The History Hour

BBC World Service

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    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

  2. 14 MAR

    Movie history: Seven Samurai and Casablanca

    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 from director Leni Riefenstahl about one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made, Triumph of the Will, which was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally in 1934. Next, we hear about the challenges of making the Hollywood 1942 classic, Casablanca, from the late son and nephew of the screenwriters. Finally, the story of the Spanish language fantasy, Pan's Labyrinth, which took the world by storm in 2006. Contributors: Hisao Kurosawa - movie producer, head of the Kurosawa Production Company and son of Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa. Sarah Jilani - a Lecturer in the Department of Media, Culture and Creative Industries, City St George's, University of London. Kamlesh Pandey - screenwriter. Leni Riefenstahl - film maker (from BBC Archive). Leslie Epstein - the late son and nephew of screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein respectively. Ivana Baquero - actress. (Photo: Ingrid Bergman with Humphrey Bogart in a still from Casablanca. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

    1h 1m

  3. 7 MAR

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

    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 the invention of the mobility scooter in the 1960s and the only time the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis, set foot in the UK. Contributors: Jan Elliason – former Swedish diplomat. Dr Saniya Lee Ghanoui – Assistant Professor of history at the University of El Paso. Dr SK Sikka – former Indian nuclear scientist. Américo Borges – Portuguese volunteer fire commander. Al Thieme – the inventor of the mobility scooter. Anne Murphy – Elvis superfan. (Photo: Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1972 during the diplomatic freeze with the USA. Credit: Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    1h 2m

  4. 28 FEB

    Blood diamonds and the meeting between Florence Nightingale and Aga Khan III

    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. Our guest, gemmologist James Evans discusses the creation of synthetic 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 start of the Second World War in the Pacific when Japanese troops landed in what was then northern Malaya. We hear about a meeting between two of the most prominent figures in history from around the turn of the last century. Florence Nightingale and the Aga Khan, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah. Our sporting story takes us back to the summer of 1952 when the first Olympics of the Cold War era took place. Czechoslovakian army officer Emil Zatopek achieved a unique feat. And finally, the moment when Spain's fledgling democratic government appeared to be under threat. Contributors: Brenda Hollis - Chief prosecutor at the Charles Taylor trial. Malik Alrifaii - Volunteer who helped run the Syrian library. Dorothy Variyan -Lived under Japanese rule during the occupation of the Malay peninsula. Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah - BBC archive interview from 1950. Richard Asquith - Emil Zatopek's biographer. Joaquin Almunia - Former Vice President of the European Commission Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: Charles Taylor (rear C) appears in court in 2006. Credit: Rob Keeris/Getty Images)

    1 hr

  5. 21 FEB

    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 hr

  6. 14 FEB

    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)

    1h 1m

  7. 7 FEB

    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)

    1h 1m

  8. 31 JAN

    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)

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

Information

  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    489
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    The History Hour

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