The History Hour

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

History
**The History Hour**

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

Latest Episodes:

Mexico’s Day of the Dead parade and the Pope in Peru Nov 07, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.

We learn about how the James Bond film Spectre inspired Mexico City’s first Day of the Dead parade in 2016.

Our guest, Professor Erica Borgstrom, takes us around the world to learn how death is celebrated in different cultures.

Plus, how one woman survived Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013; a former altar boy’s memories of Pope Leo XIV’s time in Peru and Brazil’s Mariana dam disaster of 2015.

In Sporting Witness, the story of the Island Games.

And finally, we meet the father of stencil graffiti in France.

Contributors:

Alejandra González Anaya – organiser of Mexico City’s first Day of the Dead parade

Erica Borgstrom - professor of Medical Anthropology at the Open University

Joanna Sustento – survivor of Super Typhoon Haiyan

Héctor Camacho – friend of Pope Leo XIV

Paula Geralda Alves – survivor of the Mariana dam disaster

Pal Joensen – Island Games competitor

Xavier Prou – father of stencil graffiti

(Photo: The James Bond inspired Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City in 2016. Credit: Maria Calls/AFP via Getty Images)

The Siege of Paris and earthquakes in Mexico Oct 31, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.

We hear a survivor's incredible archive account of living through the Siege of Paris in 1870. Sydney Snell was in her 80s when she recorded her memories with the BBC in 1946.

Our guest Professor Beatrice Heuser, from the General Staff College of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg, Germany, explains how sieges in other military campaigns have influenced history.

There’s more on why newly reunified Germany held a vote in 1991 to decide which city would become its capital: Bonn or Berlin.

Plus, the world’s first public earthquake warning system launches in Mexico. And the story behind singer George Michael's cheeky video response to his arrest in a public toilet in Beverly Hills.

Also, the creation of CAMRA, one of Europe's most successful consumer movements. And in Sporting Witness, German football embraces its first shirt sponsor in 1973.

Contributors: Sydney Snell – survivor of the Siege of Paris. Professor Beatrice Heuser – historian, General Staff College of the Bundeswehr, Hamburg Jürgen Nimptsch – former mayor of Bonn. Wolfgang Schäuble – former German interior minister. Juan Manuel Espinosa Aranda – Seismic Instrumentation and Record Centre director. Bernd Gersdorff – retired footballer. Graham Lees – CAMRA co-founder. Vaughan Arnell – video director.

(Image: Army cannons at Le Raincy, the siege of Paris, 1870. Credit: API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

The Berlin Wall mural and a new kind of zoo Oct 24, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.

American artist Keith Haring's bold 1986 mural on the Berlin Wall and British naturalist Gerald Durrell's 1950s mission to save species from extinction.

We discuss other examples of art which aim to bring peace and unity around the world with Dr Lucy Weir, head of art history at the University of Edinburgh.

Plus Malta's divorce referendum in 2011, Hungary's 1956 uprising, the first Refugee Olympic Team of 2016 and how Ten Canoes made cinema history in Australia in 2006.

Contributors: Alexandra Hildebrandt - the chairwoman of the Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Dr Lucy Weir - the head of the history of art at the University of Edinburgh. Gerald Durrell - British naturalist. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando - Maltese MP. Péter Pallai - survivor of the Hungarian uprising. Frances Djulibing - actor in Ten Canoes. Rose Lokonyen - 800m runner for the Refugee Olympic Team.

(Photo: Keith Haring painting his mural on the Berlin Wall in 1986. Credit: Patrick Piel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

The chimpanzee who learned American sign language and monkeys in space Oct 17, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear about the tests on baby rhesus monkeys which would become some of the most controversial in modern science. Also, the chimpanzee who apparently learned American sign language.

Our guest zoologist Megan McCubbin discusses how ethics around using animals in experiments have changed over the years. And we hear about the two monkeys that were sent into space in the late 1950s.

Also the campaign to get chimps listed as endangered, and the murder of the mountain gorilla scientist Dian Fossey. Finally in this week's Sporting Witness, we learn why Manchester City fans started taking inflatable bananas to games in the late 80s.

Contributors:

Harry Harlow - psychologist.

Roger Fouts - worked with Washoe the chimpanzee.

Megan McCubbin - zoologist and author.

Dr Ron Nowak - led the team which declared chimpanzees endangered.

Lieutenant Joe Guion - commander of the USS Kiowa.

Kelly Stewart - Dian Fossey’s colleague.

Dr Gary James - football historian.

Imre Varadi - former Man City striker.

(Photo: Monkeys Able and Baker at a press conference to mark their return from space. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

The Falklands War and the assassination of Anwar Sadat Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear from one of the Peruvian pilots who secretly flew fighter jets to help Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982. We discuss with our guest, Iberian and Latin American historian Stella Krepp from Bern University, about the stance Peru and other countries from the region took in the conflict.

Plus, the killing of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981, the mirrors that brought winter sunshine to a Norwegian town, the rats that were trained to detect landmines, and the real-life boy who inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh books.

Finally, this week's Sporting Witness – the day Australia’s cricket captain had to choose between setting a personal record and his team’s chance to win.

Contributors:

Rubén Mimbela – former Peruvian Air Force pilot.

Jehan Sedat – Anwar Sadat’s widow.

Martin Andersen – inventor and artist.

Bart Weetjens – product designer.

Christopher Robin Milne – son of author A.A. Milne (archive).

Mark Taylor – Australia’s former cricket captain.

(Photo: Argentina's Air Force patrol during the Falklands War. Credit: Fireshot/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Sulawesi's historic cave art and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Dr. April Nowell, a paleolithic archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria in Canada.

We start by hearing how in 2012, archaeologists on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi made a discovery that changed our understanding of early human history.

Next, we're in the UK in 1957, as the final touches are made to what was then the largest radio telescope in the world: Jodrell Bank.

Plus, how the contraceptive pill was finally legalised in Japan in 1999, after decades of campaigning.

Then we go back to 1947 for what's been described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century: the Dead Sea Scrolls.

And we hear one soldier's account of the siege of Ladysmith, a key moment in the Boer War in 1899.

Finally, we're in Kenya for the start of one athlete's historic journey to javelin gold at the World Athletics Championships in 2015.

Contributors:

Professor Maxime Aubert - archaeologist, Griffith University, Australia

Sir Bernard Lovell - British radio astronomer and physicist (archive)

Yoriko Madoka - Japanese politician

Gerald Lankester Harding - British archaeologist (archive)

James Dalton - British Army bandsman with the Gordon Highlanders (archive)

Julius Yego ('Mr YouTube Man') - Kenyan track and field athlete

(Photo: Cave painting, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Maxime Aubert)

Manchester's racially inclusive nightclub and the artist who portrayed Nelson Mandela from life Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We dedicate this edition to Manchester, in England. We hear about the man who opened the city's first racially inclusive nightclub in 1962. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. Our guest Kath McDermott, a Mancunian DJ and producer at BBC 6 Music, tells us about Manchester's musical scene and how it helped shape the town’s culture and identity.

The acclaimed artist Harold Riley was a local to Greater Manchester and also the only one granted access to paint Nelson Mandela from life.

Plus, we remember the time the city hosted the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945, where activists from around the world met to discuss the struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination.

And we go back to 1948, when the University of Manchester developed ‘Baby,’ the world’s first stored-program computer.

Also, the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District that challenged private landownership to demand access to the countryside.

And the UK’s first female football photographer.

Contributors: Lisa Ayegun – daughter of Phil Magbotiwan, the founder of The Reno. Harold Riley – artist (archive). Peter Abrahams – African National Congress activist and writer. Tom Kilburn – creator of the 'Baby' computer (archive). Hakim Adi – historian. Benny Rothman – organiser of the Kinder Scout mass tresspass (archive). Harry Rothman – son of Benny Rothman. Magi Haroun – football photographer.

(Photo: Albert Square in Manchester in 1968. Credit: Manchester Evening News Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Norway's teacher resistance and Ireland's deadly nightclub fire Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear how Norwegian teachers resisted peddling Nazi propaganda during the German occupation of the Second World War and our guest, Dr Rachel Pistol, talks us through other examples of resistance around Europe.

Plus, the Stardust nightclub fire in Dublin in 1981, the Iranian engineer who connected homes to the internet using cable TV and the birth of India's call centre industry.

Finally, this week's Sporting Witness - the most successful Paralympian and the discovery of the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks.

Contributors: Mr Roll Hansen - Norwegian teacher. Dr Rachel Pistol - a historian specialising in the Second World War, from the University of Southampton. Antoinette Keegan - survivor of the Stardust nightclub fire. Rouzbeh Yassini - father of the cable modem. Pramod Bhasin - businessman who set up India’s first call centre. Trischa Zorn-Hudson - the most successful Paralympian. Juan Manuel Santos - former President of Colombia.

(Photo: German troops marching through Oslo in occupied Norway during World War Two in 1940. Credit: European / FPG / Getty Images)

The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11 Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two.

Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us through the finer details of the famous medieval tapestry.

Plus, communist fighters struggling to survive while following Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War in 1935.

The firefighter who survived the collapse of the North Tower with his crew during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The Irish woman whose report changed the date of D-Day, and the winner of the first Rubik's Cube World Championship.

We also learn how reports of a moving statue in rural Ireland drew thousands of visitors in 1985.

Contributors:

Sylvette Lemagnen - former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Catherine Clarke - Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London

Zhong Ming - soldier in Mao Zedong's army

Jay Jonas - former New York firefighter

Edward Sweeney - son of Maureen Flavin

Minh Thai - Rubik's Cube World Champion 1982

Ita Dungan - pilgrim to the site of the reported moving statue in Ballinspittle

(Photo: The Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau)

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA.

Actor Peter Coyote looks back on the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, sharing memories from the set and reflecting on the film's enduring appeal.

We hear the story of Octavia E. Butler, who overcame poverty, racism and sexism to become one of the most influential voices in science fiction.

Plus, how American television boldly went where it had never gone before with what is claimed to be the country’s first interracial kiss broadcast on television, in an episode of Star Trek in 1968.

We also hear about Turkish Star Wars, the cult film that would go on to gain a reputation as one of the world's worst movies.

And how the success of the original Star Wars transformed toy marketing forever.

Then, in Sporting Witness, the story behind Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien's legendary reaction to Norway's 2-1 victory over England in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo in 1981.

Contributors: Lisa Yaszek - Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA. Peter Coyote - actor in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Nisi Shawl - friend of Octavia E. Butler. Nichelle Nichols - actress who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek (archive). Çetin İnanç - film director (archive). Jim Swearingen - toy designer. Marius Lillelien - son of Bjørge Lillelien.

(Photo: On the set of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Credit: Universal/Getty Images)

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected