébras - granddaughter of Robert Hébras, survivor of the Oradour Massacre. Clive Wilkinson - the former co-ordinator for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Osi Umenyiora - two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants. (Photo: Winona Ryder, Kim Walker, Lisanne Falk, and Shannen Doherty on the set of Heathers 1988, New World Pictures/Getty Images)

51 min
FEB 1

The 'Wolf Children' of World War Two and China's TV lessons

We hear from 'wolf child' Luise Quietsch who was separated from her family and forced to flee East Prussia. Whilst trying to survive during World War Two, these children were likened to hungry wolves roaming through forests. Journalist and documentary film-maker Sonya Winterberg who recorded the testimony of “wolf children” for her book, discusses the profound impact it had on their lives. We also hear about the first major series of English lessons which were broadcast on Chinese television in 1981. Kathy Flower presented the English education programme, Follow Me, several times a week at primetime. It was watched by an estimated 500 million people keen to get a taste of the English language and observe westerners on television. Kathy Flower recalls what it was like becoming the most famous foreign person in China. A series of unprecedented teachers’ strikes temporarily shut most of New York’s schools in the late 1960s, provoked by an ongoing dispute over whether parents could have a say in the running of their children’s schools. Monifa Edwards was a pupil at a school in the district of Ocean Hill-Brownsville, a name that became synonymous with the struggle over who controlled the local schools: the communities or the mainly white city officials. On 16 March 1988, loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone killed three mourners and injured 60 others attending a funeral for IRA members killed in Gibraltar. American journalist Bill Buzenberg, who was covering the funeral for National Public Radio in the US, was knocked off his feet in the gun and grenade attack. Finally we head to Eastern Europe in 1989, where approximately two million people joined hands across across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to form a human chain demanding independence from the Soviet Union. It was a key moment in the protests in Eastern Europe that became known as the Singing Revolution. In 2010, Damien McGuinness spoke to MEP Sandra Kalniete, a Latvian organiser of the event. (Photo: Luise Quietsch. Credit: Rita Naujokaitytė)

51 min
JAN 25

Back to 1995

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all about events which happened in 1995. First, we hear how Microsoft launched Windows 95 after a $300 million marketing campaign. Our expert guest is Dr Lisa McGerty – Chief Executive of the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge. Next, after 17 years terrorising America, we hear about the hunt for the Unabomber. Plus, the sarin gas attack on a Tokyo metro, carried out by members of a doomsday cult. Finally, how China exerted its influence over Tibetan Buddhism’s leadership. Contributors: Sarah Leary – project manager for Microsoft. Dr Lisa McGerty – Chief Executive of the Centre for Computing History. Carmine Gallo – police officer. Dr Kathleen Puckett – FBI agent. Atsushi Asakahara – metro passenger. Arjia Rinpoche – senior Tibetan Lama. (Photo: People lined up by US Microsoft Windows 95 exhibit. Credit: Forrest Anderson/Getty Images)

51 min
JAN 18

World War Two on film and Africa's landmark lifestyle magazine

Josephine McDermott sits in for Max Pearson presenting a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear from the author who stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while shopping for a briefcase in Beverly Hills. Our guest is Dr Anne-Marie Scholz, from the University of Bremen in Germany, who reflects on the impact of dramatizations of World War Two. We also hear about the start of Drum magazine, credited with giving black African writers a voice in the time of Apartheid. The devastation of the earthquake in the port city of Kobe, Japan, is recalled by a child survivor. Plus, the New Deal created by President Franklin D Roosevelt to drag the United States from the Depression of the 1930s. Finally, the family intervention of American former First Lady Betty Ford, which led to the world-famous rehabilitation clinic being started. Contributors: Thomas Keneally – author of Schindler’s Ark. Dr Anne-Marie Scholz - author of From Fidelity to History: Film Adaptations as Cultural Events in the 20th Century. Prospero Bailey - son of Jim Bailey on the origins of Drum magazine. Kiho Park – survivor of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Adam Cohen – expert on Roosevelt's New Deal. Susan Ford Bales – daughter of Betty Ford. (Photo: Nazi SS troops in Germany. Credit: Getty Images)

51 min
JAN 11

The Charlie Hebdo attack and the art of decluttering

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear a first-hand account of the attack at the offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. Our expert guest is Dr Chris Millington, who leads the Histories and Cultures of Conflict research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. We also hear about Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two. Plus, the Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks in Turkey. Russian military trucks on a civilian ship bound for Syria. Also, the Norwegian man who invented the hotel key card in the 1970s. Finally, we’re sparking joy with Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo. Contributors: Riss – Charlie Hebdo cartoonist. Dr Chris Millington - Histories and Cultures of Conflict research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. Yörük Işık – boat spotter. Archive recordings from 2015. Anders – son of Tor Sornes. Marie Kondo - organising consultant. (Photo: Charlie Hebdo mural. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

51 min
JAN 4

The Boxing Day tsunami, and Alexa’s creation

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear two stories from the deadly 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which killed thousands of people in south-east Asia. Our expert guest is Ani Naqvi, a former journalist who was on holiday in Sri Lanka when the wave hit. We also hear from the two Polish students who created the voice of Alexa, the smart speaker. Plus, the story of Klaus Fuchs, the German-born physicist who passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union while working on the first atomic bomb. Finally, we find out about Robert Ripley, the American cartoonist who made millions from sharing bizarre facts. Contributors: Choodamani and Karibeeran Paramesvaran – couple whose three children died in the Boxing Day tsunami. Dendy Montgomery – photographer who captured the tsunami devastation. Ani Naqvi – former journalist who was caught up in the tsunami. Lukasz Osowski and Michal Kaszczuk – creators of Alexa. Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski – nephew of atomic spy Klaus Fuchs. John Corcoran – director of exhibits at Ripley’s. (Photo: Tsunami devastation in Indonesia. Credit: Getty Images)

51 min

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4.3

out of 5

539 Ratings

Black boohoo PC stories

10/09/2021

wolfie/wolf

Ya we have heard more, poor me boohoo stories. Especially I’m so rich but a victim success story. Enough of the PC radical race theory. Everyone is so mean because I’m black as they laugh all the way to the bank.
Insulting review

11/29/2024

Vote2018

Well that’s just rude!
Ever a boring segment

03/31/2024

LoganDylan

I look forward to the new episodes that come out, however, why is it that some won’t play? i.e. 10/16/2021 Pakistani law that jails rape victims and 12/25/2021 Right to Drive in Saudi Arabia. As for a review, your program is wonderful, but I just would like an answer to my question.
Good history podcast

03/09/2023

Andrei braescu

I enjoy the vast variety of topics brought up by this podcast but I also find myself fed up with the huge amount of episodes/sections in the episodes about LGBTQ stuff. There’s too much emphasis on the topic, considering the fact this is a history podcast, not a propaganda/brainwashing thing.