The History Hour

Dec 20 2024 423 ep. 50 mins 113.8k

The History Hour Podcast artwork

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

Society & Culture History

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Referendums and cannibalism

Dec 20 2024 51 mins

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Chandrika Kaul, a specialist on modern British and Imperial history at the University of St Andrews in the UK.We start by hearing from both sides of Australia's 1999 referendum on becoming a republic. Then, a survivor recounts the horrific 1972 Andes plane c

Panama and the 'Purple Heart Battalion'

Dec 13 2024 51 mins

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Joan Flores-Villalobos, Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Southern California, and author of The Silver Women: How Black Women’s Labor Made the Panama Canal.First, we hear from a man involved in the handover of the canal from the

Women making a mark

Dec 07 2024 51 mins

In partnership with the BBC 100 Women list, we have a selection of stories about inspiring and influential women from around the world. Scientist Katalin Karikó, who won the Nobel Prize and helped save millions of lives in the Covid 19 pandemic, Julia Gillard, the former Australian prime minister who took a stand against misogyny in politics, and Indian artist Nalini Malani whose

'Mozart of chess’ and the deepest man-made hole in the world

Nov 29 2024 50 mins

We hear from Magnus Carlsen, who in 2014, became the first player ever to win all three world chess titles in one year, achieving the highest official rating of any player in history.Woman grandmaster, three times British champion and chess historian, Yao Lan is our guest. She talks about the origin of chess.In the 1970s and 80s, scientists in Russia, managed to dig a hole more tha

The Siege of Yarmouk and Iran's 'house churches'

Nov 23 2024 50 mins

During the early years of Syria’s brutal civil war, the neighbourhood of Yarmouk, close to the Syrian capital Damascus, bore the brunt of the government’s viciousness. Known as ‘the Pianist of Yarmouk,’ Aeham tells Mike Lanchin about their struggle to survive the siege, and how music helped him overcome some of those dark days. Dr Gillian Howell, senior research fellow at t

The ‘Battle of the Surfaces’ and becoming a republic

Nov 15 2024 50 mins

We hear about the half-clay, half-grass exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Argentinean creative entrepreneur and tennis fan Pablo del Campo tells Uma Doraiswamy how he made the iconic court possible in May 2000. Fiona Skille, professor of Sports History at Glasgow Caledonian University, explains the history of sport exhibition matches.In 1974, Greece held a re

Female heroes of WW2 and the Iranian Revolution

Nov 08 2024 51 mins

We hear about Polish war hero Irena Sendler who saved thousands of Jewish children during the World War Two.Expert Kathryn Atwood explains why women’s stories of bravery from that time are not as prominent as men’s.Plus, the invention of ‘Baby’ – one of the first programmable computers. It was developed in England at the University of Manchester. Gill Kearsley has been lo

Magic, illusion and tigers

Nov 01 2024 51 mins

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.For nearly 40 years, Siegfried and Roy wowed audiences in Las Vegas with death-defying tricks involving white lions and tigers. But in 2003, their magic show came to a dramatic end when a tiger attacked Roy live on stage.We find out what went wrong, and speak to magician and author Margaret Steele about the -

Dungeons & Dragons and dinosaur remains

Oct 25 2024 51 mins

First, on its 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, we hear from Luke Gygax, whose father created the fantasy role-play game. We also hear from Dr Melissa Rogerson, senior lecturer and board games researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia.Then, the first dinosaur remains discovered in Antarctica in 1986, by Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero.Next, Ethiopia’s

Flower revolutions

Oct 18 2024 51 mins

We hear about the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan in 2014. Brian Hioe, an activist who occupied Parliament in Taipei, recalls the events.We hear from Nino Zuriashvili, one of the protesters at the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003. And Prof Kasia Boddy, author of Blooming Flowers: A Seasonal History of Plants and People explains how flowers have been used as symbols in political hist