The History Hour

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, the moment when Irish writer Roddy Doyle discovered he'd won one of the most prestigious honours in fiction: The Booker Prize. And our guest, Merritt Moseley, emeritus professor of English at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, discusses the history of the award. Plus, we look back at the assassination of radical African leader Thomas Sankara in 1987, and find out more about the Indonesian province that introduced Sharia law. Also, how Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale' was discovered in Danish archives, and the female rollerblader who beat the men to grab X Games glory. Finally, the story behind the creation of the children's playtime favourite, My Little Pony, in 1983. Contributors: Roddy Doyle – author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. Merritt Moseley - emeritus professor of English at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. Paul Sankara – brother of Captain Thomas Sankara. Bonnie Zacharle – toymaker. Azwar Abubakar - acting governor of Aceh. Ejnar Askgaard - curator and senior researcher, Museum Odense. (Photo: Roddy Doyle with his prize winning book, 1993. Credit: PA Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Sahar Saleem, an Egyptian paleoradiologist specialising in using medical imaging technology to study mummies and ancient artefacts. We start with the story a Jewish interpreter who helped guard Adolf Hitler's teeth in the final days of the Second World War. Then, the engineering efforts to reduce the tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - which kept it closed to the public for 11 years. We hear a Nepalese activist recall the massive protests that led to the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1990. Plus, a childhood memory of the first major surrealist exhibition in New York. Finally, we hear of the current whereabouts of Jorge, a popular Argentine sea turtle. Contributors: Lyubov Summ - granddaughter of interpreter Yelena Rzhevskaya. Nunziante Squeglia - professor of geotechnics at the University of Pisa. Durga Thapa - Nepalese activist. Carroll Janis - performer at the first major surrealist exhibition. Nicky Salapu - former goalkeeper for American Samoa, Alejandro Saubidet - Argentine marine biologist. (Photo: Pisa Leaning Tower and Pisa Cathedral, in the celebrated Piazza dei Miracoli. Credit: Getty)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Sarah Ward, a maritime archaeologist from the Australian National University. We start with the discovery of the sunken Terra Nova, Scott of the Antartic's ship. We hear from the Danish food entrepeneur Claus Meyer - a driving force behind New Nordic Cuisine. Then, the long journey that finally took Picasso's Guernica to Spain. Plus, the Chinese pharmacist who invented the e-cigarette. And, the life of Echo the elephant - the star of the world's longest-running study of wild elephants in Kenya. Finally, "fan man" James Miller and boxing's most bizarre night. Contributors: Leighton Rolley - oceanographer. Dr Sarah Ward - maritime archaeologist from the Australian National University. Claus Meyer - Danish food entrepeneur. Ambassador Rafael Fernandez-Quintanilla - Spanish diplomat (from BBC archive). Hon Lik - inventor of the e-cigarette. Dr Cynthia Moss - founder of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. Marc Ratner - former representative of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. (Photo: The Terra Nova held up in the pack, Antarctica, 1910. Credit: Herbert Ponting/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Paulina Guzik, International editor with the Catholic wire service, OSV News. We start in 1986 when Pope John Paul II visited New Zealand. Then, we hear about the reunification of Germany in 1989 from a key political advisor. How one Maasai community overcame a devastating drought in 2013. The recollections of one of the first people to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China in 1984. Next, the first official penalty shootout in 1970 that changed football forever. Finally, we look at an essay published in 1999 that was an unfiltered look into restaurant kitchen culture. Contributors: Michael Jarka - a man who met Pope John Paul II. Paulina Guzik - OSV News. Joachim Bitterlich - a key advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Dalmas Tiampati - founder of Ildalalekutuk Maasai Action for Development. Yaohui Dong - one of the first to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China. Frankie Banks - former Hull City player. Martyn Kelly - a football fan. Philip Lajaunie - Anthony Bourdain's former boss at Les Halles restaurant, New York. (Photo: Pope John Paul II blesses the crowd during Mass at Auckland Domain. Credit: Reuters/Luciano Mellace)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest Sugandhi Jayaraman, lecturer in air transport management at the University of Westminster, discusses the changes in airports over time. We hear about the Irish priest whose dream of air travel in a remote part of West Ireland became a reality. And we travel back to 1943 to one of the most audacious hoaxes of World War Two. Plus the Challenger Shuttle disaster where a member of the public had been chosen to join the experienced astronaut crew. We also commemorate Agatha Christie and we go back to 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini flew back to Tehran from Paris after being exiled. Contributors: Pearce Concannon - firefighter at Knock airport Sugandhi Jayaraman - lecturer Roger Morgan - amateur historian Barbera Morgan - trained alongside the Challenger team Mathew Prichard- Agatha Christie's grandson Mohsen Sazegara - worked for the Ayatollah (Picture: Cabin crew with Monsignor James Horan at Knock Airport. Credit: Independent News And Media/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is food historian Dr Annie Gray. She discusses the impact of the first modern, fitted kitchen - the Frankfurt Kitchen - on the kitchens of today. It all goes back to 1926 and the reluctant Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky who said she wanted to be remembered for more than designing a "damned" kitchen. Sorry Margarete. Next is the invention of the board game Cluedo, or Clue in the United States, which stemmed from playing the piano at murder mystery parties in English country houses and hotels in the 1930s. Then, we enter the murky world of computer viruses. The first one to affect personal computers in 1986 became known as 'Brain'. We hear from a survivor of the deadly mudslides which affected Venezuela in December 1999. A Lotus mechanic gives his account of Brazilian racing star Ayrton Senna's first Formula 1 win in 1985. And finally, a glimpse into a period of freedom in Afghanistan from 2005 when a TV musical talent contest called Afghan Star gripped audiences. Contributors: Christine Zwingl - architect. Marcia Lewis - daughter of the creators of Cluedo. Amjad Farooq Alvi - founder of Brain Computers. Leydys Crespo - survivor of Venezuelan mudslides in 1999. Chris Dinnage - Ayrton Senna's mechanic. Jahid Mohseni - the development producer for Afghan Star. (Picture: A 1950s fitted kitchen. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This programme contains distressing details. Our guest is Bárbara Fernández Melleda, Assistant Professor in Latin American Studies at the University of Hong Kong. We start with Chilean author Isabel Allende on her debut novel, The House of the Spirits, in 1982 which reflects Chile’s 20th century history. Then, we hear the memories of a soldier injured in the Battle of Gallipoli. The recollections of a mother who lost both her daughters in a crowd crush at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 - the UK's worst sporting disaster. How a British artist's unmade bed was nominated for a prestigious art prize in 1999. Next the swimsuit made ahead of the Beijing Olympic games in 2008 that was so good it had to be banned. Finally, we learn about the world's longest running animated TV series that began in 1969. Contributors: Isabel Allende - a Chilean author. Rupert Westmacott - a soldier (from archive). Jenni Hicks - a mother who lost her two daughters in the Hillsborough tragedy. Dame Tracey Emin - an artist. Jason Rance - former head of Speedo's global research and development team. Sunishi Yukimuro - an animated cartoon writer. (Image: Chilean author Isabel Allende. Credit: Felipe Amilibia/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Barbara Keys, a specialist in US history at Durham University. We start with a celebration of the American Freedom Train, as the US prepares to mark 250 years of independence. Then, the South African railway enthusiast who created one of the most luxurious train services in the world. We hear about the invention of text messaging and how it changed the way we communicate. Plus, 75 years of Radio Free Europe broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. The thousand-year-long musical composition that's due to end in 2999. And our Sporting Witness looks at how a British teenager won a six-month contract to play for Italian champions Inter Milan. Contributors: Lou Nelson - former security guard on the American Freedom Train 1975-76. Rohan Vos - founder and CEO of Rovos Rail. Friedhelm "Fred" Hillebrand - inventor of SMS and text messaging. Arch Puddington - former deputy director Radio Free Europe. Jem Finer - musician and composer of Longplayer. Ben Greenhalgh - Margate player-manager and winner of reality show "Football's Next Star". (Photo: American Freedom Train, 1976. Credit: NARA/DVIDS)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We learn about how Play-Doh evolved from a cleaning product to a childhood favourite and the creation of one of the best-selling board games of all time, Catan. Our guest is the editor of Toy World Magazine, Caroline Tonks, who takes us through the history of toy crazes. We also hear about the invention of the hoverboard, and how the Tamagotchi allowed people to have their own virtual pet. Plus, how the family favourite game, Jenga, was born in 1970s Ghana. And our Sporting Witness looks at how a piece of software revolutionised the game of football through data analysis. Contributors: Peg Roberts – daughter of Kay Zufall Benjamin Teuber – son of Catan inventor Klaus Teuber Caroline Tonks – editor of Toy World Magazine Shane Chen – the inventor of the hoverboard Akihiro Yokoi – the inventor of the Tamgotchi Leslie Scott – the creator of the game Jenga Ramm Mylavaganam – inventor of ProZone (Photo: The Tamagotchi was introduced in 1996 and is one of the best-selling toys in history. Credit: Reuters)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We learn about how a Norwegian businessman brought salmon sushi to Japan in the 1980s. Our guest is cookbook author Nancy Singleton Hachisu, who tells us more about the history of sushi in Japan and around the world. We hear about the first opera written for TV in 1950s America and how U.S Marshalls used fake NFL tickets to capture some of Washington DC’s most wanted. Plus, how disability rights campaigners in India led to a change in the law in 1995 and when Scotland played hockey in Germany during the cold war. Finally, the story of when Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English country pub. Contributors: Bjørn-Eirik – Norwegian businessman who brought salmon sushi to Japan Nancy Singleton Hachisu – cookbook author Archive of Gian Carlo Menotti – Italian composer Stacia Hylton – former U.S Marshall Javed Abidi – Indian disability rights campaigner Archive of customers at The Bull Inn – the pub that Laurel and Hardy visited in 1953 Valerie Sinclair – member of Scotland's hockey team who played West Germany in 1961 (Photo: Japanese demonstration to Norwegian royal family. Credit: Bjørn-Eirik Olson)

We start with the street artist Banksy, and his 2015 dystopian 'bemusement park'. Then, we talk to roller coaster enthusiast Megan MacCausland, from the European Coaster Club. Plus, we go back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the coelacanth, a fish believed to have been extinct for 65 million years. Next, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up after the abolishment of apartheid in the 1990s. This programme contains contains harrowing testimony and graphic descriptions of human rights violations throughout. Also, the six-day IRA siege on London's Balcombe Street in 1975, where a couple were taken hostage. Finally, it's been 10 years since 193 countries and the European Union adopted the Paris climate agreement, in December 2015. Our Sporting Witness programme this week looks at how an international skiing scene developed in the mountains of Bamiyan province, Afghanistan, in 2011. Contributors: Kurtis Young - steward at Dismaland. Megan MacCausland - European Coaster Club. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer - South African museum curator (from archive). Sisi Khampepe - served on the Amnesty Committee. Steven Moysey - saw the Balcombe Street siege unfold. Christiana Figueres - head of climate negotiations at 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Alishah Farhang - Afghanistan skier. (Photo: Dismaland in Weston Super-Mare. Credit: Kristian Buus/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes, all with a Nigerian theme. We hear two personal stories of the Biafra war, which began in 1967, including the writer Wole Soyinka who was jailed for trying to stop it. Plus, we hear from Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe about escaping the conflict. She's now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye. We speak to Dr Louisa Egbunike, who is an Associate Professor in African Literature at Durham University in England. Also, a retired Brigadier General speaks about West African countries fighting back against the jihadist militant group Boko Haram in 2015. Then, the opening of the New Afrika Shrine in 2000, by Fela Kuti's children to honour his legacy. Finally, we hear from Omoyemi Akerele who founded Lagos Fashion Week in 2011. Our Sporting Witness programme this week looks at Nigeria becoming the first team to represent Africa at the first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. This is a Made in Manchester Production. Contributors: Wole Soyinka - Nobel Prize-winning poet and playwright. Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe - TV and music star. Dr Louisa Egbunike - Associate Professor in African Literature at Durham University. Sani Kukasheka Usman - retired Brigadier General. Omoyeni Anikulapo-Kuti, also known as Yeni Kuti - the eldest daughter of Fela Kuti. Omoyemi Akerele - founder of Lagos Fashion Week. Nkiri Okosieme – captained Nigeria women's national football team. (Photo: Biafran national army soldiers. Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is literature lecturer Dr Hetta Howes on major literary hoaxes around the world. We hear about Howard Hughes' fake autobiography, the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá in Colombia and how the Indian musician Ravi Shankar taught George Harrison the sitar. Plus, the Indian woman who led her country's first delegation to the United Nations, the Premier League's first female photographer and how Toy Story revolutionised animation. Contributors: Clifford Irving - American author who faked an autobiography of Howard Hughes. Dr Hetta Howes - a senior lecturer in English Literature at City St George’s, at the University of London. Jorge Enrique Castelblanco - Colombian engineer behind the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Ravi Shankar - Indian sitar maestro. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit - led India's first delegation to the United Nations in 1946. Magi Haroun - the Premier League's first female photographer. Doug Sweetland - animator on Toy Story. (Photo: Clifford Irving leaving the Chelsea Hotel in New York City, followed by news crews in 1972. Credit: Bettmann Archive / Getty Images) This programme has been updated since the original broadcast, with concert dates and song writing credits corrected.

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Mercedes Peñalba- Sotorrío, a senior lecturer in modern European history at Manchester Metropolitan University, England. We start with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain. Then, we use archive to hear how King Juan Carlos reclaimed the Spanish throne in 1975 and led the country to a democracy. This episode was made in collaboration with BBC Archives. We hear from a Social Democrat politician about Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to suspend asylum rules for Syrians fleeing war in 2015. How the Bosnian war ended with the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. Next, how a substitute fielder ran out the Australian captain in the fourth test of the 2005 Ashes, turning the game in England's favour. Finally, we use archive to hear about cold war diplomacy in the Geneva summit in 1985. Contributors: José Antonio Martínez Soler - a journalist. King Juan Carlos - the former King of Spain (from archive). Aydan Özoğuz - a Social Democrat politician and former minister of state for immigration. Milan Milutinović - a negotiator in the Dayton Peace Accords. Gary Pratt - a fielder in the England cricket team in the 2005 Ashes series. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev - The former US President and former Soviet leader (from archive). (Image: King Juan Carlos, 1975. Credit: Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is aviation historian Dr Victoria Taylor. We start with an archive interview of American Chuck Yeager who became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound in 1947. Then, a couple who were caught up in the attack on the Bataclan theatre in Paris in November 2015. We hear from a prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials in 1945 after World War Two. France’s former finance minister recalls how an economic crisis in the 1970s led to the birth of the G7. Next, how a heated NBA game in 2004 spiralled into one of the most infamous brawls in sports history. Finally, we hear the story of the first ever underwater cabinet meeting in 2009. Contributors: Chuck Yeager (from archive) - the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. Justine Merton-Scott and Tony Scott - a couple who survived the Bataclan attack in Paris. Benjamin Ferencz - a prosecutor in the Nuremburg trials. Jean-Pierre Fourcade - France's former finance minister. Mark Boyle - radio broadcaster for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. Mohamed Nasheed - former President of the Maldives. (Photo: The first powered take off of Chuck Yeager's supersonic plane in 1947. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Darja Dankina, who's a palaeontologist from the Natures Research Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. We start with the discovery of the largest dinosaur ever, uncovered by a shepherd on a ranch in Argentina in 2012. Then, we hear from the daughter of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, who created children's show Thunderbirds in 1965. Plus, the impeachment of US President Clinton in 1999. How an American historical document typed out on a university computer in 1971 played a vital role in the digital revolution of electronic books. Also, Colonel Gaddafi’s son being signed to Italy’s top football league in 2003. Finally, we use BBC archive to hear how children's book character Miffy was created in 1955. In the programme Dick Bruna reads from Miffy Goes Flying with permission from Mercis Publishing bv. Contributors: Dr Diego Pol - palaeontologist who lead the dig for the Patagotitan. Darja Dankina - palaeontologist from the Natures Research Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. Dee Anderson - daughter of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Joe Lockhart - Bill Clinton’s former press secretary. Greg Newby - Project Gutenberg’s CEO and director. Jay Bothroyd and Zeljko Kalac - former Perugia players. Dick Bruna - Dutch author and illustrator. (Photo: The Patagotitan. Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Emerante de Pradines's son, Richard Morse, tells us about his mother’s life and her commitment to de-demonising vodou culture through her music. Haiti expert Kate Hodgson, from University College Cork in Ireland, expands on the history of the country in the 20th Century. The story of how an Argentinian doctor was inspired to create a new treatment for heart disease and when the death of a Catholic priest sent shockwaves through El Salvador in 1977. Plus, the memories of a survivor of the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, when thousands of Bosnian Muslims were killed by Bosnian Serb Soldiers thirty years ago. The first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup and Orson Welles’s famous re-telling of the War of the Worlds, which sparked mass panic in America. Contributors: Richard Morse – son of Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines Kate Hodgson – lecturer in French at University College Cork in Ireland Dr Julio Palmaz – the inventor of the balloon-expandable stent Gabina Dubon – colleague of Father Rutilio Grande Sister Ana Maria Pineda – theologian and author Hasan Nuhanovic – survivor of the Srebrenica massacre Michelle Payne – 2015 Melbourne Cup winner Archive recordings of Orson Welles, his producer John Houseman and writer Howard Koch Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: Orson Welles rehearsing a radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' classic, The War of the Worlds on 10 October, 1938. Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Sonny Roberts’ daughter tells us about how her father created the UK’s first black-owned music studio - this programme contains outdated and offensive language. Music producer and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Lucy Durán takes us through the history of music studios around the world. How a Macedonian scientist’s discovery led to treatments for diabetes and obesity, and the story of the Kenyan ecologist who became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Plus, the mysterious sinking of a British oil tanker in Indonesia in the the 1950s and how the first lottery scratchcard was invented by an American mathematician. As well as the story of the first South American to win the International Surfing Association world title back in 2004. Contributors: Cleon Roberts – daughter of Sonny Roberts. Lucy Duran – music producer and professor at the School of Oriental and African studies at the University of London. Svetlana Mojsov – Macedonian scientist who discovered the hormone called GLP-Joseph McCorry – who was on the San Flaviano oil tanker. Wanjira Mathai – daughter of Wangari Maathai. Sofia Mulanovich – three-time world surfing champion. John Koza – the inventor of the scratchcard. (Photo: Jamaican record producer Sonny Roberts Record Shop in Willesden Junction, London, UK in December 1982. Credit: David Corio/Redferns via Getty)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Indian-based author and podcaster Purba Chakraborty talks about the history of fiction writing. We hear about the rise in popularity of 'Nordic Noir', following the publication of Henning Mankell's crime novels. Then we listen to BBC archive of writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges - regarded as one of the most influential Latin American writers in history. Plus, the trial of two Soviet writers, Yuli Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky, accused of smuggling their works to the west. Helen Fielding looks back at her weekly newspaper column about a 30-something, single woman in London, which became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s. The niece of Finnish writer and artist Tove Jansson talks about her iconic Moomin books - which have been published in more than 60 languages. And finally, we hear the personal story of young Nepalese athlete Mira Rai, which shocked the ultra-running world. Contributors: Anneli Høier - literary agent. Jorge Luis Borges - short story writer and poet. Purba Chakraborty - writer and podcaster. Andrei Sinyavsky - Russian writer and Soviet dissident. Alexander Daniel - son of Yuli Daniel, Russian writer and Soviet dissident. Helen Fielding - journalist and writer. Sophia Jansson - niece of Tove Jansson, author and artist. Mira Rai - Nepalese trail runner. (Photo: Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell and a copy of one of his books. Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with a BBC archive interview where one woman recounts what it was like to survive the earthquake and landside in 1961 following the volcanic eruption in Tristan da Cunha. Our guest is Anne Green, a retired schoolteacher from the island of Tristan da Cunha. She describes what it was like to return to the island in 1963. Then, the rare eyewitness account from a 105-year-old who is the only Briton alive today, that was at the ceremony when Japan surrendered to China in Beijing at the end of eight years of brutal occupation. Next, the economist who in 2001 wrote a report about countries set to shape the world economy, accidentally coining the acronym BRICS. Plus, the man who won the national competition to design the Indian rupee symbol when he was just a student. Finally, the story of how VHS and Betamax battled over which video recorder would win the home entertainment market. Contributors: Anne Green - former teacher from Tristan da Cunha Archive interview with Mary Swain - resident of Tristan da Cunha John Stanfield - British Army veteren Jim O'Neill - economist Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam - Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Marc Wielage - digital colourist (Photo: Tristan Da Cunha islanders arriving in England in 1961. Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. Tea expert Sabita Banerji talks about the history of tea in India. We look back at how women teapickers in 2015 fought for justice - and improved the lives of thousands of tea plantation workers. We hear the story of a famous photo of American president John F Kennedy working at his desk in the White House - with his cheeky young son underneath. Also, from 1985 one of the most notorious killings from the apartheid era in South Africa of the men who became known as the Cradock four - this includes graphic descriptions of violence. It’s 30 years since American football star OJ Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. We hear from one of his former friends who testified against him in the criminal trial including his desciptions of the injuries suffered by the victims. And finally, it’s 40 years this week since the release of Microsoft Excel, the spreadsheet software that's now used all over the world. We hear from one of the creators. Contributors: Rajeshwary - tea plantation worker. Sabita Banerji - founder of Thirst tea charity. Lukhanyo Calata - son of Fort Calata, one of the Cradock Four. Ron Shipp - who testified against OJ Simpson. Mike Koss – one of the creators of Microsoft Excel. Plus, archive recordings of American photographer Stanley Tretick from the John F Kennedy Library and Museum. (Photo: Female tea pickers on strike in Munnar. Credit: Countercurrents.org)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes taking us from India to Texas. Professor Sunny Singh, author of A Bollywood State of Mind, discusses the origins of Indian cinema in 1912. And we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of Bollywood romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. We also head to Paris in 1971, to the launch of what would become one of the world’s best known humanitarian organisations: Médecins Sans Frontières. And we learn how Lord Robert Baden-Powell laid the foundations for one of the largest international youth organisations. Finally, we discover how Bette Graham, a single mum from Texas cooked up the first correction fluid in her kitchen. Contributors: Kajol, Bollywood actress Professor Sunny Singh, author of A Bollywood State of Mind Asmaou Diallo, mother of a protestor who was killed in the 2009 Guinea rally Dr Xavier Emmanuelli, one of the founders of Medecins San Frontieres (Photo: Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai. Credit: Indranil Mukherjee AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Egyptian theme. We find out more about the 2014 fight against sexual harassment. And we hear from Professor Nicola Pratt, an expert on Middle East feminism about the significance of that moment in the fight for women's rights. Also, we go to the 1960s when antiquities were saved to make way for the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile. And recollections from Egypt's first free democratic presidential election in 2012. Plus, the woman who broke the convention of the role of a first lady to help change divorce laws. And finally, we remember the moment the egyptian actor Omar Sharif swept onto the world stage in Lawrence of Arabia. Contributors: Engy Ghozlan - co-founder of HarassMap Professor Herman Bell - scientist Rabab El-Mahdi - chief strategist to one of Mohamed Morsi's rival candidates Jehan Sadat - wife of President Anwar Sadat who helped change divorce laws Archive recordings of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (Photo: Women at a protest in Cairo, Egypt, in 2014. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Lucy Durán, a Spanish ethnomusicologist, record producer and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. We start with an African American artist who recounts exhibiting her work at Nigeria's largest ever festival of African arts and culture in 1977. Then, the testimony of a pilot stranded in airspace following the 9/11 terror attack. A 94-year-old Jewish refugee remembers how she was saved by the Philippines during World War Two. The first woman to complete the challenge of crossing straits of the world’s Seven Seas, reveals how she was inspired by a traditional Bengali folk tale. Finally, from a BBC archive interview in 1974, the story of how a satirical book, that was a parody of management theory, became an instant classic in 1969. Contributors: Lucy Durán - Spanish ethnomusicologist Viola Burley Leak - artist Beverley Bass - American Airlines pilot Lotte Hershfield - former Jewish refugee in the Philippines Bula Choudhury - Indian long-distance swimmer Archive interview with Dr Laurence J Peter - Canadian academic (Photo: The official emblem of festac'77. Credit: Alamy)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's episodes of Witness History. The formation of an unconventional special force during the Second World War sparks a discussion about three others around the world with military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson. Plus, the founding of the United States Agency for International Development, the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic 40 years ago and the first baby born after a womb transplant. Finally, Mexican-American boxer Oscar De La Hoya's toughest test - a clash with Ghana's Ike 'Bazooka' Quartey and how the online marketplace started at a house party in Lithuania in the noughties. The first item contains outdated and offensive language. Contributors: Major General Orde Wingate - leader of the Chindits. Baroness Jackson - economist who influenced the founding of USAID. Cathy Offinger and Jean Louis Michel - explorers who helped find the wreck of the Titanic. Prof Pernilla Dahm-Kähler - gynaecologist who helped deliver the first baby after a womb transplant. Oscar De La Hoya - boxer nicknamed 'the Golden Boy of Boxing'. Milda Mitkutė - co-founder of Vinted. This programme has been updated since the original broadcast to add additional context. (Photo: Members of the Chindits in the jungle in Burma, now Myanmar. Credit: Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We learn why the Mount Pleasant riots erupted in Washington DC in 1991, and hear from our guest, Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, a public historian of the US capital. Plus, more on John Lennon’s benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, his final and only full-length solo shows after leaving The Beatles. And the story behind how the world's first permanent international criminal court was created in 1998. Also, when the internet security tool, Captcha, moved from an idea to a reality, and why a photo of Chile’s goalkeeper in 1989 exposed a cheating scandal. Finally, a peak behind the scenes of the making of a noir film classic, The Third Man. Contributors: Victor ‘Lilo’ Gonzalez – Mount Pleasant resident. Sarah Jane Shoenfeld - public historian. Andrei Broder – computer scientist. Judge Phillipe Kirsch – chair of the Rome conference. Geraldo Rivera – TV journalist. Ricardo Alfieri – sports photographer. Angela Allen - production assistant. (Photo: Capitol Building, Washington DC. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jacquie McNish, author and former Senior Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal. We start with the former co-CEO of BlackBerry, who recounts the company's remarkable boom and bust. Then, the creation of the Spot the dog children's books in the 1970s. We hear the testimony of a US soldier who defected to the Soviet Bloc in the 1950s. An author recalls how her 2010 book challenged Norway's immigration policy. The inside story of the creation of the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991. Finally, the 19th century battle that inspired the Geneva Conventions. Contributors: Jim Balsillie - former BlackBerry co-CEO. Jacquie McNish - Author and former Senior Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal. Chris Hill - son of Eric Hill, creator of Spot the dog. Victor Grossman - US soldier who defected to the Soviet Bloc. Maria Amelie - author of book on Norway's immigration system. Alice D Cooper - organiser of the first Women's Rugby World Cup. Henry Dunant - instigator of the Geneva Conventions, diary read by his descendant Gabriel Martinez. (Photo: Jim Balsillie, former co-CEO of BlackBerry. Credit: Visual China Group via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Anne-Lot Hoek, a research fellow at the International Institution of Social History in Amsterdam. This week, we’re looking at key moments in Indonesian history, as the country marks 80 years since independence. We start by hearing about the writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who wrote Buru Quartet while imprisoned in the notorious labour camp on Buru island. Then, the reopening of the worlds’ largest Buddhist monument after major restoration work. Plus, 50 years since the Santa Cruz massacre, when Indonesian troops opened fire on independence activists. Also, Jakarta’s ban on the use of dancing monkeys on the city’s streets. And, the discovery of a new species of human. Contributors: Pramoedya Ananta Toer - archive recordings of the writer. Werdi – one of the workers on the project. Dr Anne-Lot Hoek - research fellow at the International Institution of Social History in Amsterdam. Max Stahl - archive recordings of the British cameraman. Femke den Haas – animal rights activist. Peter Brown - Australian paleoanthropologist. (Photo: Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Credit: Reuters)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Simone Turchetti, Professor of the History of Science and Technology, at The University of Manchester in the UK. It's 80 years since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing Japan to surrender at the end of the Second World War. We hear from a British prisoner of war who was in Nagasaki at the time. Then, the son of musician Dmitri Shostakovich tells of his famous father’s confrontation with Stalin in the 1930s. Also, the story of a man who survived an 8.6 magnitude earthquake that shook the Himalayan mountains in 1950. Plus, Singapore's tense and tearful 1965 separation from the Federation of Malaysia and the detective who tracked down the gang responsible for Brazil's biggest bank heist. Contributors: Simone Turchetti - Professor of the History of Science and Technology, at The University of Manchester. Maxim Shostakovich – son of musician Dmitri Shostakovich Manjeet Kaur- remembering Singapore independence in 1965. Antonio Celso Dos Santos – detective in Brazil Plus, archive recording of Geoff Sherring, a British prisoner of war in Nagasaki and Frank Kingdon-Ward who survived an earthquake that shook the Himalayan mountains in 1950. (Photo: Nuclear explosion over Nagasaki. Credit: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Lara Douds, Assistant Professor of Russian history. We start in 1907, the men who would go on to lead the Russian Revolution met in London for a crucial congress marking a point of no return between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Then, in 2000, the launch of Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan, becoming the world’s longest rollercoaster at nearly 2.5 km in length. Next, the political assisination of Juan Mari Jauregui, a retired Spanish politician and long-time campaigner for independence, by Basque separatists in 2000. Plus, how in 1986, during a world record attempt and publicity stunt, one and a half million balloons were released as a storm rolled over the city. Finally, the story of Chuquicamata, Chile’s abandoned mining town after its 25,000 residents left due to pollution concerns . Contributors: Henry Brailsford - British journalist Dr Lara Douds - Assistant Professor of Russian history Steve Okamoto - rollercoaster designer Maixabel Lasa - widow of Juan Mari Jauregui Tom Holowatch - project manager of BalloonFest '86 Patricia Rojas - former resident of Chuquicamata (Photo: Lenin giving a speech in Red Square. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Natalia Grincheva, an expert in cultural diplomacy from Lasalle, University of the Arts in Singapore. We start by hearing about when US president Bill Clinton was presented with a saxophone on a 1994 visit to Prague and he and the Czech president Vaclav Havel performed together on stage. Then, India’s first female anthropologist, Irawati Karve. Twenty years on, the cousin of John Charles de Menezes, describes the day the unarmed Brazilian man was shot dead by anti-terrorism police in London. Plus, the discovery of the super-strong fibre Kevlar in 1965 which was used in bulletproof vests. And finally, 50 years on from the premiere of the Broadway hit A Chorus Line, an original cast member shares her memories. Contributors: Urmilla Deshpande – granddaughter of Irawati Karve. Patricia da Silva – cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes. Baayork Lee – Connie in A Chorus Line Plus, archive recording of Stephanie Kwolek, and material from the Vaclav Havel Center and the William J Clinton Presidential Library. (Photo: President Bill Clinton accepts a saxophone as a gift from a Belgian delegation in 1994. Credit: Luke Frazza/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dina Esfandiary, Middle East Geo-economics Lead at Bloomberg Economics. We start in 2015 with insider accounts of the Iran nuclear deal and the Greek debt crisis. Then, the 1995 'Turbot War' between Canada and Spain. We hear how international broadcaster Voice of America was born during World War 2. Finally, the rise of Italo disco in the early 1980s. Contributors: Baroness Catherine Ashton - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Dina Esfandiary - Middle East Geo-economics Lead at Bloomberg Economics. Euclid Tsakalotos - Greece's Finance Minister. Brian Tobin - Canada’s Minister for Fisheries and Oceans. Ryan Paris - singer of Dolce Vita. (Photo: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015. Credit: Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Argentine theme. We find out more about the 1985 ‘trial of the juntas’ when the country’s former military leaders stood accused of torturing and murdering thousands of their own people. And we hear from historian Dr Victoria Basualdo about life in Argentina, both before and after the trial. Also, the story of the grandmothers who championed the study of genetics to find their missing loved ones. And why tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Buenos Aires in 2015. Plus, the bizarre story of Eva Peron's disappearing corpse. And finally, more on the Argentine animator who Walt Disney wanted to hire. Contributors: Luis Moreno Ocampo - prosecutor Dr Victoria Basualdo – historian, FLACSO, the Latín American School of Social Sciences Dr Victor Penchaszadeh – geneticist Agustina Paz Frontera – journalist and writer Domingo Tellechea – art restorer and embalmer Hector Cristiani – grandson of Quirino Cristiani (Photo: Forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow giving testimony to the trial, 1985. Credit: Daniel Muzio/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes including the story behind Mick Jagger and David Bowie's duet for Live Aid in 1985 and the Chinese artist who was jailed for his art inspired by the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. He speaks to music journalist Alice Austin to explore other concerts in world history that have had a political impact. Also, the American politician who first coined the phrase "drill, baby, drill" in 2008, the making of Back To The Future in 1985 and the trophy killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe in 2015. Contributors: Bernard Doherty - former Live Aid press officer. Alice Austin - music journalist. Ai Weiwei - artist. Prof Andrew Loveridge - zoologist who studied Cecil the lion. Michael Steele - the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, who came up with the slogan "Drill, baby, drill!" Bob Gale - the co-writer and producer of the Back to the Future. (Photo: Mick Jagger and David Bowie performing Dancing In The Street. Credit: Brian Cooke / Redferns)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service, all related to trains and journeys which have helped to shape our world. Our guest Nicky Gardner, travel writer and co-author of Europe by Rail: the Definitive Guide, discusses the origins of train travel. The first story involved the hijacking of a train in 1950s communist Czechoslovakia which was driven across the border into West Germany. We also hear about Senator Robert Kennedy's funeral train in 1960s America, and Italy's "happiness train", which took children from the poverty stricken south to wealthier families in the north. Contributors - Archive interview with Karel Ruml. Frank Mankiewicz - Robert Kennedy's former press secretary, and Rosey Grier, his former bodyguard. Bianca D’Aniello - a passenger on the “happiness train”. June Cutchins - received gifts from the Gratitude Train. Tomas Andreas Elejalde - general manager of the Medellin Metro. (Photo: People stand near railroad tracks as a train carries the body of Robert Kennedy on June 8, 1968. Credit: Steve Northrup/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This programme includes outdated and offensive language. It’s 50 years since the original Jaws film was released in cinemas across America. The movie premiered on 20 June 1975. Our guest is Jenny He, senior exhibitions curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. She tells us about the history of this blockbuster movie. We also hear from Carl Gottlieb, who co-wrote the screenplay. Also, the story of the women who were forcibly detained in sexual health clinics across East Germany, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and the 1964 civil rights swimming protest that ended when acid was poured into the pool. Finally, the horrific account of Polly Sheppard who was a survivor of the Charleston church shooting in South Carolina, USA in 2015. Contributors: Carl Gottlieb - Jaws co-writer. Jenny He - senior exhibitions curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Sabine - one of the women forcibly detained and abused in a sexual health clinic in East Germany. Archive of William Norman Ewer - journalist who attended the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Archive of JT Johnson and Mimi Jones -activists in a civil rights swimming protest . Polly Sheppard- survivor of the Charleston Church shooting. This programme contains movie excerpts from the 1975 film which was a Universal Picture, a Zanuck/Brown production and directed by Steven Spielberg. (Photo: Steven Spielberg on the set of the film 'Jaws' in 1975. Credit: Archive Photos/Stringer)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dolly Jørgensen, Professor of History at the University of Stavanger in Norway and a specialist in the history of extinction. We start in 2012 with the death of a famous Galapagos tortoise called Lonesome George, who was the last of his species. Then, the incredible tale of how an Irish priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, saved thousands of prisoners of war and Jews in Rome during World War 2. We hear how the Sino-Indian War of 1962 left a painful legacy for Indian families of Chinese descent. Plus, one of the signatories of the Schengen Agreement recalls the day it was signed in 1985. Finally, Ronald Reagan's former speechwriter looks back on the President's 1987 'Tear down this wall' speech, delivered in Berlin. Contributors: Dolly Jørgensen - Professor of History at the University of Stavanger. James Gibbs - Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Galapagos Conservancy. Hugh O’Flaherty - relative of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty. Joy Ma - Indian woman of Chinese descent born in the Deoli camp. Robert Goebbels - signed the Schengen Agreement. Peter Robinson - US President Reagan's former speechwriter. (Photo: Lonesome George the tortoise. Credit: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Jeni Millard, a science presenter, astrophysicist and astronomer. First, how two astronomers announced they had discovered the first two planets outside our solar system. Then, German twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun on building Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, which is now a world-famous destination visited by celebrities like Adele and Sir Rod Stewart And in 1949, South Africa’s first feature film, Jim Comes to Jo’burg, also known as African Jim, aimed at black audiences was released, launching Dolly Rathebe’s career. Finally, how a goal kick in 1970, meant to pick out a striker, instead hit and killed a seagull in a Dutch football match. The dead bird was later stuffed and now resides in the club’s museum. Contributors: Alex Wolszczan - astronomer Dale Frail - astronomer Roland Reisley - resident of Usonia Dolly Rathebe - actor Eddy Treijtel - goalkeeper (Photo: A gull on a football pitch. Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Nivi Manchanda, a reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London. First, a moment when two cultures clashed in 1985 at Stonehenge. We hear about an English language novel from 1958, called Things Fall Apart. Then, the 1992 creation of the iconic Champions League anthem. Plus, how police raided the popular but controversial file-sharing website The Pirate Bay in 2006. Finally, how Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip went on one final tour, after their guitarist was given months to live in 2015. Contributors: Helen Hatt - one of more than 500 people arrested at the Battle of the Beanfield. Dr Nivi Manchanda - reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London. Nwando Achebe - Chinua Achebe's youngest daughter. Tony Britten - composer of the Champions League anthem. Peter Sunde - co-founder of The Pirate Bay. Rob Baker - lead guitarist in the Tragically Hip. (Photo: Stonehenge protests. Credit: PA/PA Archive/PA Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. The expert guest is Dr Mirjam Brusius, a research fellow in colonial and global history at the German Historical Institute. First, we hear about Martín Chambi - Peru's pioneering documentary photographer. Then Amaize Ojeikere talks about his father, JD 'Okhai’ Ojeikere, who created an iconic collection revealing the elaborate ways African women styled their hair. Plus, the story of Magnum Photos – the picture agency started up by World War Two photographers. And, Vivian Maier, the nanny who - since her death - has been hailed as one of the best street photographers of the 20th century. Finally, the mystery behind Lunch Atop a Skyscraper – the famous photograph showing 11 ironworkers eating lunch nearly 70 storeys high. Contributors: Roberto Chambi – grandson of photographer Martín Chambi Dr Mirjam Brusius - research fellow in colonial and global history at the German Historical Institute Amaize Ojeikere – son of photographer JD 'Okhai’ Ojeikere Christine Roussel – Rockefeller Center archivist Jinx Rodger - widow of George Rodger, one of the founders of Magnum Photos Inge Bondi - Magnum Photos employee This programme has been updated since the original broadcast. (Photo: Two books of photographs in the exhibition 'Martin Chambi and his contemporaries’. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Elizabeth Abbott, writer, historian and author of the book, "Sugar: A Bittersweet History". First, we confront the dark history of sugar. We hear how a researcher in the 1990s uncovered the unethical aspects of Sweden’s Vipeholm experiments in the 1940 which led to new recommendations for children to eat sweets just once a week. And, how Mexico, a country which had one of the highest rates of fizzy drink consumption in the world, approved a tax on sugary soft drinks in 2013. Then an event which shaped the second half of the last century - On 14 May 1955, the leader of the Soviet Union and Heads of State from seven European countries met to sign the Warsaw Pact. Plus, the story of how two rival electricity pioneers, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison brought electricity to the world. Finally, we hear from Finnish singer Marion Rung on winning the 1980 Intervision Song Contest, the USSR’s answer to Eurovision. Contributors: Dr Elin Bommenel - academic Dr Simon Barquera - director of health and nutrition research at The Institute for Public Health of Mexico Dr Elizabeth Abbott - writer and historian Otto Grotewohl - German politician Mark Seifer - biographer of Nikola Tesla William Terbo - relative of Nikola Tesla Marion Rung - Finnish winner of Intervision song contest 1980 (Photo: sugar cubes and fizzy drinks, Credit: Anthony Devlin/Press Association)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Rubina Raja, professor of classical archaeology and art at Aarhus University in Denmark. First, we go back to May 2015, when the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria was about to fall to Jihadist fighters and how of a group of men risked their lives to preserve the world-famous archaeology. Plus, the entrepreneur and engineer Yoshitada Minami and his wife Fumiko Minami who came up with a way to liberate women from two to three hours of housework a day through the invention of the rice cooker in 1955. Then the story of the sinking of the Lusitania, the British ocean liner sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland during the First World War. Also, celebrating 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe we dive into the BBC archives to listen to correspondents capturing the scenes of joy across London on VE day in 1945. Finally, how in 2000, keen cricketer Paul Hawkins wanted to turn his passion into innovation when he created the technology we now known as ‘HawkEye’. Contributors: Khalil Hariri - archaeology expert who worked at Palmyra’s museum Rubina Raja - professor of classical archaeology and art at Aarhus University in Denmark Aiji Minami - son of Yoshitada and Fumiko Minami Margaret Hague Thomas – passenger on the Lusitania Leslie Morton – merchant seaman on the Lusitania Paul Hawkins – founder of ‘Hawkeye’ (Photo: Palmyra. Credit: PHAS / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service about the Vietnam War and the invention of the hugely popular mobile phone game, Snake. Don Anderson, a former BBC TV reporter during the final days of Vietnam, discusses the atmosphere in Saigon as the North Vietnamese forces closed in. We also hear about the network of tunnels in the south of the country which Viet Cong guerrillas built during the fighting. Finally, the former president of the European Commission and two-time prime minister of Italy, Romano Prodi on steering through the ten-state expansion of the European Union in 2004. Contributors: Le Van Lang - a Viet Cong veteran. Dr Xuan Dung Tran - a doctor in the South Vietnamese Marines. Don Anderson - former BBC TV reporter. Phạm Chi Lan - economist at Vietnam’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Romano Prodi - former president of the European Commission and two-time prime minister of Italy. Taneli Armanto - mobile phone game Snake, inventor. (Photo: Viet Cong soldier inside the Cu Chi tunnels. Credit: Dirck Halstead/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is World War Two military historian and archivist Elisabeth Shipton. We start by concentrating on two events from the last year of the Second World War. Exercise Tiger took place in April 1944 in preparation for the D-Day landings of Allied forces in Normandy. But during that rehearsal a German fleet attacked and about 749 US servicemen died. We hear remarkable archive testimony from Adolf Hitler's secretary who witnessed his last days in a bunker in Berlin before he took his own life. Plus, 20 years since the video sharing platform, YouTube, was first launched. We hear about the apartheid-era production of the play Othello in South Africa, which broke racial boundaries. And finally, how in 1985, Coca-Cola messed up a reworking of the drink's classic formula. Contributors: Paul Gerolstein - survivor of Exercise Tiger (from archive audio gathered by Laurie Bolton, from the UK Exercise Tiger Memorial, and the journalist, David Fitzgerald). Traudl Junge - Adolf Hitler's secretary. Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen - on the start of YouTube. Dame Janet Suzman - on the staging of Othello in 1987. Mark Pendergrast - author. (Photo: US troops ahead of D-Day. Credit: Keystone/ Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. It’s 50 years since soldiers of the communist Khmer Rouge party stormed into the capital, Phnom Penh. It was the start of a four year reign of terror which resulted in up to two million people being killed. We hear two stories from people affected by the regime. Our guest is journalist and author, Elizabeth Becker. She is one of the foremost authorities on the history of Cambodia, and one of the few westerners to have interviewed Pol Pot. The scientist who invented the white LED lightbulb in 1993 tells his story. Plus, the Bali Nine: young Australians facing the death penalty for drug smuggling and, Spain’s historic link to World Book Day. Contributors: Youk Chang – lived through the Khmer Rouge regime Aki Ra - child soldier of Cambodia Elizabeth Becker – journalist and author Professor Shuji Nakamura – inventor of the white LED lightbulb Bishop Tim Harris – friend of one of the Bali Nine families Pere Vicens - book publisher and one of the creators of World Book Day (Photo: The fall of Phnom Penh in 1975. Credit: Roland Neveu/LightRocket via Getty Images)

8th May 1945 was a day of rejoicing in Britain, the US and many other countries: Germany had surrendered, and World War II was over, at least in Europe. Yet it was not a day of celebration for everyone: for the vanquished Germans, it marked the end of bombings and of Nazi rule. But it was also a time of deprivation and chaos, fear and soul-searching. Millions of ethnic Germans had fled their homes to escape the approaching Red Army. In this documentary, Lore Wolfson Windemuth, whose own father grew up under Nazi rule, unfolds the stories of six ordinary Germans who lived through that extraordinary time, through their memoirs and diaries. Amongst others, we hear from: Siegbert Stümpke, a 12-year-old schoolboy who was used as a runner by the German Wehrmacht in the final days of the war; Lore Ehrich, a young mother from East Prussia (now Poland) who had to flee with two small children across a frozen lagoon; Hans Rosenthal, who was Jewish and had survived the Holocaust hidden in a Berlin allotment colony before very nearly getting shot by the Soviet liberators; Melita Maschmann, who got hooked on Nazi ideology aged 15, became a youth leader and took years to acknowledge her share of the responsibility for the crimes committed by the National Socialists. Narrator: Lore Wolfson Windemuth Producer / Editor: Kristine Pommert Research: Katie Harris A CTVC production for the BBC World Service.

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Katrin Paehler, Professor of modern European history at Illinois State University. First, a journalist describes how he accompanied Hitler through the embers of the Reichstag fire in 1933. Then, the harrowing recollections of a doctor who saved survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Next, a woman describes how she was caught between her job and her clan during the UN's disastrous Somalia mission in the 1990s. A Liberian woman explains how she helped end the country's civil war. Finally, how Germany's 'death zone' became a natural paradise. Contributors: Sefton Delmer - British journalist at the Reichstag fire. Dr David Tuggle - surgeon at the Oklahoma City bombing. Halima Ismail Ibrahim - former UN worker in Somalia. Leymah Gbowee - Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. Professor Kai Frobel - co-founder of Germany's 'Green Belt'. (Photo: Reichstag building on fire. Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from the first woman to lead DC Comics - the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Jenette Kahn began turning the company around in the 1970s. Our expert is Dr Mel Gibson, associate professor at Northumbria University. She has carried out extensive research into comics and graphic novels. Next, Minda Dentler, the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the super-endurance Ironman World Championship in 2013, tells us about achieving her goal after contracting polio as a child. Then, the invention of the life-size training dummy Resusci Anne in the 1960s, which was designed to teach mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The ghost town in Namibia that's slowly being buried by the desert after it was abandoned in the 1950s when the diamonds ran out. Finally, the accidental invention of superglue in 1951, which only became a big hit following an appearance on a US tv show. Contributors: Jenette Kahn - former President of DC Comics. Dr Mel Gibson - associate professor at Northumbria University. Minda Dentler - wheelchair athlete. Tore Lærdal - Executive Chairman of Lærdal Medical. Dieter Huyssen - grandson of an emigree to Kolmanskop in Namibia. Adam Paul - grandson of Dr Harry Coover, inventor of superglue. (Photo: Cover illustration for Action Comics with Superman, June 1938. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the historic moment in Nigerian politics when Goodluck Jonathan made a phone call to General Buhari marking the peaceful handover of power in 2015. Our expert is historian and creator of the Untold Stories podcast, Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, who takes us through Nigeria's political history in the leadup to the phone call that changed Nigeria. We find out about Harold Riley who was the only artist to ever be granted a sitting to paint Nelson Mandela and how the portrait was unveiled in 2005. Plus the moment co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, crashed Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 into a mountain killing 150 people on board in 2015. In 1991, when a Yugoslav People's Army Commander died in mysterious circumstances during the Croatian War of Independence. Finally, the creation of a new genre of music called Ethio-jazz in 1960s New York. Contributors: Dr Reuben Abati - one of Goodluck Jonathan's special advisers Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie - Historian and creator of the Untold Stories podcast Archive of Harold Riley - the only artist to be granted a sitting with Nelson Mandela General David Galtier - military person who led the Germanwings plane crash search operation Mulatu Astatke - musician and 'father of Ethio-jazz' Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo:Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari (L) speaks with outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan (R) Credit: Pool / Nigeria Presidency Press Office/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week we’re looking at the history of space travel, including the 60th anniversary of the first ever space-walk by Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. Also, the speech that would have been given if the Apollo 11 astronauts didn’t make their way back from the moon; the founding of the European Space Agency and how Brazil came back from tragedy to launch their fist successful rocket. The Sky at Night’s Dr Ezzy Pearson joins us to tell us about the history of robot’s in space and the Soviet Union’s exploration of Venus. Contributors: Archive of Alexei Leonov – the first man to walk in space Dr Ezzy Pearson – Features Editor for the BBC’s Sky at Night magazine Felix Palmerio – engineer for Brazil’s space programme Archive of William Safire – speechwriter for US President Richard Nixon Bill Holland – former historian for NASA Andrea Amaldi – grandson of Edoardo Amaldi, one of the founding fathers of the European Space Agency (Photo: Alexei Leonov on his first space walk in 1965. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We find out about the landmark protest in 1990 when wheelchair users crawled up the steps of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, campaigning for disability rights. Our expert is Dr Maria Orchard, law lecturer at the University of Leeds, who has carried out research into disability and inclusion. We hear about the 2015 attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunisia's capital, in which 22 tourists were killed. Next, the Gambian woman who in 1997 began making bags and purses out of old discarded plastic and is now globally recognised as Africa's Queen of Recycling. The South African musical King Kong which opened to critical acclaim in 1959 and whose all-black cast defied apartheid. Finally, the invention of the Global Positioning System - GPS - in the late 1970s, which now keeps aircraft in the sky and supports banking transactions. Contributors: Anita Cameron - disability rights campaigner Dr Maria Orchard - lecturer in law at the University of Leeds Hamadi Ben Abdesslem - tour guide Isatou Ceesay - environmental campaigner Nelson Mandela - former President of South Africa Marian Matshikiza - daughter of Todd Matshikiza, jazz pianist and composer Professor Brad Parkinson - chief architect of GPS (Photo: 8 year-old Jennifer Keelan crawls up the steps of the US Capitol, 12 March 1990. Credit: AP/Jeff Markowitz)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We find out how Sylvan Goldman’s invention of the shopping trolley in 1930s America turned him into a multi-millionaire. Our expert is Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London, who is also the author of two books on the history of shopping. We hear about Toyota’s military pick-up trucks that transformed the 1987 north African conflict between Chad and Libya. The 2015 migrant crisis in Europe which led to thousands of people setting-up camp in the French port of Calais. Next, how US forces invaded the Central American state of Panama in 1989 to depose General Manuel Noriega. And finally in 1965 at the height of the USA’s civil rights struggle, the landmark legislation that was brought in to guarantee the rights of African Americans to vote. This programme contains outdated language which some people might find offensive. Contributors: Charles Kuralt – a journalist for CBS News Sylvan Goldman – inventor of the shopping trolley Rachel Bowlby - Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London Mahamat Saleh Bani - former officer in the Chadian Armed Forces Enrique Jelenszky – lawyer Jean-Marc Puissesseau - former President and Chairman of the Port of Calais C T Vivian – US minister George Wallace – former Governor of Alabama Lyndon B Johnson – former President of the United States (Photo: A woman pushing a shopping cart, 1949. Credit: Bettman via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear about the moment Dr Max Perutz discovered the haemoglobin structure. Our expert is Professor Sir Alan Fersht, who is a chemist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and knew Dr Perutz personally. We also hear about 22 Inuit children from Greenland's indigenous population who were sent to Denmark as part of a social experiment in 1951. Also, when mixed-raced children from the then Belgian Congo known as ‘métis’, were forcibly taken from their homes in 1953. When an eruption of violence in Assam led to an estimated 3,000 being killed in the Nellie massacre of 1983. Finally, the devastating impact of the 2010 tsunami in Chile and a woman who survived it. This programme contains outdated language which some people might find offensive. Contributors: Lectures and programmes from the BBC archive Professor Sir Alan Fersht - chemist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Helen Thiesen - a child in Denmark's Inuit children social experiment. Marie-José Loshi - one of the mixed-race ‘métis’ who was forcibly removed from her home in the then Belgian Congo. Bedabrata Lahkar - a journalist for the Assam Tribune newspaper at the time of the Nellie massacre. Alison Campbell - a survivor of Chile’s 2010 tsunami. (Photo: Dr Max Perutz and Dr Paul Kedrew. Credit: Hulton Deutsch/Contributor via Getty Images)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews which all relate to food. First, Dinner for One, the British TV sketch that's become a German New Year’s Eve tradition. Our expert guest is Ingrid Sharp, professor of German cultural and gender history at the University of Leeds. She tells us about some other festive traditions in Northern Europe including Krampus – the horned figure said to punish children who misbehave at Christmas. We also hear about when South Korea and Japan had a diplomatic row over kimchi. Plus, the arrival of instant noodles in India and how they changed people’s cooking habits. Next we find out how the BBC's Masterchef conquered the world of TV cookery. Finally, the first woman to become White House head chef describes what it’s like to cook for five presidents. Contributors: Thomas Frankenfeld – son of Peter Frankenfeld who produced Dinner for One. Ingrid Sharp - professor of German cultural and gender history at the University of Leeds. Dr Chaelin Park - World Institute of Kimchi. Sangeeta Talwar – former executive vice president of Nestle India. Franc Roddam – creator of Masterchef. Cristeta Comerford – former White House chef. (Photo: Dinner for One. Credit: Getty Images)

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 crash and the extraordinary things he had to do to survive. We hear how the BBC put text on our television screens for the first time. Plus, a grieving mother recounts the Taliban's horrific 2014 attack on a military school in Pakistan. Finally, we hear how the communist authorities enforced martial law in Poland over Christmas in 1981. Contributors: Malcolm Turnbull - former Australian Prime Minister and leader of republican campaign. Professor David Flint - leader of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. Nando Parrado - Andes plane crash survivor. Angus McIntyre - son of Colin McIntyre, Ceefax's first editor. Andaleeb Aftab - survivor of Pakistani military school attack. Maciek Romejko - Polish Solidarity member and activist (Photo: Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the Australian Republican Movement, 1999. Credit: Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images)

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 United States to Panama in 1999. Then, DJ and singer Leonardo Renato Aulder explains how the canal led to the creation of Reggaeton music. Next we go to Cuba. An old comrade of Fidel Castro recounts the violent start of the Cuban revolution in 1953. And a member of the Obama administration explains how he negotiated better US-Cuba relations in 2014. Finally, the story of the 442nd US military regiment, made up almost entirely of Japanese Americans, that earned more than 4,000 Purple Heart medals for extraordinary heroism during World War Two. Contributors: Alberto Aleman Zubieta - Panama Canal administrator. Leonardo Renato Aulder - Reggaeton singer and DJ. Joan Flores-Villalobos - Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California. Agustín Díaz Cartaya - Cuban revolutionary. Ben Rhodes - Speechwriter for US President Barack Obama. Clyde Kusatsu - son of 442nd Regiment veteran. (Photo: World War Two veterans from the highly decorated 442nd Regiment in 2015. Credit: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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 instillation got people thinking about the consequences of nuclear conflict. We also hear from the founder of Ms Magazine, the feminist campaigner Gloria Steinem who in 1972, co-founded the first magazine in the US which was owned, run and written by women. And the story of Portugal's "Three Marias" whose book ‘Novas Cartas Portuguesas’, was banned after it was published. Contributors: Maria Teresa Horta - one of the "Three Marias". Dr Katalin Karikó - Nobel Prize winning scientist. Valeria Perasso - Team leader at the BBC's 100 Women project. Julia Gillard - Former Australian Prime Minister. Nalini Malani - Indian artist. Gloria Steinem - Co-founder of Ms Magazine. (Photo: Nalini Malani. Credit: Ritesh Uttamchandani/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

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 than 12,000 metres deep. It was called the Kola Superdeep Borehole. One of the geophysicists involved tells us about the deepest man-made hole in the world. Plus, one of the most controversial political scandals in modern US history, the Iran-Contra affair. And from 2010, the first HIV positive passenger to travel legally to the US after a 22-year ban. Finally, the story behind the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing tv show. Contributors: Magnus Carlsen - chess grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion Yao Lan - chess woman grandmaster, three times British champion and chess historian. Professor David Smythe – geophysicist. Clemens Ruland – first HIV positive passenger to travel legally to the US after a 22-year ban. Karen Smith - co-creator and executive producer Strictly Come Dancing. (Photo: Magnus Carlsen in 2014. Credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images)

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 the University of Melbourne explains how music has been used as a form of protest and honouring lives lost during conflict. After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, some Christians faced persecution. Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi and her husband, Saeed Abedini, set up a network of secret 'house churches' across the country. It is 70 years since William Golding’s acclaimed novel was published. Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a desert island, and how they survive without adults. Golding's daughter, Judy Carver, spoke to Vincent Dowd, about her father’s work in 2014. In 1999, the small territory of Macau was handed back to China after centuries of Portuguese rule. Lawyer and comedian Miguel Senna Fernandes was a member of the Macau Legislative Council and involved in the historic handover. In 1993, a new combat sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship – UFC. It pitted all forms of mixed martial arts against each other with little to no rules and all contained in an octagon-shaped cage. One of the men responsible for cooking up this new concept was TV producer Campbell McLaren. He tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty how he used controversy to market the violent spectacle. This episode contains descriptions of violence, which some listeners may find distressing. Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: Aeham Ahmad, the Pianist of Yarmouk and other Palestinian musician refugees in Damascus, in Syria, in 2014. Credit: Rame Alsayed/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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 referendum to decide the future of the country’s monarchy, and whether Constantine II would remain their king. In December 1974 4.5million million people went to the polls to cast their vote. The result was two to one in favour of a republic. Jane Wilkinson looks through the BBC archives to find out more. Next, a mountain massacre in base camp of the Nanga Parbat mountain in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan killed 19 people. . Polish climber Aleksandra Dzik, aged 30, was on the mountain that night, at camp two, and speaks to Megan Jones. Plus, India’s coal-mine rescue. On 16 November 1989, mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill saved 65 miners from the Mahabir Coal Mine, in India. The miners, who had been trapped for three days after a flood, were winched out one by one using a tiny, steel capsule. Rachel Naylor speaks to Jaswant's son, Sarpreet Singh Gill. In 2013, a six-year-old from Argentina became one of the youngest people in the world to legally have their gender changed on official documents through self-declaration. Gabriela Mansilla reveals, the fight for recognition was not easy for her daughter Luana. (Photo: 'The Battle of the Surfaces' at The Palma Arena on May 2, 2007 in Mallorca. Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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 looking through the archives to find out more about the 'Baby In the second half of the programme, we tell stories from Iran. Journalist Sally Quinn looks back at the excess of the Shah of Iran’s three-day party, held in 1971. Two very different women – the former Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, and social scientist Rouhi Shafi – describe how it feels to be exiled from their country. Finally, Barry Rosen shares the dramatic story of when he was held hostage in the US embassy in the Tehran for 444 days. Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: Children rescued from the Warsaw Ghetto by Irena Sendler. Credit: Getty Images)

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 - sometimes dangerous - history of illusion and magic. Plus, we learn more about the so-called ‘Ken Burns effect’; the technique of making still photographs that appear to be moving. In 2002, the method came to the attention of one of the biggest names in the field of technology, Steve Jobs. Also, the New Zealand woman who was nicknamed ‘the Queen of the Skies’ for her record breaking flights of the 1930s. Jean Batten flew planes made of wood and canvas during the golden age of aviation. And we go back to 1996 for Brazil's early adoption of electronic voting, and discover more about the experiments behind the creation of Greenwich Mean Time. Contributors: Ken Burns - film maker Chris Lawrence - animal trainer Margaret Steele - magic historian, magician and author Carlos Velozo - lawyer Jean Batten – aviator Emily Akkermans - Curator of Time, Royal Museums Greenwich Keith Moore - the Royal Society of London (Photo: Siegfried and Roy with a white lion cub, Las Vegas, 1997. Credit: Barry King/WireImage)

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 internal relief efforts during the famine in 1984, led by Dawit Giorgis. Plus, the fight to stop skin lightening in India with Kavitha Emmanuel who launched a campaign in 2013. Finally, Angolan singer and former athlete Jose Adelino Barceló de Carvalho, known as Bonga Kwenda, speaks about his music being banned in 1972 and going into exile. Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: Vintage game modules from the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons on display. Credit: E.Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images)

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 history. Plus, the Afghan refugee who fled as a 15 year old. Waheed Arian, a doctor and former Afghan refugee describes his perilous journey. We look at the Yellow Fleet of ships, which were stranded in the Suez Canal for eight years. Phil Saul, who looked after the engineers and officers on board the MS Melampus and MS Agapenor in the Suez Canal, recounts his experiences. Finally, the story of the British afro hair care institution Dyke and Dryden. We hear from Rudi Page, the former marketing manager for Dyke and Dryden's afro hair products. Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: An activist taking part in the Sunflower Movement in Taipei on 21 March 2014. Credit: Mandy Cheng/AFP)

We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC. Then we hear about the man who invented the original chatbot, called Eliza, but did not believe computers could achieve intelligence. We speak to Miriam Weizenbaum, daughter of Joseph Weizenbaum, who built Eliza chatbot. Following that, Dr Hiromichi Fujisawa describes how his team at Waseda University in Japan developed the first humanoid robot in 1973, called WABOT-1. Staying in Japan, the engineer Masahiro Hara explains how he was inspired to design the first QR code by his favourite board game. Finally, Thérèse Izay Kirongozi recounts how the death of her brother drove her to build robots that manage traffic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. Our guest is Zoe Kleinman, the BBC's technology editor. (Photo: Robots manage traffic in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: Federico Scoppa/AFP)

We start our programme in 1973, when two men claiming to be Colombian guerrillas hijacked a plane making it fly across Latin American for 60 hours. Edilma Perez was a former fight attendant for SAM airline. Our expert guest is Brendan Koerner author of The Skies Belong To Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking. Then we take a look at the 2009 UN-backed war crime tribunals in Cambodia that aimed to hold the genocidal Khmer Rouge commanders to account. Rob Hamill, brother of Toul Sleng prisoner Kerry Hamill. Following that we hear about the striking speech that inspired the Law of the Sea. We speak Christina Pardo Menez, Arvid Pardo's daughter and David Attard, Arvid Pardo's friend. Then we go back to 1989 and hear how South Africa became the first country to make and then dismantle nuclear weapons. André Buys, was plant manager and systems engineer at Kentron Circle. And finally we hear a first hand account of the 1938 Kristallnacht from Kurt Salomon Maier. Presenter: Max Pearson (Photo: SAM airlines 1973 Latin American flight. Credit: Jamie Escobar)

We start with the story of a couple who were arrested under South Africa's Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people. Dr Zureena Desai was arrested under the Immorality Act in South Africa. Another law banned Inter-racial marriage in South Africa. In 1985, this was lifted. Suzanne La Clerc and Protas Madlala, the first inter-racial couple to get married under new rules in South Africa share their memories. Our guest is Dr Susanne Klausen, The Brill professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University in the USA. She talks about love, marriage and sex in apartheid South Africa and the two laws that were both repealed on the same day in 1985. We hear from Urban Lambertson, survivor of the Estonia ferry disaster in 1994, one of the deadliest shipping disasters since the Titanic. Film-maker Allen Hughes tells of the time when rap sensation, Tupac Shakur was fired from the crime movie Menace II Society. Finally, the ‘moon man of India’ Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, a scientist working on India’s Mars Orbiter Mission tells of the country’s momentous mission to Mars. (Photo: Dr Zureena Desai. Credit: Abrie Jantjies)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We start our programme looking at the discovery of New Zealand’s first dinosaur by Joan Wiffen. Our expert guest is Professor Eugenia Gold, a paleontologist at Suffolk University, in Boston, United States, and the author of children’s book She Found Fossils. Then, we hear how the CT scanner was invented. Following that, we go to India in 1994 and an outbreak of the pneumonic plague. Plus, the story of how a small group of mountaineers risked their lives to camouflage landmarks in Leningrad during World War Two. Finally, we hear from designer Ruth Kedar about how she came to create one of the most famous logos in history. Contributors: Chris Wiffen – son of late fossil-hunter Joan Wiffen. Professor Eugenia Gold – paleontologist at Suffolk University, Boston, United States. Robert Cormack – son of late CT scanner inventor, Allan Cormack. Doctor Vibha Marfatia – who escaped the pneumonic plague. Mikhail Bobrov – late mountaineer who helped save Leningrad’s landmarks. Ruth Kedar - designer of the Google logo. (Photo: Theropod dinosaur. Credit: Science Photo Library)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We’re looking at key moments in Ethiopian history, as it’s 50 years since Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a military coup. We start our programme looking at the moment a military junta called the Derg who ousted the monarchy in September 1974. Then, we hear how, before this, the Emperor lived in exile in Bath, in the west of England. Our expert guest is Hewan Semon Marye, who is junior professor at the University of Hamburg in Germany. Then, Abebech Gobena who founded an orphanage and was known as Africa’s Mother Teresa. Following that, the oldest skeleton of a human ancestor, discovered in 1994. Finally, the Axum Obelisk, returned to Ethiopia in 2005, after being looted by Italy’s fascist dictator. Contributors: Lij Mulugeta Asseratte Kassa – relative of Haile Selassie. Professor Shawn-Naphtali Sobers – University of the West of England, Bristol. Professor Hewan Semon Marye – Ethiopian Studies and Contemporary North-East African Studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Hannah Merkana – raised in Abebech Gobena’s orphanage. Professor Yohannes Haile Selassie – Paleoanthropologist. Michele Daniele – Architect. (Photo: Haile Selassie in his study. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Myra Anubi presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about the Irish law that banned married women from working in state jobs until 1973 and Apollo 13's attempted trip to the Moon in 1970. Plus the Umbrella protest in Hong Kong, the ancient Egyptian mummy who flew to France for a makeover and the Argentine basketball player and wrestler nicknamed the Giant. Contributors: Bernie Flynn - one of the first married women to keep her job after the marriage bar was abolished in Ireland. Irene Mosca - economics lecturer at Maynooth University, in Ireland. Fred Haise - NASA astronaut who was on board Apollo 13. Nathan Law - leader of the Umbrella protest in Hong Kong. Anne-Marie Gouden - receptionist at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. Julio Lamas - Jorge Gonzalez's basketball coach. Bill Alfonso - wrestling referee and Jorge Gonzalez's personal assistant. (Photo: A couple on their wedding day. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. Our guest is European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who completed the longest uninterrupted space flight of any European. First, we go to Australia in the 1990s when amateur radio enthusiast Maggie Iaquinto befriended Soviet cosmonauts on the Mir space station. She updated them on global news as the USSR crumbled back on Earth. Then, the inspiring story of Waris Dirie, who walked barefoot across the Somalian desert to escape child marriage and became an international supermodel. We hear a harrowing account of Guatemala's civil war that ended in 1996. Then, why the author of Mary Poppins, PL Travers, hated the Disney film. Finally, the Canadian town that welcomed aliens in 1967. Contributors: Samantha Cristoforetti - European Space Agency astronaut. Ben Iaquinto - son of Maggie Iaquinto who befriended Soviet cosmonauts. Waris Dirie - model from Somalia. Jeremias Tecu - survivor of Guatemala's civil war. Brian Sibley and Kitty Travers - friend and daughter of PL Travers. Paul Boisvert - worked on Canada's alien landing pad. (Photo: Mir Space Station in 1995. Credit: Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A warning, this programme includes an account of antisemitic views and descriptions of violence. Egypt recruited thousands of Nazis after World War Two to bolster its security. We hear from Frank Gelli, who in 1964 met Hitler's former propagandist, Johann von Leers, in Cairo. Author, Vyvyan Kinross is our guest and talks about Nazis in Egypt. Also, the celebrity murder case that divided France and how in 2001, Argentina went through five leaders in two weeks. Shatbhi Basu, talks about how became known as India's first female bartender and finally the origins of La Tomatina, one of Spain’s most popular international festivals, as well as the largest tomato fight in the world. Contributors: Eduardo Duhalde – former Argentine President. Vyvyan Kinross – author. Michelle Fines- journalist. Shatbhi Basu - beverage consultant, mixologist and writer. Frank Gelli -met Nazi propagandists in Cairo. Goltran Zanon – involved in the first La Tomatina. Maria Jose Zanon - daughter of Goltran Zanon. Enric Cuenca Yxeres - Valencian history teacher. (Photo: Johannes von Leers. Credit: ullstein bild via Getty Images)

We hear about the founding father of Indonesian independence. Then, we look at how 'spray on skin' was used after the 2002 Bali bombings. Next, we hear about the last ever Olympic art competition. Plus, the most decorated Paralympian in history. And, the Brazilian singer who earned the title Queen of Samba. Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History and Sporting Witness interviews. Our guest is Professor of Indonesian history, Kirsten Shulze from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Contributors: Kartika Soekarno – Sukarno’s youngest daughter. Professor Kirsten Shulze - London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Fiona Wood – Burns specialist. Daniel Weinzweig – John Weinzweig’s son. Trischa Zorn-Hudson – Paralympian. Adelzon Alves – Broadcaster and samba record producer. (Photo: Sukarno. Credit: Christian Hirous/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images).

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. It's 50 years since Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign, following the Watergate scandal. To mark this anniversary, we're featuring first hand accounts from major moments in US presidential history. We start with the first ever presidential television debate. In 1956, the Democratic and Republican candidates sent female representatives. They were Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith. Our expert guest, Dr Kathryn Brownell, from Purdue University in Indiana in the US, discovers other key television debate moments in presidential history. Then, we hear about the rise of the religious right in America, exploring the emergence of the Moral Majority in the late 1970s. Following that, we look at one of the closest and most contested elections in history, as Al Gore went head-to-head with George W Bush in the battle for the White House in 2000. Finally, we hear from the photographer inside the Situation Room as the US closed in on terrorist Osama Bin Laden in 2011. Contributors: Tom DeFrank - Journalist. Dr Kathryn Brownell - Associate professor of history at Purdue University. Kate Scott and Janann Sherman - Historians. Richard Viguerie - One of the founders of the Moral Majority. Callie Shell - The official photographer for Al Gore's presidential campaign. Pete Souza - Chief Official White House Photographer during Barack Obama's presidency. (Photo: Richard Nixon waves after becoming the first US president to resign. Credit: Bettmann / Getty Images)

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died. Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We take a look at the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral fundraising sensation that took over the internet in 2014. Our guest Professor Sander van der Linden breaks down the psychology behind virality and outlines the challenges facing those who conquered the algorithm. Plus, how one man smuggled punk rock over the Berlin Wall. Also, we meet the man who found a retirement home for Bulgaria's dancing bears. We hear the remarkable story of Australia's Freedom Riders who campaigned against indigenous discrimination. Finally, we relive the mountain top escape of the Yazidi's who were fleeing Islamic State Militants. Contributors: Nancy Frates – Pete Frates mother. Sander van der Linden - Professor of Social Psychology at Cambridge University. Mark Reeder - smuggled punk rock over the Berlin Wall. Dr Amir Khalil – founded the sanctuary for dancing bears. Darce Cassidy and Gary Williams – involved in the Freedom Rides. Mirza Dinnayi - helped evacuate the Yazidi's. (Photo: Ice Bucket Challenge. Credit:Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We go underground for a tour of the Moscow Metro, the subterranean transport network built by thousands of Russian workers in the 1930s. Our guest Mark Ovenden, author of Underground Cities, reveals how the Moscow system influenced many other countries around the world. Plus, more about a revolutionary new method for transporting medicines that was launched in Ghana in 1974. The cold chain system helped refrigerate vaccines aimed at tackling potentially deadly diseases. Also, as Paris lifts the curtain on the 2024 Olympics, we go back to the last time the French city hosted the Games - one hundred years ago. We hear the remarkable story of Somali 400m sprinter Zamzam Farah, and how she became a crowd favourite in the London 2012 Olympics after finishing last in her heat by 27 seconds. Finally, we meet Shuss - a French cartoon skier and the first Olympic mascot, designed for the 1968 Winter Games. Contributors: Tatiana Fedorova – a worker on the Moscow Metro. Mark Ovenden - author of Underground Cities. Patience Azuma – vaccinated as a child in Ghana. Dr Kofi Ahmed – chief medical officer. Harold Abrahams – Olympic medallist. Kitty Godfree – Olympic medallist. Zamzam Farah – Somali sprinter. André Thiennot - manufacturer of Shuss merchandise. (Photo: Underground train station ceiling in Moscow. Credit: Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

We hear Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot perspectives on the island's 1974 coup and subsequent invasion. Bekir Azgun, a Turkish-Cypriot writer, remembers the events. On the 20 July 1974 Captain Adamos Marneros landed the final flight at Nicosia Airport. Nicoletta Demetriou talks about returning to her family home in 2003. Then, a Cypriot Olympic sailing hero Pavlos Kontides takes us back to the London 2012 Games. And finally the 'Godfather of Ayia Napa', DJ Nick Power, tells us how the island became a party destination. Max Pearson presents this week's Witness History interviews on the history of Cyprus. Our guest is Dr Antigone Heraclidou, senior research associate at CYENS Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. (Photo: Greek Cypriot soldier killed in the 1974 conflict. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

We hear about the law in Brazil which made it illegal for women and girls to play football for 40 years. Dilma Mendes shares her incredible experience of being arrested numerous times as a child, just for kicking a ball. Our guest, Alexandra Allred, herself a pioneering sportswomen, discusses the discrimination women have faced to break into competitive sport. Plus, the moment when the 'Queen of Salsa', banned from Cuba by Fidel Castro, was allowed to return to Cuban territory for one performance. We learn about the brutal crushing of a student movement in 1968 in Mexico City 10 days before the Olympic Games, which ended in dozens being killed. Also, the start of an environmental movement in Italy in 1988, and the invention of the air fryer. The prototype was nearly as big as a dog kennel and made of wood and aluminium. Contributors: Dilma Mendes - defied Brazil's ban on women playing football. Alexandra Allred - author of When Women Stood: The Untold History of Females Who Changed Sports and the World. Omer Pardillo Cid - manager and close friend of Celia Cruz. David Huerta - witness to the Mexico City massacre in 1968. Rosa Porcu - a protester against the 'poison ships' docked in Italy in 1988. Suus van der Weij - daughter of Fred van der Weij, inventor of the air fryer.

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about the era-defining book Subway Art and how Fight the Power became a protest anthem. Artist curator Marianne Vosloo explains how both street art and hip-hop are linked. Plus, two stories from Georgia. Firstly, how Stalin carried out his most severe purge in Georgia in 1937, killing thousands of people, and then how after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly independent state was thrown into a political and economic crisis. Finally, we hear from a former Canadian prime minister, on how her party was left with just two seats after the election in 1993. Contributors: Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant – authors of Subway Art. Marianne Vosloo - artist curator who works within the field of street art and urban art intervention. Chuck D – Public Enemy frontman. Levan Pesvianidze – Georgian whose grandfather and uncle were both executed. Lamara Vashakidze - a survivor of Georgia’s crisis in 1991. Kim Campbell – former Canadian prime minister. Preston Manning – founder and former leader of Reform. (Photo: People queing to buy Subway Art. Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear the story of the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world and the creation of one of the most recognisable characters on the planet. Plus, an amazing first hand account of the expulsion of German-speakers from Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War, the man behind Dignitas, the assisted dying organisation in Switzerland, and the son of a Guatemalan president who was overthrown in an American-backed coup in the 1950s. Contributors: Mark Burry - architect, who was part of a team trying to piece together Gaudí's vision for the Sagrada Família. Madeleine Kessler - architect from Madeleine Kessler Architecture. Yuko Shimizu - the artist who designed Hello Kitty. Helmut Scholz - a Sudeten German, who was expelled from Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Ludwig Minelli - the lawyer behind Dignitas, the assisted dying organisation. Juan Jacobo - the son of the former Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz. (Photo: The Sagrada Família, in Barcelona. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service on the history of travel. Our guest is Dr. Susan Houge Mackenzie, Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago in New Zealand. First, we'll hear from the man responsible for the first commercial bungee jump. Then, the pioneers of low-cost transatlantic flights and luxury cruises describe how they revolutionised travel. Finally, we hear the remarkable stories of how Cancún and Benidorm transformed into holiday hotspots, involving General Franco, bikinis and excommunication. Contributors: Dr. Susan Houge Mackenzie - Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago in New Zealand. AJ Hackett - pioneer of the world's first commercial bungee jump. Edda Helgason - daughter of Sigurdur Helgason who launched Loftleioir Icelandic, the first budget transatlantic airline. Hans Indridason - ran Loftleioir Icelandic's sales and marketing department. Tor Stangeland - Captain of Sovereign of the Seas cruise ship. Juan Enríquez - son of Antonio Enríquez Savignac, who turned Cancún into a world-beating tourist destination. Pedro Zaragoza - former Mayor of Benidorm. (Photo: Bungee jumping. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, we hear about Boko Haram militants driving into Gwoza in north-east Nigeria in 2014, to begin an assault which left hundreds dead. Next, the Irish shopworkers who went on strike after refusing to handle South African goods. Then, it’s 25 years since Nato bombed the Serbian state TV station in Belgrade. Plus, Norway’s biggest industrial disaster. And, Brazil’s iconic egg-shaped telephone booth. Contributors: Ruoyah who lived through the Boko Haram massacre. Makena Micheni - Associate Lecturer at St Andrews University. Irish shopworker Mary Manning. TV technician Dragan Šuković. Harry Vike and his wife Greta. Chu Ming Silveira’s son Alan Chu. (Photo: A woman from Gwoza displaced by the violence. Credit: Reuters/Stringer)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, we hear how a young Irishwoman called Maureen Flavin Sweeney drew up a weather report that delayed the date of D-Day. Then, 99-year-old former field medic, Charles Norman Shay, shares his remarkable account of landing on the Normandy beach in France codenamed Omaha on D-Day. Next, we also talk to Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who hurled his shoes at the President of the United States. Plus, we hear about China gifting Taiwan two giant pandas, in a practice known as ‘panda diplomacy’. Finally, it’s the 40th anniversary of the popular computer game Tetris being invented. Contributors: Edward Sweeney – Maureen Flavin Sweeney’s son. Charles Norman Shay – former field medic in the United States Army. Muntadhar al-Zaidi – Iraqi journalist. Eve Chen – curator of the Giant Panda House at Taipei Zoo. Alexey Pajitnov – Russian engineer. Henk Rogers – American businessman. (Photo: U.S Troops rushing to the Normandy beaches. Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died. Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, the story of Brazil's most wanted, Carlos Lamarca. He was a captain who deserted the army in the 1960s and joined in the armed struggle against the military regime in the country. Then, Bill Booth - historian of twentieth century Latin America at University College London - joins Max to talk about other revolutionary figures from South America. Next, the story of Australia's first Aboriginal MP and how he fought for indigenous rights. Plus, the 90th anniversary of the first ever quintuplets, the 1984 Apple commercial that changed advertising and the 2014 Flint, Michigan water contamination crisis. Contributors: João Salgado Lopes - friend of Carlos Lamarca. Bill Booth - historian of twentieth century Latin America at University College London. Joanna Lindgren - great niece of Neville Bonner. Jeneyah McDonald - Flint, Michigan resident. Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha – a paediatrician and professor of public health, Michigan. Mike Murray - former Apple marketing manager. (Photo: Subcomandante Marcos pictured in 2001. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week’s programmes are all about the history of footwear. First we take a trip back to the 1960’s when Brazilians were introduced to a new type of footwear, which went on to become one of the country’s biggest exports. Plus the story of how a then rookie basketball player called Michael Jordan signed a deal with Nike that revolutionised sports marketing. We also hear about the thousands of shoes owned by the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Then we learn how one family feud led to the creation of two massive sportswear companies, Adidas and Puma. Finally, we hear how a Czech company revolutionised shoe production and brought affordable footwear to the world. Contributors: Sergio Sanchez - Author and former employee of Havainas. Sonny Vaccaro - Former Nike executive. Dr Alex Sherlock – Lecturer in the school of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia and founder of the Footwear Research Network. Sigi Dassler – Daughter of Adi Dassler the founder of Adidas. Mick Pinion – Former Bata engineer. (Photo: Air Jordan Original. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear how nuclear testing changed politics in French Polynesia. Plus, the story of how the FBI caught Ana Montes, the spy known as the ‘Queen of Cuba’. We also talk to Jewish and Palestinian people about the moment the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948. Finally, we tell the unlikely story of how a heavy metal rock band emerged during the violent years of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Contributors: Antony Géros - President of the Assembly of French Polynesia KDee Aimiti Ma'ia'i – doctoral candidate at University of Oxford Pete Lapp – former FBI agent Hasan Hammami Arieh Handler Zipporah Porath Firas Al-Lateef – bass player (Photo: Antony Géros. Credit: Getty Images)

This week, how more than one billion people living in India were given a unique digital ID during the world's largest biometric project. The Aadhaar scheme was launched in 2009 but it wasn't without controversy. Our guest, digital identity expert Dr Edgar Whitley, tells us about the history of ID schemes around the world. Plus, the Spanish doctor whose pioneering surgery helped millions of people to get rid of their glasses and see more clearly. And why East Germany's thirst for caffeine in the 1980s led to an unusual collaboration with Vietnam. Also, the story behind one of the most famous royal photographs ever taken – Princess Diana sitting alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal in 1992. The man who took the image tells us more. And finally, how a Ghanaian athlete, Alice Annum, earned the nickname ‘Baby Jet’ after her medal-winning success in the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Contributors: Nandan Nilekani - former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India Dr Edgar Whitley - digital identity expert at the London School of Economics Dr Carmen Barraquer Coll – daughter of ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner Siegfried Kaulfuß – East German official in charge of coffee production in Vietnam Anwar Hussein – royal photographer Alice Annum – retired Ghanaian athlete (Photo: Scanning fingerprints for Aadhaar registration. Credit: David Talukdar/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week we hear the story of Rogelio Goiburu, who has dedicated his life to finding the victims of Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship in Paraguay, including the remains of his own father. Our expert Dr Francesca Lessa talks about other enforced disappearances in South America. Plus, we hear about how, in February 2014, ordinary people got to see inside Mezhyhirya, the extraordinarily extravagant home of Ukraine's former president. Also, a shocking psychological experiment from the 1960s. Just to warn you, this includes original recordings of the experiments which listeners may find disturbing. The programme also includes the breakthrough moment when the Channel Tunnel was finally completed linking England and France beneath the sea and, finally, the story behind one of the world's most popular self-help books. Contributors: Rogelio Goiburu - dedicated to finding the victims of Stroessner's Paraguay Dr Francesca Lessa - Associate Professor in International Relations of the Americas at University College London (UCL) Denys Tarakhkotelyk - from the Mezhyhirya estate Graham Fagg - the Englishman who broke through the Channel Tunnel Donna Dale Carnegie - daughter of Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People (Photo: Alfredo Stroessner. Credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s been thirty years since the first fully democratic elections in South Africa, which saw the African National Congress take power in 1994. But two years before that historic moment, white South Africans had to vote in a referendum that would decide whether or not to usher in a multi-racial government. We hear from President FW de Klerk’s then communications officer about how they helped “close the book on apartheid.” Then we journey back to 1976 and hear about the Soweto Uprising, a student led protest against the enforced study of Afrikaans. Bongi Mkhabela who helped organise the peaceful march, tells us how it came to a bloody and tragic end. Plus we take a look at the pivotal role played by women and girls in the lead up to the 1994 elections. Journalist and researcher Shanthini Naidoo tells us why women’s work and activism in the ANC is so often overlooked. We hear from Oliver Tambo’s son about his father’s return to South Africa after 30 years in exile. We also hear about the long overdue return of Sarah Baartman’s remains to South Africa, after over 190 years being kept in Europe, where she suffered horrific abuse while she was alive. This programme contains discriminatory language. And finally, we learn about one of South Africa’s biggest popstars Brenda Fassie, from her friend, rival and admirer Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Contributors: David Stewards – President FW de Klerk’s former communications advisor Bongi Mkhabela- Student organiser of the Soweto uprising Shanthini Naidoo- Journalist and researcher on women during apartheid Dali Tambo- Son of Oliver Tambo Diana Ferrus – Poet who helped bring Sarah Baartman home Yvonne Chaka Chaka- South African popstar (Photo: Nelson Mandela after winning the election in 1994. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It’s 10 years since the world’s deadliest outbreak of Ebola started in West Africa. We hear from a survivor and discuss the legacy of the epidemic with the BBC's global health reporter Tulip Mazumdar. Plus, the first World War Two battalion to be led by an African-American woman. Major Charity Adams’ son tells her story. We hear about the group of men arrested in Egypt in 2001 at a gay nightclub who became known as the Cairo 52. We also hear about the avalanche on Mount Everest which killed 16 sherpas carrying supplies 10 years ago. Finally, the train service between India and Bangladesh that lay dormant for 43 years which rumbled back into life in 2008. Contributors: Yusuf Kabba – an Ebola survivor from Sierra Leone Tulip Mazumdar - the BBC's Global Heath reporter. Stanley Earley – son of Major Charity Adams Omer (a pseudonym) - arrested and imprisoned at a gay club in Cairo Lakpa Rita Sherpa - helped recover bodies after the avalanche on Mount Everest in 2014 Dr Azad Chowdhury – on the inaugural Friendship Express (Photo: Liberian Health Minister Burnice Dahn washes her hands at a holding centre for Ebola patients in 2014. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It's 30 years since Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, was stolen from the national gallery in Oslo, Norway. We hear from the man who helped to recover it. Our expert guest is historian and author, Susan Ronald, who explores the history of art heists in the 20th century. Plus, a first hand account from Kampala terror attacks in 2010 and the mystery of St Teresa of Avila's severed hand. Finally, we hear about the last World War II soldier to surrender. Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on. Contributors: Kuddzu Isaac - DJ and Kampala terror attack survivor Charley Hill - Scotland Yard art detective and private investigator Susan Ronald - historian and author Sister Jenifer - the Mother Superior of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Ronda Hiroo Onoda - Japanese WWII soldier Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas - residents of Thessaly, Greece (Photo: The Scream. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It has been 50 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, so we're exploring Swedish history. Also in 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. One father who took the leave tells us about this pioneering policy. We hear from one of the inventors of Bluetooth. The technology was named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king. Our expert guest is Eva Krutmeijer, Swedish science writer and co-author of the book ' Innovation, the Swedish Way’. Plus, the invention of the three-point safety belt for cars, that is estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world, and the story behind Sweden’s Cinnamon Bun Day. Finally, 1974 was just the beginning for the Swedish quartet, Abba, who shared their name with a herring company. By the end of the decade, they were one of most recognisable music acts of the 20th century. Contributors: Per Edlund - one of the first fathers in his town to take split paid parental leave Sven Mattison - one of the inventors of Bluetooth Eva Krutmeijer - Swedish science writer and co-author of the book 'Innovation, the Swedish Way' Gunnar Ornmark - stepson of Nils Bohlin who invented the three-point safety belt for cars Kaeth Gardestedt - who came up with the idea of Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day Görel Hanser - manager of Abba (Photo: Abba in 1974. Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

It's 75 years since the founding of Nato. In 1949, a group of 12 countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to block the expansion of the Soviet Union. Professor Sten Rynning, the author of Nato: From Cold War to Ukraine, talks about some of the most significant moments in Nato's history. It's 30 years since the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. We hear from one of the survivors, Antoinette Mutabazi. This programme contains disturbing content. Plus, Riyaz Begum reflects on Britain's Mirpuri migration, Janet Heimlich, daughter of Dr Henry Heimlich talks about the origins of the Heimlich Manoeuvre and Adam Trimingham, Brighton based journalist and nudist David Johnson recall the arrival of Britain's first nudist beach. (Photo: British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin signs the North Atlantic Treaty. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. To mark 50 years since the discovery of the Terracotta Army, we're exploring modern Chinese history. We hear from the man who helped to modernise the Chinese language by creating a new writing system. It's called Pinyin and it used the Roman alphabet to help simplify Chinese characters into words. Our expert guest is the writer, Mark O'Neill, whose book 'The Man Who Made China a Literate Nation' forms the basis of a great discussion about historical language changes throughout history. Plus, a first hand experience of life in labour camps during Mao Zedong’s cultural revolution and the women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial army during the 1930s. This programme contains disturbing content. Contributors: Mark O'Neill - writer Zhou Youguang - linguist Jingyu Li - victim of Mao Zedong's labour camps Peng Zhuying - survivor of sexual slavery Yuan Zhongyi - archaeologist Dr Li Xiuzhen - archaeologist Simon Napier-Bell - manager of Wham (Photo: Terracotta Army. Credit: Getty Images)

First, we go back to 1992, when off the coast of Ireland, a Swiss geology student accidentally discovered the longest set of footprints made by the first four-legged animals to walk on earth. They pointed to a new date for the key milestone in evolution, when the first amphibians left the water 385 million years ago. Dr Frankie Dunn, who is a senior researcher in palaeobiology at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK, then dives into landmark discoveries in geological history. Plus, the story of Winifred Atwell, a classically-trained pianist from Trinidad who was admired by Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Elton John. She became one of the best-selling artists of the 1950s in the UK. Then, how the Guarani, an indigenous language of South America, was designated an official language in Paraguay’s new constitution, alongside Spanish. Also, the lesser known last eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1944. Finally, Indian badminton player Rajeev Bagga who has won 14 gold medals at the Deaflympics. In 2001, he was given the ‘Deaflympian of the Century’ award. Contributors: Iwan Stössel - Swiss Geologist. Dr Frankie Dunn - Senior Researcher in Palaeobiology at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK. David Olivera - Paraguayan Linguist and Anthropologist. Angelina Formisano - Evacuated from the village of San Sebastiano during the 1944 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Rajeev Bagga - Indian Badminton Player. (Picture: Illustration of a tetrapod from the Late Devonian period. Credit: Christian Jegou/Science Photo Library)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We first hear about Uruguay’s tale of David v Goliath - when a tobacco giant took South America's second-smallest country to court over its anti-smoking laws. Uruguay’s former public health minister María Julia Muñoz describes the significance of the ban and its fallout. And we shed some light on the wider history of the use of tobacco, its long and controversial history, with Dr Sarah Inskip, a bio-archaeologist at the University of Leicester in the UK. Plus, the largest search operation in aviation history - ten years on, little is known of the fate of MH370 and the 239 people on board. Also, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe on how her sewing school in northern Uganda served as a place of rehabilitation for child soldiers escaping Joseph Kony’s Lord's Resistance Army. Then, the Carnation Revolution - how Europe’s longest-surviving authoritarian regime was toppled in a day, with barely a drop of blood spilled. Finally, in August and September 1939, tens of thousands of children began to be evacuated from Paris. Colette Martel, who was nine at the time, describes how a pair of clogs made her feel welcome. Contributors: María Julia Muñoz - Uruguay’s former public health minister. Dr Sarah Inskip - A bio-archaeologist at the University of Leicester in the UK. Ghyslain Wattrelos - Whose wife and two children were on flight MH370. Adelino Gomes - Witness of the 1974 Carnation Revolution. Colette Martel - Child evacuee in World War Two. (Photo: An anti-tobacco installation in Montevideo. Credit: Reuters/ Pablo La Rosa)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We first hear about a bloodless war between Denmark and Canada, that involved whisky. In 1984, the two nations were disputing the ownership of the tiny Hans Island, just off the coast of Greenland. It might be the friendliest territorial dispute ever. We hear from Tom Hoyem and Alan Kessel, politicians on either side. And we have historian Ditte Melitha Kristensen, from the National Museum and Archives of Greenland, to shed some light on the history of the country. Plus, how Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva discovered the richest tomb ever found in the America’s: the final resting place of the ancient ruler, the Lord of Sipan. Also, we go back to the 1960s when 1,500 Torah scrolls appeared at a synagogue in London. And a Crimea double-bill. We go back to 2014 when Russia annexed the Ukranian peninsula, and then back to the 1980s, when it was used as a holiday camp for children across the Soviet Union. Contributors: Tom Hoyem— Minister for Greenland in Denmark. Alan Kessel— Assistant Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs in Canada. Ditte Melitha Kristensen — Greenland historian. Walter Alva— Archaeologist. Phillippa Bernard — Founder member of Westminster Synagogue. Maria Kim Espeland — One of the thousands of children who visited the Artek holiday camp. (Photo: Greenland. Credit: Thomas Traasdashi/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the famous ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb. In 2003, the venue won its bid to host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. Hugh Smythe, known as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler, has been sharing his memories of the mountain. We also have former Winter Olympian and BBC presenter, Chemmy Alcott, to walk us through the long history of skiing. Plus, how the tiny island nation of American Samoa suffered the worst defeat ever in international football. Also, the shocking creation of a two-headed dog by a Soviet scientist. The murder of transgender woman in Honduras during a military coup in 2009. And, a long-running dispute over the final resting place of Christopher Columbus’ ashes. Contributors: Hugh Smythe — One of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler. Chemmy Alcott — Former Winter Olympian and TV presenter. Nicky Salapu—American Samoa goalkeeper. Igor Konstantinov — Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon. Claudia Spelman — LGBT activist. Angelita Baeyens — Human rights lawyer. Samuel Bisono — Tour guide and historian. (Photo: Whistler Blackcomb ski resort. Credit: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the Juliet Club in Verona, Italy. The club has been replying to mail addressed to Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet since the early 1990s. Professor Lisa Bitel talks about the traditions of Valentine’s Day. Plus, how the small Irish town of Gort became known as ‘Little Brazil’ because it's home to so many Brazilians. The World War Two escape line that fooled the Nazis and the stadium disaster that shocked Egypt. And the story of the food supplement used by soldiers during the Nigerian civil war that became a drink enjoyed in more than 70 countries around the world. Contributors: Giovanna Tamassia - daughter of Giulio Tamassia, one of the founders of the Juliet Club. Professor Lisa Bitel - Professor of History & Religion at the University of Southern California, USA. Lucimeire Trindade – resident of Gort, Ireland. Keith Janes – son of captured a British soldier. Christine Lepers – daughter of a French resistance fighter. Mahmoud Al-Khawaga – former footballer with Zamalek. Peter Rasmussen – creator of the drink Supermalt. (Photo: Giovanna Tamassia from the Juliet Club. Credit: Leonello Bertolucci/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service telling stories about inspirational black women. In 1973, the Battle of Versailles pit up-and-coming American designers using black models against the more traditional French. We hear from Bethann Hardison, one of those black models, about how the capital of couture, Paris, became the stage for this defining moment in the history of fashion. Professor Adrienne Jones, a fashion expert at the Pratt Insitute in New York, explains the cultural significance of the event, and what changed in the world of fashion afterwards. Plus, the story of the UK’s first luxury Afro-Caribbean hair salon, Splinters, which opened as recently as the 1980s. Charlotte Mensah, known as the ‘Queen of the ‘fro’, recalls what it was like to work there. Part of her story includes an account racial bullying. Also, archive interviews tell the story of how Rosa Parks defied racist segregation laws in the United States. It contains outdated and offensive language. We hear how a Nigerian lawyer took on the country’s Sharia courts to overturn a death sentence. And the tragic story of Lucha Reyes, one of Peru’s most beloved singers. Contributors: Bethann Hardison- a model who competed in the Battle of Versailles. Prof Adrienne Jones- from the Pratt Institute in New York. Hauwa Ibrahim- one of the first female lawyers from northern Nigeria. Polo Bances- saxophonist who played alongside Lucha Reyes. (Photo: Bethann Hardison and Armina Warsuma arriving in France. Credit: Photo by Michel Maurou/Reginald Gray/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Cyberia - the first commercial internet café which opened in London in 1994. Director of the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, Professor Vicki Nash, talks us through other notable landmarks in the internet’s history. Plus how the Covid N95 mask was invented by a scientist from Taiwan in 1992. Also how Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff was punished for his writing on liberation theology. Staying with Brazil, we hear how poor rural workers occupied land owned by the rich, resulting in violent clashes in 1980. And the world's first global seed vault, buried deep inside a mountain on an Arctic island. Contributors: Eva Pascoe – a founder of Cyberia internet café Prof Vicki Nash – Director of the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford Peter Tsai – inventor of N95 mask Leonardo Boff – Brazilian theologian Maria Salete Campigotto – Landless Workers Movement protestor Dr Cary Fowler – founder of Doomsday seed vault (Photo: People using Cyberia in 1994. Credit: Mathieu Polak/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service all about figures branded as traitors. In 1939 Wang Jingwei, once a national hero in China, signed an agreement with Japanese invaders which made his name synonymous with the word ‘Hanjian’, a traitor to China. But Pan Chia-sheng’s memories of living under Wang Jingwei’s government in Nanjing tell a very different story. Our guest Ian Crofton, author of Traitors and Turncoats, explains the nuances involved in our historic understanding of traitors. Also, the fascist Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling blamed for convincing the German dictator Adolf Hitler to invade Norway in 1940. Norwegian journalist Trude Lorentzen explains the story with an account she recorded from Quisling’s Jewish neighbour, Leif Grusd. And, the story of the former Broadway showgirl, known as Axis Sally, who broadcast antisemitic Nazi propaganda on German State Radio during World War Two, told through the archives. Plus, the Polish colonel, Ryszard Kuklinski, code-named 'Jack Strong', who passed Soviet military secrets to the CIA that changed the tide of the Cold War. And, the Hungarian Sándor Szűcs, famous for playing in the country’s star football team, who was executed in 1951 for trying to defect from the communist regime. Contributors: Pan Chia-sheng - on Wang Jingwei. Ian Crofton - author of Traitors and Turncoats. Trude Lorentzen - Norwegian journalist on Vidkun Quisling. Aris Papas - one of the agents who received intelligence from Ryszard Kuklinski. Erzsi Kovács’ story is told using an archive interview he gave in 2011 to Hungarian journalist Endre Kadarkai on the Arckép programme, on Zuglo TV. (Photo: Mildred Gillars, known as 'Axis Sally', on trial for treason in 1949. Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We’re going wild for animals this week. We find out how the Ibadan Zoo became one of Nigeria’s biggest tourist attractions during the 1970s. Our guest Harriet Ritvo, professor of history at MIT, looks back across the centuries to reveal the fascination that humans have always had for animals. And more on the environmental campaigner who became known as Lady Tarzan for her fight against illegal logging in the forests of India. Plus, we hear from a journalist tortured in Iran's notorious Evin Prison in the wake of the 2009 protests against the Islamic regime. Also, why hundreds of thousands of Moroccans were ordered into the Spanish Sahara by their king. And finally, more on the Bolivian president who went on hunger strike to try to save his country. Contributors: Peaches Golding - wife of zoologist Bob Golding Professor Harriet Ritvo – professor of history at MIT Marcela Siles - daughter of former Bolivian president Hernán Siles Zuazo Seddik Maaninou - TV cameraman Francis Gillies – North Africa expert Maziar Bahari - journalist Jamuna Tudu – environmentalist nicknamed ‘Lady Tarzan’ (Photo: Imade the gorilla at Ibadan Zoo. Credit: bobgolding.co.uk)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage. Four couples were chosen to take part in a collective wedding at midnight which was broadcast on TV. Hélène Faasen and Anne-Marie Thus talk about the wedding they thought they'd never have. Our guest Lauren Moss, the LGBT & Identity Correspondent at BBC News tells us about the history of gay marriage. Also, the man who risked his life to make the audio recordings which blew open one of the biggest corruption scandals in Spain's recent history. Then we hear the story of the 1970s defection from the Soviet Union of a world-famous ballerina. Plus, the mystery surrounding the fate of the last king of France's son and the man who really does believe that laughter is the best medicine. Contributors: Hélène Faasen & Anne-Marie Thus - the first lesbian couple to get married legally. Lauren Moss - LGBT & Identity Correspondent at BBC News. José Luis Peñas - the man that made secret recordings that revealed the Gurtel scandal. Prof Jean Jacques Cassiman - Belgian geneticist. Deborah Cadbury - historian. Dr Madan Kataria – founder of World Laughter Day. (Photo: The couple arrive to be married at the Amsterdam City Hall. Credit: Marcel Antonisse/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Barbara Waibel, author of a book on the Hindenburg and Director of Archives at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. She tells us about the history of airships. We begin with some remarkable archive of the Hindenburg airship disaster in 1937. Then British scientist Jonathan Shanklin describes how he discovered the hole in the ozone layer in 1985. In the second half of the programme we hear from a NASA scientist who worked on the Voyager space probe which took the famous 'Pale Blue Dot' photo of Earth. A physicist from Quebec remembers when a solar flare plunged the Canadian province into darkness. And we hear the exciting and dangerous story of the invention of the wingsuit. Contributors: Barbara Waibel - Author and Director of Archives at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Jonathan Shanklin - Scientist who discovered the hole in the ozone layer. Candice Hansen - NASA scientist. Aja Hruska - Physicist from Quebec. Jari Kuosma - Inventor of the commercial wingsuit. (Photo: Hindenburg airship. Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we look at the disputed history of pad Thai with food writer Chawadee Nualkhair. We also hear from former fruit exporter Don Turner on why his family changed the name of the Chinese gooseberry to the kiwi fruit. Our expert guest is food historian, Prof Katarzyna Cwiertka, who highlights other moments in history when food and politics combined. We also have an interview with Thomas Chatenier, the president of Nutella, about the origins of the chocolate hazelnut spread. Plus, we talk about the Flavr Savr tomato - the world's first genetically-engineered food. And finally we hear from Ken Hom, the chef who introduced Chinese cookery to TV audiences. Contributors: Chawadee Nualkhair – Thai food writer. Don Turner – former chief executive of kiwi exporter, Turners and Growers. Katarzyna Cwiertka - food historian and Professor of Modern Japan Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Thomas Chatenier - the president of Nutella. Roger Salquist – former CEO of the biotech company which was responsible for the Flavr Savr tomato. Ken Hom – Chinese-American chef and author. (Photo: Pad Thai. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear from Lumepa Hald who survived the devastating tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009 but suffered a tragic loss. Our expert guest, Prof Tiziana Rossetto, looks back at some of the worst tsunamis in history and how they have shaped our landscapes. Plus we talk to Caster Semenya, the gold medallist who faced questions over her gender at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. There’s also an interview with Peter Greste, one of three Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt. We also look at the mystery surrounding the death of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda with his driver, Manuel Araya. And finally we talk to singer Dafydd Iwan, the “bad boy of Welsh politics”, who was arrested for defacing an English sign. He wanted official recognition for the Welsh language. Contributors: Lumepa Hald – survivor of the tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009. Tiziana Rossetto - Professor of Earthquake Engineering at University College London, UK. Caster Semenya – world champion runner who faced questions over her gender. Peter Greste – journalist sentenced to seven years in prison in Egypt. Manuel Araya – driver of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Dafydd Iwan – singer who campaigned for official recognition the Welsh language. (Photo: Devastation at a beach in Samoa after the 2009 tsunami. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Ongama Mtimka, lecturer in South African politics at the Nelson Mandela University. He tells us about Mandela's life and legacy 10 years on from his death. We start with with Mandela's daughter, Makaziwe, describing her relationship with her father and planning his funeral. Then, the brother of Emanuela Orlandi describes his lifelong mission to unravel the mystery of her disappearance in Rome in 1983. The second half of the programme has a Russian flavour. A relative of Tsar Nicholas II describes the murder of the Romanov royal family in 1918. Then a Russian journalist describes attending the Romanov's controversial reburial 80 years later. We finish with one of Russia's greatest poets, Anna Akhmatova. Contributors: Dr Ongama Mtimka - Lecturer in South African politics at the Nelson Mandela University. Dr Phumla Makaziwe Mandela - Nelson Mandela's daughter. Pietro Orlandi - Emanuela Orlandi's brother. Olga Romanov - Great niece of Tsar Nicholas II. Lilia Dubovaya - Journalist who was at the reburial of the Romanovs. Era Korobova - Art historian and expert on Anna Akhmatova. (Photo: Nelson Mandela. Credit: Tom Stoddart Archive/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about two of the most influential computer games of the 1990s with their creators. John Romero was one of the developers of Doom and talks about the concept of a martian military base populated by zombie soldiers. Coder Jan Tian describes how his devotion to working on the football game FIFA 94 landed him in hospital. Our guest, The Guardian newspaper's video games editor Keza MacDonald, looks back on games which had a global impact. Also how in 1945, 10,000 brains were collected from dead psychiatric patients in Denmark. It is now thought to be the world’s largest brain bank. We also find out how a group of right-wing army officers seized power in Greece in 1967 to stop the election of a social democratic government led by veteran politician George Papandreou. And 30 years on since the cult French film La Haine was released, its director Mathieu Kassovitz describes how it caught the attention of high profile politicians with its criticism of policing in France. Contributors: John Romero – Doom developer Jan Tian – FIFA 94 coder Keza MacDonald – video games editor, The Guardian Martin Wirenfeldt Nielsen – pathologist George Papandreou Jnr – former Greek Prime Minister Mathieu Kassovitz – film director (Photo: Brains stored in plastic buckets at the University of Southern Denmark. Credit: BBC)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, the bird that defied extinction. In 1969, a Peruvian farmer Gustavo Del Solar received an unusual assignment - finding a bird called the white-winged guan that had been regarded as extinct for a century. The American author and conservationist Michelle Nijhuis is this week's guest. She talks about some of the most interesting attempts in modern history to save animals on the brink of extinction. Also this week, the world's first solar powered home, when Tanzania adopted Swahili and when the world went crazy for Cabbage Patch Kids. This programme has been updated since its original broadcast. It was edited on 6 December 2023. Contributors: Rafael Del Solar - son of conservationist Gustavo Del Solar Michelle Nijhuis - author and conservationist Meredith Ludwig - friend of Cabbage Patch Kids creator Martha Nelson Thomas Peter Baxter and George Kling - scientists Walter Bgoya - author in Tanzania Andrew Nemethy - lived in the world's first solar powered house (Photo: A whooping crane. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we’re looking at the birth of a new African nation – Zambia - in 1964, and find out how the country got its name. We also learn more about life after independence with our guest Dr Alfred Tembo, head of history of the University of Zambia. Elsewhere, two survivors of a series of terrifying gun attacks in Mumbai talk about their experiences. And there’s a look back to 2003, when the worst heatwave in centuries caused thousands of deaths across Europe, and led to a health crisis in Paris. Plus, we hear extracts from the lost memoirs of Manchester United goalkeeper Les Sealey. He recorded them before his death and the tapes were discovered years later. And finally, the invention of bubble tea, a creation that would change the tea drinking world. The first cup was sold in a tea shop in Taiwan in 1987. Contributors: Mulenga Kapwepwe – daughter of Simon Kapwepwe, fighter for Zambia’s independence Dr Alfred Tembo – head of history, University of Zambia Devika Rotawan – survivor of gun attack in Mumbai Arun Jadhav – policeman and survivor of gun attack in Mumbai Dr Patrick Pelloux - emergency doctor at St Antoine Hospital in Paris Les Sealey – former Manchester United goalkeeper Liu Han-Chieh – tea leaf seller and shop owner Lin Xiuhu – developer of bubble tea (Photo: Celebrations after Zambian election, 1991. Credit: Walter Dhladhla/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Jenni Barclay from the University of East Anglia in the UK. She tells us about some of the most significant volcanic eruptions in history. We start with the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010, which caused air travel to stop across Europe. Then, memories of the Bolivian Water War in 2000. In the second half of the programme, we hear how the EpiPen was invented by Sheldon Kaplan. Plus, how Rosalind Franklin’s research helped determine the structure of DNA. Finally, the discovery of the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion, underwater off the coast of Egypt. Contributors: Sigrun Hreinsdottir - scientist who saw the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. Jenni Barclay - professor of volcanology at the University of East Anglia, UK. Oscar Olivera - union official who led Bolivian Water War protests and negotiations. Michael Kaplan - son of Sheldon Kaplan, inventor of the EpiPen. Michael Mesa - colleague of Sheldon Kaplan. Jenifer Glyn - sister of scientist Rosalind Franklin, who helped discover the structure of DNA. Franck Goddio - underwater archaeologist who discovered Thonis-Heracleion. (Photo: Eyjafjallajokull erupting in 2010. Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from Zoheb Hassen, one half of a sibling duo from Pakistan who topped the charts in countries all over the world with their dancefloor filler, Disco Deewane. Our guest is BBC radio presenter and Pakistani music fan Raess Khan. He talks about how Pakistani pop music evolved from Zoheb’s success. Entertainment star Debbie McGee, who is best known for being the assistant and wife of British magician Paul Daniels talks about escaping from Iran at the start of the revolution in 1978. In 2004 a supermarket fire in Paraguay killed more than 300 people. It was the country’s biggest peacetime disaster. One of the survivors, Tatiana Gabaglio tells her story. Plus, how one of Bosnia's most famous landmarks, the historic bridge in Mostar, was destroyed by Croat guns during the Bosnian war in 1993 Finally, the unlikely friendship of a hippo and a tortoise following the tsunami in 2004. Contributors: Zoheb Hassen – former popstar Raess Khan – BBC presenter and Pakistani pop fan Debbie McGee – British celebrity Tatiana Gabaglio – supermarket fire survivor in Paraguay Mirsad Behram – journalist Eldin Palata – cameraman Dr Paula Kahumbu – wildlife conservationist (Photo: Nazia and Zoheb Hassen in 1982. Credit: BBC)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Tony Kapcia, Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham's Centre for Research on Cuba. He tells us about the history of Cuban foreign policy. We start with Aleida Guevara's memories of being sent from Cuba to provide medical aid in the Angolan Civil War during the 1980s. Then, the French scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi explains how HIV was discovered in 1983. In the second half of the programme, we hear how Australian scientist David Warren invented the black box flight recorder in 1962, which made flying safer. An Ecuadorian politician explains how she tried to save the country's Yasuní National Park. And the actress Jane Seymour recounts how she played the role of Freddie Mercury's bride at the Fashion Aid event in 1985. Contributors: Tony Kapcia - Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham's Centre for Research on Cuba. Dr Aleida Guevara - daughter of Che Guevara. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi - scientist who helped identify HIV. Jenny and Peter Warren - children of David Warren, inventor of the black box. Bill Schofield - former colleague of David Warren, inventor of the black box. Ivonne A-Baki - Ecuadorian politician tasked with saving the Yasuní National Park. (Photo: Aleida Guevara with her father, Che, and Fidel Castro in 1963. Credit: Imagno via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from activist and actor Memet Ali Alabora on how his social media post contributed to the civil unrest following the Gezi Park protests in Turkey in 2013. Our guest, Selin Girit who covers Turkey for BBC World Service, talks to us about Turkey's important position between Europe and Asia. We also learn about the fighting in 1980 between the left and right-wing groups that led to Turkey’s military taking control of the country. Vice Admiral Isik Biren, who was an official in the defence ministry, and a former student activist, Murat Celikkan recount their different memories of the coup. We hear more about Turkey’s geographic connection from Harvey Binnie who was involved with the design of the first Bosphorus suspension bridge in 1973. And from Zimbabwe, economist Professor Gift Mugano, on how the country’s annual inflation rate was 89.7 sextillion percent in 2008. And finally the story of how a Nigerian Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four teenagers calling themselves the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD). Obed Taseobi was a passenger on that flight in 1993. Contributors: Memet Ali Alabora – activist and actor Selin Girit – BBC World Service reporter Vice Admiral Isik Biren – former official in the Turkish defence ministry Murat Celikkan – former student activist Harvey Binnie – member of design team for the Bosphorus bridge Professor Gift Mugano – economist Obed Taseobi – Nigerian Airways passenger (Photo: Protesters clash with Turkish police near Gezi Park in Istanbul, June 2013. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Osmondmania! The moment in 1973 when teenage fans of American heartthrobs, The Osmonds, caused a balcony at Heathrow to collapse. Also, we find out about the first peace walk in Cambodia and how it united a country torn apart by war. Plus, the birth of Lagos Fashion Week and how it put Nigerian design on the global map. Contributors: Donny Osmond. Josephine McDermott, BBC producer and presenter. Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, organiser of Cambodia’s first peace walk. Parul Akhter, a sewing machinist who survived the Rana Plaza building collapse. Oscar Maynez, a forensic scientist who used to work in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez where hundreds of young women were kidnapped or killed. Paula Flores, the mother of one of the murdered girls. Omoyemi Akerele who organised the first Lagos Fashion Week. (Photo: Donny Osmond greets fans at Heathrow airport. Credit: George Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from Kwasi Okoh about how his mother Theodosia Okoh designed Ghana’s flag after it became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence. Our guest, former diplomatic and foreign affairs editor, Tim Marshall, explains the importance of flags for national identity and their changing purpose through history. We also learn about the moment in 1966 when Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa's most famous leaders, was ousted from power in Ghana. Plus, how in 2013, India's Supreme Court made a landmark ruling aimed at transforming the lives of acid attack survivors. It followed a campaign led by Laxmi Agarwal who at the age of 15 was burned when acid was thrown at her. And the artist Yinka Shonibare discusses how ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle’ exhibited in London’s Trafalgar Square was the world’s largest ship in a bottle. And finally, how Kimani Maruge became the oldest man to enroll at a primary school in Kenya. Contributors: Kwasi Okoh - son of Theodosia Okoh Tim Marshall - former diplomatic and foreign affairs editor for Sky News Chris Hesse - Ghanaian filmmaker Laxmi Agarwal - acid attack survivor Yinka Shonibare - creator of Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle Jane Obinchu - Kimani Maruge’s former teacher (Photo: Ghanaian football fans wave their national flag. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. To mark 50 years since the global oil crisis, we’re focusing on oil - from discovery to disaster. We hear from Dr Fadhil Chalabi, then the deputy secretary general of Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) about what happened during the 1973 crisis. Our guest Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, explains why oil became the lifeblood of industrial economies during the last two centuries. We also learn how Kazakhstan signed ‘the deal of the century’ to become a fossil fuel powerhouse thanks to the Tengiz Oil Field. Plus, why in 1956, not everyone welcomed the discovery of oil in the Nigerian village of Oloibiri. We find out more about the devastating impact of one of the world’s largest oil spills - when the Amoco Cadiz tanker ran aground off the coast of France in 1978. The wreck released more than 220,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. And finally, how an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon fought a court battle to protect their land from oil drilling – and won. Contributors: Dr Fadhil Chalabi – former deputy secretary general of Opec Professor Helen Thompson - Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University Bruce Pannier - Central Asia news correspondent Chief Sunday Inengite – chief of Oloibiri, Nigeria Marguerite Lamour – former secretary to Alphonse Arzel, the mayor of Ploudalmézeau in France Jose Gualing - former Sarayaku president Ena Santi - Sarayaku community leader (Photo: Oil rig. Credit: Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the sinking of a migrant boat off Lampedusa in 2013 which was one of the Mediterranean’s worst shipwrecks. Also, we find out about Wally Hendrickson, the US physicist who volunteered to be dropped into the front line of the Vietnam War to remove fuel rods from a reactor. Plus, the opening of the world's first cat cafe in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1998. Contributors: Amnasager Araya who survived the Lampedusa tragedy after being rescued by Vito Fiorino. Annalisa Camilli, correspondent for Internazionale magazine. Wally Hendrickson who removed the fuel rods from the reactor in Vietnam. André Turcat, the French pilot of Concorde’s maiden flight. The star of the telenovela, Kassandra, Coraima Torres, and Tony Paez who distributed the show. Tracy Chang, founder of the first cat cafe in Taiwan. (Photo: A woman on a boat heading for Lampedusa. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the people with disabilities who were sterilised in Germany following an order in 1933, passed by the then Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Also, we find out about the first man to descend into the “Gates of Hell”, the Darvaza Crater, in Turkmenistan. Plus the story behind the vuvuzela which was dubbed the “world’s most annoying instrument”. Contributors: Helga Gross who was sterilised in Germany as part of the Nazis’ eugenics order. This is an archive interview from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Dr Susanne Klausen, Julia Gregg Brill Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Campaigner Emma Bonino who fought for legal abortion in Italy. Explorer George Kourounis who was the first person to descend into the Darvaza Crater, in Turkmenistan. Paramedic Daniel Ouma who helped people injured in the Westgate Mall terror attack, in Nairobi, in Kenya, in 2013. Freddie 'Saddam' Maake who claims to have invented the vuvuzela. (Photo: Adolf Hitler. Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It's thirty years since the Oslo Accords were signed. This agreement in 1993 aimed to bring about peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. So this week, we're bringing you stories from Israeli and Palestinian history. We hear about attempts at peace - the secret talks behind the Oslo Accords, and President Bill Clinton's failed attempt to end the conflict at Camp David. Plus, one of the most dramatic sieges of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that took place in a church. We also hear from a Palestinian and an Israeli who were there when rioting broke out in 2000, after the Israeli opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, made a visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. And finally a hope of peace with the orchestra, made up of young people from both sides of the conflict, which performed a concert in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Contributors: Mona Juul – Norwegian diplomat who was part of the team that planned and orchestrated the meetings which resulted in the signing of the Oslo Accords. Yolande Knell - Middle East Correspondent for BBC News. Gamal Helal - American diplomatic interpreter and policy adviser. Khaled Zeghari - Palestinian cameraman. Zalman Shoval - former Israeli ambassador to Washington. Carolyn Cole - photojournalist. Father Amjad Sabbara - Franciscan friar. Tyme Khelefi - former violinist with the West-Eastern Divan orchestra. Daniel Cohen - former violinist with the West-Eastern Divan orchestra. (Photo: Israeli soldiers run towards the Church of the Nativity. Credit: Musa Al-Shaer/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from Chilean politician Hermógenes Pérez de Arce, who helped oust President Allende in 1973. We also hear from the widow of folk singer Victor Jara, who was killed during the military coup. Our guest is Dr Camila Vergara, who is a historian and journalist from Chile, and a senior lecturer at the University of Essex Business School in the UK. She tells us more about the aftermath of the Chilean coup, and its lasting impact. Eva Franchell speaks about her friend, the Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh who was murdered in 2003. In the second half of the programme, campaigner Frank Heweston shares his experience on Greenpeace’s Arctic voyage to disrupt drilling on a newly built oil rig and we hear from a friend and promoter of Zanzibar’s most famous musician, Bi Kidude. Contributors: Camila Vergara - historian and journalist from Chile, and senior lecturer at the University of Essex Business School. Hermógenes Pérez de Arce – Chilean politician. Joan Jara – widow of Victor Jara. Eva Franchell – Anna Lindh’s former press secretary and best friend. Maryam Hamdani - friend and promoter of Bi Kidude. (Photo: President Salvador Allende. Credit: Bettman/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jean H. Lee, an American journalist who has covered both North and South Korea extensively. Jean is also the co-host of the BBC World Service podcast, The Lazarus Heist. She tells us more about the relationship between the two countries. The programme begins with the historic meeting between North and South Korea's leaders almost 50 years after the Korean War. We hear from Sameh Elbarky who was in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on the day the army killed hundreds of protestors following a military coup. In the second half of the programme, British black activists recount how they protested against racism within the local bus company in Bristol in 1963. One of the first Chinese students to arrive in the US in the early 1980s following the Cultural Revolution shares her experience. Finally, how the Mexican island of Guadalupe was saved from being destroyed by hungry goats. Contributors: Jean H. Lee - American journalist and the co-host of the BBC's The Lazarus Heist podcast. Professor Chung-in Moon - South Korean special delegate. Sameh Elbarky - survivor of the Rabaa massacre. Paul Stephenson - spokesperson for the Bristol Bus Boycott. Roy Hackett - Bristol Bus Boycott protestor. Zha Jianying - Chinese American writer. Professor Exequiel Ezcurra - conservationist. (Photo: North and South Korean leaders meet at the summit in 2000. Credit: Reuters)

Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History stories from the BBC World Service, this week we are focusing on Irish history. In 2006, Ireland’s economic boom, known as the Celtic Tiger, ended. It meant thousands of people, like Michelle Burke, were left devastated as house construction stopped. In 1959, Tralee, in Ireland, hosted a festival to promote the town and build Irish connections around the world. The Rose of Tralee is now one of Ireland’s oldest and largest festivals. Veteran RTE broadcaster and author, Joe Duffy, walks us through the significance of the Celtic Tiger. At Easter 1916, a small army of Irish rebels attempted to start a revolution against British rule. They held out for more than a week against a massive British military response, but the insurrection ultimately failed. Also, how electrification lit up rural Ireland for the first time, despite concerns about its potential dangers. And how a group of women fought against a sexist tradition, that prevented them from taking a dip in a popular swimming spot. Contributors: Michelle Burke - lived through the Celtic Tiger boom and bust. Alice O’Sullivan - first Rose of Tralee winner. Joe Duffy - broadcaster and author. Mary Dorcey - poet, writer and women’s rights activist. (Photo: Deserted 'ghost estate' in Ireland. Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)

A compilation of this week's Witness History episodes. Gerald Clarke, the author of Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, speaks to Max Pearson about the legacy of the stage and screen actress who died in 1969. We also look at how a chance encounter led to the return of two of the looted Benin Bronzes, ancient artworks which were among thousands stolen from Benin City by the British Army in 1897. And we head back to 2008, when a nine-year-old boy tripped over a fossil that would lead to one of the most important discoveries in the history of human evolution. Contributors: Author Gerald Clarke John Kelsch from the Judy Garland Museum Production assistant Rosalyn Wilder Retired police officer Tim Awoyemi Matt Berger who discovered the Australopithecus sediba fossil Hedayat Matine-Daftary, grandson of Mohammed Mossadeq (Photo: Judy Garland during a press conference in 1963. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories from the BBC World Service. Journalist Claude Angeli discovered French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing received diamonds from a depraved African emperor, which contributed to him losing the presidential election in 1981. How Bosnia’s small Jewish community helped people from all sides of the conflict, during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. The story of the gang of thieves, who held up a British Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London in August 1963. Plus Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young black graffiti artist in the 1980s took the New York art world by storm. His paintings were selling for huge sums of money, but he died before the end of the decade. And the rise and fall of self-made businesswoman Brownie Wise, who inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties. Contributors: Journalist Claude Angeli Journalist Pauline Bock Former vice president of the Jewish community Jakob Finci Author Bob Kealing Journalist Reginald Abbiss Patti Astor, friend of Jean-Michel Basquiat (Photo: French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Jean-Bédel Bokassa in Bangui, March 1975. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about a prehistoric discovery in India - a nest full of dinosaur eggs found in 1982. Plus, why a Mongolian dinosaur skeleton became the centre of a 2012 court battle in a case known as United States V One Tyrannosaurus Bataar. Our guest, palaeobiologist Neil Gostling reveals how newly-uncovered dinosaurs are named, and tells us which fossilised beast was the first to be christened. José Mujica recounts his journey from young revolutionary in the 1960s and 70s to becoming Uruguay's president in 2009. Plus, we learn more about the deaf children in Nicaragua who invented their own sign language. And find out why a treehouse built beside the Berlin Wall during the Cold War became a symbol of resistance. Contributors: Professor Ashok Sahni - palaeontologist Associate Professor Neil Gostling - palaeobiologist Dr Bolortsetseg Minjin - paleontologist José Mujica - former president of Uruguay Professor Judy Shepard-Kegl - linguist Mehmet Kahlin – son of Osman Kahlin (Photo: Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton, 2016. Credit: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Ozoz Sokoh, Nigerian food writer and author of the Kitchen Butterfly food blog, who tells us about the history of West African food. The programme begins with the story of Mr Bigg's, Nigeria's answer to McDonald's. Then, we hear about the 1960 coup against the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, from his grandnephew. In the second half of the programme, a Jewish survivor tells us about the Nazi occupation of Greece from 1941-1944. Two witnesses tell us about Pope John Paul II's ill-fated visit to Nicaragua in 1983. And a Pakistani man recounts how he accidentally created the first personal computer virus in 1986. Contributors: Ozoz Sokoh - Nigerian food writer and author of the Kitchen Butterfly food blog. Emmanuel Osugo - Mr Bigg's employee. Dr Asfa-Wossen Asserate - grandnephew of Haile Selassie. Yeti Mitrani - Jewish survivor of Nazi occupation of Greece. Nancy Frazier O’Brien - Catholic News Service reporter. Carlos Pensque - Nicaraguan protestor. Amjad Farooq Alvi - software developer. (Photo: West African food. Credit: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of stories from this week’s Witness History episodes. In the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese generals handed over their swords in China's Forbidden City in Beijing. Historian James Holland, talks about the ritual and significance of a surrender. Also, the first Barbie doll was sold in 1959. It took Ruth Handler, who created it, years to convince her male colleagues that it would sell. The plastic creation sold 350,000 in the first year and went on to take the world by storm selling millions. It’s now even been turned into a live action film starring Margot Robbie. Contributors: John Stanfield, signed surrender declaration documents on behalf of the British at the end of World War II James Holland, historian, writer, and broadcaster Ramona Reed on her father Dean Reed who became known as ‘Red Elvis’ Vents Krauklis, a demonstrator in the Latvian capital, Riga in 1991 Professor V. Craig Jordan, who helped bring the drug tamoxifen to the world’s attention Ruth and Elliot Handler from a BBC documentary broadcast in the 1990s (Photo: Barbie in her various incarnations. Credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a selection of this week’s Witness History stories. In 1999, Aibo: the world's first robot dog, hit the shops in Japan and sold out in just 20 minutes. We hear from Toshitada Doi who spent six years on the project when he worked at Sony. Plus we hear from Dr Ella Haig about the development of artificial intelligence. Japanese software developer Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji in 1999. Valerie Hunter Gordon, from England, invented disposable nappies in 1947 after the birth of her third child. We hear from Valerie’s son, Nigel Hunter Gordon. Hungarian journalist László Bíró was sick of smudging the ink from his fountain pen and so he invented the ballpoint pen in 1938. Finally, a Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik invented what's known as the Rubik's Cube. Contributors: Toshitada Doi on developing Aibo: The world's first robot dog Dr Ella Haig, Reader in Artificial Intelligence, in the School of Computing at the University of Portsmouth in the UK Japanese software developer Shigetaka Kurita, who created the first emoji Nigel Hunter Gordon, the son of Valerie Hunter Gordon, on disposable nappies Hungarian journalist László Bíró, the inventor of the ballpoint pen Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik's Cube (Photo: The original Aibo. Credit: Jun Sato/WireImage via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a selection of this week’s Witness History stories. In 1972, tourists arrived in the Maldives for the first time. We hear from one of the people who made it happen, plus analysis of the growth of tourism around South East Asia with Ploysri Porananond. Also, on the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service in the UK, one of the first doctors shares his experience. Lawyers for both the prosecution and defence of concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk, discuss his trial. The election in India, of what was to be the longest serving democratically elected government in the world. Finally, a night out to remember, with Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett. Contributors: Ahmed Naseem on bringing tourism to the Maldives Ploysri Porananond, head of the centre for tourism research at Chiang Mai University in Thailand Dr John Marks on the formation of the NHS in 1948 Lawyer Yoram Sheftel, who acted in defence of John Demjanjuk Lawyer Eli Gabay, who prosecuted John Demjanjuk Mohammad Salim, former Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Cleo Rocos, on her night out with Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett (Photo: Early tourists enjoy the Maldives in the 1970s Credit: Kurumba)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories. In 1995, the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in the South Korean capital, Seoul, killed and injured hundreds of people. Explaining the impact it had on urban planning is Dr Youngmi Kim, senior lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Also, the speech President John F Kennedy made at the height of the Cold War on 26 June 1963. It galvanised the world in support of West Berliners who had been isolated by the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the archive, Dr Jean Jacques Mueyembe and Dr David Heymann worked to bring the first documented outbreak of Ebola under control in 1976. Plus, Budapest's communist statue 'graveyard' which opened in 1993. Finally, when Lady Gaga accepted an MTV Video Music Award in a dress made entirely out of beef. Contributors: Sun Minh Lee on the Sampoong Department Store disaster Dr Youngmi Kim, senior lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh Gisela Morel-Tiemann on the Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech Dr Jean Jacques Mueyembe and Dr David Heymann on Ebola Judit Holp on Memento Park Franc Fernandez on Lady Gaga's meat dress (Photo: US military troops and South Korean army soldiers look for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed Sampoong Department Store. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories. Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, a fighter pilot in the Somali air force defied orders to bomb civilians in 1988. Explaining more about the Somali civil war and its legacy is BBC Monitoring's regional analyst Beverly Ochieng. Also, the demonstrations in East Germany that triggered martial rule in 1953. From the archive, Sam King recalls arriving in England on the Empire Windrush in 1948, one of 802 pioneering Caribbean migrants. Plus, the 1994 raid on a gay nightclub in Melbourne, Australia, where more than 400 people were strip-searched and detained. Finally, in 1971 Alan Shepard, the commander of Apollo 14 became the first and only person to play golf on the moon. Contributors: Ahmed Mohamed Hassan on being a fighter pilot in the Somali air force Beverly Ochieng, BBC Monitoring's Horn Of Africa analyst Helmut Strecker on his recollections of the protests in East Germany Sam King on the Empire Windrush Gary Singer on the raid of Tasty nightclub Laura Shepard Churchley on her father Commander Alan Shepard (Photo: Refugees in Somalia's civil war. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories. We focus on some of the world’s best known photographs - and the photographers who took them. We find out why Lee Miller was in Hitler’s bath in the dying days of World War Two; and historian Dr Pippa Oldfield discusses the women who were the pioneers of war photography. Also, Sir Don McCullin tells the story behind one of his most famous images of the Vietnam War. Plus, more on the party pictures that shone a light on an unseen Africa and how the biggest names in jazz came together for one immortal portrait. Finally, the first African American woman to have her photographs snapped up by New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Contributors: Antony Penrose, Lee Miller's son and biographer Sir Don McCullin, photographer Dr Pippa Oldfield, photo-historian Manthia Diawara, filmmaker Jonathan Kane, son of photographer Art Kane Ming Smith, photographer (Photo: Grace Jones. Studio 54, New York, 1970s. Credit: Ming Smith)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History and Sporting Witness stories. We hear about the Inuit children taken away from their homes and culture, to be educated in Canadian cities. Adamie Kalingo tells his story about being placed with a foster family in Ottawa in 1964. Dr Raven Sinclair explains how Adamie’s story was part of a wider program of resettling Indigenous children. Also, the crash at Le Mans which killed 80 people in 1955; the ceremony in 2005, organised by campaigner Ilguilas Weila, to free 7,000 slaves in Niger; plus, the forensic artist whose reconstructions have helped solve murders. Finally, we find out whether a man can ever beat a horse in a race. Contributors: Adamie Kalingo, taken from his Inuit community in 1964 Dr Raven Sinclair, retired professor of social work John Fitch, racing driver Ilguilas Weila, anti-slavery campaigner Richard Neave, forensic artist Huw Lobb, long distance runner Gordon Green, creator of the Man v Horse race (Photo: Adamie Kalingo in 2023. Credit: Adamie Kalingo)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes focusing on Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. It's 70 years since Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to reach the summit of Everest in 1953. We hear about some of the earliest, tragic attempts to scale the mountain, and from those who've blazed a trail up the slopes for others to follow. Contributors: Peter Hillary - Sir Edmund Hillary's son. Jamling Tenzing Norgay - Tenzing Norgay's son. Bachendri Pal - the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest. Michael Groom - a survivor of the tragic expedition in 1996 when a storm struck the mountain. Jochen Hemmleb - an original member of the team that discovered George Mallory's remains. (Photo: Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary after their return from Everest. Credit: Bettmann)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear how a shocking photo from a Bosnian concentration camp stunned the world, what it's like to be in a tornado and the heroic clown who helped after an earthquake in Peru. Plus the 1980 military coup in Suriname and the moment in the 1960s when African de-colonisation might have led to a United States of Africa. This programme contains descriptions of sexual violence. (Photo: Fikret Alic in a Bosnian refugee camp. Credit: ITN/Shutterstock)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the German children who were evacuated to camps in the countryside to avoid the bombs of World War Two. You may find some of the content distressing. Also we find out about the execution of Flor Contemplacion Plus the creation of the 3000 km Te Ararora trail in New Zealand, the Dambusters raid and the story behind the popular children’s book, Pippi Longstocking. Contributors: Gunter Stoppa and Klaus Reimer - German evacuee camp residents. This was taken from archive recordings from "Haus der Geschichte der Bundersrepublik Deutschland" in Bonn. Beate Muller - Professor of German Studies and Cultural History at Newcastle University, England Geoff Chapple who lobbied for the creation of the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand. Russel Contemplacion - Flor Contemplacion’s daughter Edre Olalia - Flor Contemplacion’s Lawyer George "Johnny" Johnson - the last survivor of the Dambusters squadron. Karin Nyman – Daughter of author Astrid Nyman (Photo: Flor Contemplacion. Credit: Russel Contemplacion)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the Allies' campaign in North Africa in the Second World War in 1943. Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2025, the BBC is trying to gather as many first-hand accounts from surviving veterans as possible, to preserve for future generations. Working with a number of partners, including the Normandy Memorial Trust and the Royal British Legion, the BBC has spoken to many men and women who served during the war. We are calling the collection World War Two: We were there. We also have the story of the last flight out of the old international Hong Kong airport in 1998. The approach to the airport was known as 'the Kai Tak heart attack' because of it's location between the mountains and the city. As well as the end of the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw, the sinking of the 'Indian Titanic' and the United States' bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Contributors: Peter Royle - British Army Captain in the Royal Artillery. Dr Helen Fry - author and historian, specialising in the Second World War. Simha "Kazik" Rotem - a Jewish fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Arvind Jhani and Tej Mangat - survivors of the sinking of the SS Tilawa. Captain Kim Sharman - the pilot of the last passenger flight out of Kai Tak. (Photo: Tunis victory parade, 20 May 1943. Credit: Peter Royle)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the Scottish students who removed the 'Stone of Destiny' from Westminster Abbey in London. Former King Simeon II of Bulgaria explains how he went from child King to Prime Minister of his country. Also, why the body of Oliver Cromwell was dug up and executed in the UK in 1661. The son of Jean-Bédel Bokassa explains why his father proclaimed himself Emperor of the Central African Republic. Plus the story of the King found under a car park in England. Professor Cindy McCreery speaks to Max about royal thefts and repurposing of regal items. Contributors: Ian Hamilton, student who removed the 'Stone of Destiny. Cindy McCreery, Associate Professor in History at the University of Sydney. Charles Spencer, historian. Dr Gabriel Heaton, specialist at Sotheby's auction house. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, former King and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Jean-Charles Bokassa, son of Jean-Béddel Bokassa. Dr Richard Buckley OBE, leader of the team which dug up Richard III's remains. (Photo: Jean-Béddel Bokassa after he crowned himself Emperor Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Althea McNish, the Trinidadian artist who designed fabric for Queen Elizabeth II. Former Vogue editor Suzy Menkes on the success of the fashion celebration, the Met Gala. The Guatemalan Bishop, Juan Gerardi, killed in his home, after presenting the conclusions of a major investigation into abuses committed during the country's civil war. We remember Harry Belafonte, with a look back at his historic duet with Petula Clark. Plus the fight by the BBC to televise Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. Contributors: Rose Sinclair, Lecturer in textile design at Goldsmiths, University of London. Gavin Douglas, Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in fashion design at Manchester Metropolitan University. Suzy Menkes, former Vogue International Editor. Ronalth Ochaeta, former head of the Catholic Church’s human rights office in Guatemala. Steve Binder, TV producer. Lady Jane Rayne Lacey, a lady in waiting at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. (Photo: Althea McNish Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the invention of the labradoodle, the first dog in space and how a Yorkshire terrier called Smoky became the world's first therapy dog. Author Mackenzi Lee talks about her book, The History of the World in Fifty Dogs. She discusses Napoleon Bonaparte's turbulent relationship with pugs and the first guide dogs in America. Plus, the guide dog who saved its owner's life during the 9/11 terror attacks and the man who dressed up as a dog to protest life in post-Soviet Russia. Contributors: Wally Conron - dog breeder. Mackenzi Lee - author. Michael Hingson - 9/11 terror attacks survivor. Professor Victor Yazdovsky - Russian immunologist. Oleg Kulik - Russian conceptual artist. Adrian Brigham - friend of American World War II veteran Bill Wynne. (Photo: Estie the labradoodle and Lola the cockapoo. Credit: Reena Stanton-Sharma)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the unearthing of a mass grave in Sernyky, Ukraine, in 1990, and when the Boston Marathon was the target of a terror attack in 2013. This programme contains distressing details. Contributors: James Bulgin - head of public history at the Imperial War Museum in Britain. Richard Wright - archaeologist. Jonathan Dimbleby - broadcaster. Edward Deveau - Watertown Chief of Police. Charles Barnett - managing director of Aintree Racecourse. Gary Anderson - designer. (Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the lengths one woman goes to to escape Eritrea, how Zumba was invented by accident and how a giant peace statue on a Japanese island, crumbled into a ghostly ruin. Plus the arguments then, and the arguments still over the Good Friday Peace Agreement for Northern Ireland, and a picnic for peace that breached the Iron Curtain. This programme contains descriptions of sexual violence. Contributors: Martin Plaut - Senior Research Fellow at University of London Semhar Ghebreslassie - Eritrean graduate Beto Perez - Choreographer and inventor of Zumba Jane Morrice - Yes campaigner in 1998 referendum on the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement Lee Reynolds - No campaigner in 1998 referendum on the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement Yusuke Natsukawa - Local resident of Awaji Island Goro Otsubo - IT worker who enjoys visiting weird sites around Japan Walburga Habsburg Douglas - an organiser of the Pan-European picnic (Photo: Zumba creator Beto Perez. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Vietnam's manicure godfather, how Bengaluru became India's Silicon Valley and how the first ever photograph from a mobile phone was sent. Plus, the popularity of theoretical physicist Prof Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time, and the windmill that revolutionised wind power. Contributors: Tuong Vu - Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon. Kien Nguyen - Wife of Minh Nguyen. Narayana Murthy - Founder of Infosys. Philippe Kahn - Software engineer and owner of world's first mobile phone photo. Peter Guzzardi - Publisher and editor. Britta Jensen - Teacher. (Photo: Minh and Kien Nguyen outside beauty school in California. Credit: Kien Nguyen)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of stories about the history of film and cinema from around the world, including the longest running film in Indian cinema, the man who lived in an airport for 18 years and the ambitious release of the orca from the movie, Free Willy. Plus, the real life escape from Alcatraz and the incredible story of Vietnamese movie star, Kieu Chinh. Contributors: Dr Ranita Chatterjee - Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Exeter. Kajol - Indian actress. Kieu Chinh - Vietnamese actress. Andrew Donkin - Biographer of Mehran Karimi Nasseri. Jolene Babyak - Lived on Alcatraz Island. Dave Phillips - Founder of the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. (Photo: People queuing for DDLJ in Mumbai. Credit: Getty Images)

A compilation of stories marking the 20th anniversary of the American led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Caroline Hawley, who was the Baghdad correspondent for the BBC at the time, speaks to Max Pearson about reporting on Iraq. Contributors: Lubna Naji - schoolgirl in Baghdad when the war broke out. Yasir Dhannoon - became a refugee when he fled Iraq. General Vincent Brooks - first revealed the playing cards to help US troops identify the most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein's government. Muwafaq al Rubaie - was asked to help to identify Saddam Hussein after he was captured. Banwal Baba Dawud - brother to Ammo Baba. (Photo: US Marines help Iraqis take down a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad. Credit: RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of stories celebrating women who made history including a ground-breaking, African American science fiction writer and the first presidential hopeful in Mexico. Plus the UN's first ever all-female peacekeeping unit, a woman who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland and a child goddess in Nepal. Contributors: Dr Brenda Stevenson - Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History at St John’s College, Oxford University. Nisi Shawl - friend of Octavia Butler. Rosario Piedra - daughter of Rosario Ibarra. Nick Caistor - journalist. Seema Dhundia - member of India’s Central Reserve Police Force. Lesley Pruitt - author of The Women in Blue Helmets. Monica McWilliams - one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement. Chanira Bajrycharya - former child goddess in Nepal. (Photo: March for International Women's Day in Mexico City in 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Uta Rautenberg from the University of Warwick in the UK, an expert on homophobia in Nazi camps. Rudolf Brazda recounts his experience of being a gay man in a Nazi concentration camp, symbolised by the pink triangle he was forced to wear on his uniform. Then, we hear first-hand accounts of the Indigenous American protest at Wounded Knee 50 years ago, and the assassination of Serbia's Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, in 2003. We finish with two lighter stories: the world's most remote museum on the island of South Georgia and the first ever underwater sculpture park in the Caribbean. Contributors: Dr Uta Rautenberg - University of Warwick. Rudolf Brazda - Nazi concentration camp survivor. Russell Means - former National Director of the American Indian Movement. Gordana Matkovic - former Serbian cabinet minister. Jan Cheek - South Georgia Museum trustee. Jason deCaires Taylor - creator of Grenadian underwater sculpture park. (Photo: Marchers carry a pink triangle at a Gay Pride event in London. Credit: Steve Eason/Hulton Archive via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Philippe Sands, Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London, who tells us about the history of ethnic tensions in Mauritius. The programme begins with Kaya a Mauritian musician whose death sparked three days of rioting. Then, we hear from John Huckstep who was interned by the Japanese when living in China during World War Two. In the second half of the programme, we tell the story of how Semtex was invented, and the debate about where the German capital should be after reunification. Finally, the man who made the Queen appear to jump out of a helicopter tells us how he did it, with the help of corgis, a clothesline, the Queen's dresser and of course James Bond. Contributors: Veronique Topize - Kaya's widow. Cassam Uteem - Former President of Mauritius. Phillippe Sands - Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London. Jurgen Nimptsch - Former Mayor of Bonn. Wolfgang Schauble - Member of German Bundestag. John Huckstep - Held as a child at an interment camp in China. Stanislav Brebera - Brother of chemist who invented Semtex. Frank Cottrell-Boyce - Writer. (Photo: Mural of Kaya. Credit: BBC)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Ilaria Favretto, Affiliate Professor at Kingston University in London, who tells us about the history of workers' protests across Europe. The programme begins with a former union leader describing Italy's 'Hot Autumn' of 1969 when protests erupted. Then, we hear the archaeologist Howard Carter's remarkable account of opening the burial chamber of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian Pharaoh, 100 years ago. In the second half of the programme, we hear about the creation of Pokémon, and the coronation of Denmark's first Queen in 600 years. Finally, an American woman tells us how she became a Muay Thai boxing champion. Contributors: Ilaria Favretto - Affiliate Professor at Kingston University in London. Renzo Baricelli - Italian union leader. Howard Carter - British archaeologist. Akihito Tomisawa - Pokémon developer. Kjeld Olesen - Danish politician. Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu - Muay Thai boxer.

It has been 10 years since Pope Benedict XVI announced his shock resignation. It was the first time in almost 600 years that a pope had stepped down. In this programme, we hear stories about the history of the papacy, including how a pope is chosen, the inception of Vatican II and what happens when a pope dies. Contributors: Giovanna Chirri - former Ansa journalist Catherine Pepinster - former editor of Catholic newspaper, The Tablet Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - Cardinal John Strynkowski - Monsignor Beniamino Stella - Cardinal Don Davide Tisato - former professional footballer Felice Alborghetti - journalist from the Centro Sportivo Italiano (Photo: Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Credit: Getty Images)

The launch of the first black music station in Europe - the Dread Broadcasting Corporation in London in 1981 - and why Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Plus the assassination of Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye, the Columbia space shuttle disaster and the bombing of the Palestine Post. Contributors: Michael Williams - former DBC station manager Carmella Jervier - DJ Dr Caroline Mitchell - Professor of Radio at the University of Sunderland Jean-Marie Ngendahayo - former minister in Burundi Václav Klaus - former prime minister of the Czech Republic Vladimír Mečiar - former prime minister of Slovakia Mordechai Chertoff - former foreign editor of the Palestine Post Admiral Hal Gehman - Chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (Photo: Radio Caroline Pirate Radio ship. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Chiara Sangiorgio, Death Penalty Adviser at Amnesty International, who tells us about the history of the death penalty and its effectiveness. The programme begins with two perspectives on capital punishment: Yoshikuni Noguchi recounts his time as a prison guard on death row in Japan in the 1970s; then we hear archive recordings of Albert Pierrepoint, Britain's most famous hangman. Poland's former-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, describes how close he came to death in the 2010 Smolensk air disaster, in which the country's President was killed. Paul McLoone, the frontman of The Undertones, a punk-rock band, tells the bizarre story of how he became the broadcasting voice of IRA commander Martin McGuinness when the organisation was banned from British airwaves in 1988. Finally, Karlheinz Brandenburg explains how he revolutionised the way we listen to music through his invention of the MP3. Contributors: Chiara Sangiorgio - Death Penalty Adviser at Amnesty International Yoshikuni Noguchi - Japanese death row prison guard. Albert Pierrepoint - British executioner. Radosław Sikorski - former-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland. Paul McCloone - band member of The Undertones and the voice of Martin McGuinness. Karlheinz Brandenburg - inventor of the MP3. (Photo: Nooses. Credit: Rebecca Redmond/EyeEm via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. These include memories of the horsemeat scandal of 2013 from the man who uncovered what was happening. We'll hear analysis of other historical food scandals from expert Professor Saskia van Ruth. Plus the last passenger off the plane, which landed on the Hudson river in 2009, shares his story. Also on the programme: secret schools for Kosovar Albanians, nuclear testing in Algeria and teenagers with narcolepsy in Sweden. Contributors: Professor Alan Reilly - former Chief Executive of the Irish Food Safety Authority Professor Saskia van Ruth - expert on food authenticity and integrity of supply networks, based at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland Christopher Tyvi - lives with narcolepsy Abdelkrim Touhami - lives near former nuclear testing site in Algeria Linda Gusia - former student of Kosovo house schools Professor Drita Halimi - former Kosovo house school teacher Dave Sanderson - last passenger off US Airways flight 1549 (Photo: Raw burgers. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. You'll hear the story of how a marine biologist made a shocking discovery finding small bits of plastics floating thousands of miles of the east coast of America. Then, marine biologist Christine Figgener talks about the history of oceans. Also, the world's first transatlantic concert, a dispute over sea cucumbers in the Galapagos Islands, the world's first tidal power station and the first woman to win a Olympic windsurfing gold medal. (Photo: Garbage on beach. Credit: Getty Images) Contributors: Edward Carpenter - Marine biologist John Liffen - Curator emeritus at the Science Museum in London Marcos Escaraby - Fisherman in the Galapagos Islands Alan Tye - Conservationist Marc Bonnel - Brittany historian Babara Kendall - Windsurfing champion

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. You'll hear the story of how a protest led by the punk band P***y Riot in one of Moscow's main cathedrals led to a trial which made the news inside Russia and around the world. Then, historian Robert Service talks about other examples of rebellion, from the time of the Russian empire through to modern day. Also, the man Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet wanted dead, the most bizarre football match of all time and the African man who travelled across the world to live in the Arctic. (Photo: P***y Riot. Credit: Getty Images) Contributors: Diana Burkot - member of P***y Riot Robert Service - Professor of Russian History at the University of Oxford Carmen Castillo - wife of Miguel Enriquez who led resistance against Augusto Pichochet Paul Lambert - former Scotland footballer Alan Matarasso - American plastic surgeon Tété-Michel Kpomassie - Arctic explorer

Stories about the history of food, including the creation of ciabatta bread by a rally driver in Italy in 1982 and the Maltese bakers' strike in 1977. Also, the invention of instant noodles in Japan, the start of the Slow Food Movement in Rome and the creation of Chicken Manchurian in India. (Photo: Different shaped artisan bread loaves. Credit: Getty Images) Contributors: Marco Vianello - baker and friend of the creator of ciabatta, Arnaldo Cavallari Noel Buttigieg - food historian Dr Sue Bailey - food historian, writer and lecturer Carlo Petrini - founder of the Slow Food Movement Momofuku Ando - colleague of the inventor of instant noodles, Yukitaka Tsutsui Edward Wang - son of Nelson Wang, the chef behind Chicken Manchurian

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. Sir Trevor McDonald reflects on the BBC's first black producer, Una Marson, and her legacy in the development of the BBC Caribbean Service. Also, how the BBC managed to broadcast through the Iron Curtain, Colombia's false positives scandal and the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped in Chile. (Photo: Sir Trevor McDonald. Credit: BBC) Contributors: Sir Trevor McDonald, Una Marson, Debbie Ransome and Neil Nunes - BBC presenters Bridget Kendall - the BBC’s former Moscow correspondent Peter Udell - the BBC's former controller of European Services Jacqueline Castillo - whose brother was a victim of the 'false positives' scandal Dr Aslan Doukaev - university teacher when the first Chechen war started Mario Sepulveda - Chilean mine disaster survivor

The forced removal of families who weren't white from District Six, in Cape Town, by the South African apartheid regime and the man who jumped from space back to earth. Also, stories about a Soviet fashionista, the Nazi occupation of Jersey and the Mongolia Revolution. (Photo: District Six, circa 1969, in Cape Town. Credit: Getty Images) Contributors: Zahra Nordien - who was forced out of District Six in Cape Town in 1977 Chrischené Julius - the manager of Collections, Research and Documentation at the District Six Museum Jenny Lecoat - the great-niece of Louisa Gould, who hid a Russian man from Nazis in Jersey Ganbold Davaadorj - a pro-democracy protestor in Mongolia Slava Zaitsev - Russian fashion designer Felix Baumgartner - daredevil

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. We go to Quebec in 1995 when voters went to the polls to decide whether the province should declare independence from Canada. Tim Marshall, the author of The Power of Geography and presenter of the World Service podcast, The Compass, explores other referendums which have taken place in recent history. Plus the creation of children's TV series Teletubbies in 1994. It became a global hit. (Photo: Voters gather in the streets of Barcelona. Credit: Marco Panzetti/NurPhoto Getty Images) Contributors: Jean-François Lisée and Stephane Dion - on the Quebec referendum Paul Kelly - Australian political correspondent Praveen Jain - Indian photojournalist Patricia da Silva - Jean Charles de Menezes' cousin Anne Wood- creator of Teletubbies

Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. We hear from a man who was aged six when he was among the Japanese families expelled from his island home, as it was taken over by the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Our guest is Professor Haruko Satoh from Osaka University who analyses recent Japan-Russian relations and the impact of the invasion of Ukraine. Twenty years after the Mombasa hotel bombing, a survivor recounts her experience. Also, the virologist who smuggled live HIV into Bulgaria in her handbag so she could start testing people. Plus the flour protests at the 1970 Miss World contest and the history of a keep fit phenomenon. Contributors: Yuzo Matsumoto - taken from his home on Etorofu in 1947 Professor Haruko Satoh - Osaka University Sally Alexander - protester at Miss World 1970 Kelly Hartog - survivor of the Mombasa hotel bombing Professor Radka Argirova - virologist from Bulgaria Annie Thorisdottir - CrossFit world champion

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Malaysia's Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, recounts being put on trial for sodomy and corruption. Our guest is the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, who tells us about Malaysian political history. Iran's first women's minister describes the challenges she had to overcome. We hear how the seat belt and cat's eyes were invented. And a Swedish man remembers the chaos when his country switched to driving on the right-hand-side of the road. Contributors: Anwar Ibrahim - Malaysian Prime Minister. Mahnaz Afkhami - Iran's first Minister of Women's Affairs. Gunnar Ornmark - step-son of the inventor of the modern seat belt. Glenda Shaw - great-niece of the inventor of cat's eyes. Bjorn Sylvern - on Sweden switching to driving on the right-hand-side.

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes, which focus on the Arabian Peninsula to mark the start of the football World Cup in Qatar. Our guest is Dr Wafa Alsayed, Lecturer in Political Science and History at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait. We hear about how the states across the peninsula won independence, and speak to the architect of the region's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. There's also the invention of the robot camel jockey, and a pioneering female Qatari author. On the World Cup theme, we end with the story of American popstar Diana Ross missing a penalty during the opening ceremony of the 1994 tournament. Contributors: Mohammed Al-Fahim on the formation of the UAE Adrian Smith, architect of the Burj Khalifa Kaltham Jaber, Qatari author Esan Maruff who developed robot camel jockeys Alan Rothenberg who organised the 1994 World Cup (Photo: Dubai skyline. Credit: Getty Images)

A collection of Witness History episodes, presented by Max Pearson. We look at how racism led to raids in the 1970s and protests in the 1980s in New Zealand, and the assassination of Pim Fortyn. In New Zealand in the 1970s, dawn raids targeted Polynesian migrants who had overstayed their work permits. In response, the community formed a resistance group, the Polynesian Panthers, in June 1971. Professor Niki Alsford of Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Central Lancashire in England, describes the importance of the apology by the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden was to Pacific Islanders in 2021. It’s been 20 years since one of the most controversial politicians in Europe was assassinated just days before a general election. We hear from a TV reporter who was one of the first people on the scene after Pim Fortuyn was shot. (Photo: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden at a service to apologise to Pacific Islanders. Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

A collection of Witness History episodes, looking at how young men in Africa have been exploited through football and and sex-selective abortion in India. Presented by Max Pearson. For millions of gamers all over the world Tonton Zola Moukoko is a cult hero. The Swedish-Congolese footballer found fame as a brilliant player in the computer game series Championship Manager. But in the real world, things were very different. African football expert and journalist Oluwashina Okeleji reports on the historic treatment of young African footballers as they try to break into European professional leagues. And we hear from feminist activist Manisha Gupte in India, who has campaigned against sex-selective abortion, eventually raising enough awareness to bring about a national law in 1994 - the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act. (Photo: Tonton in front of screenshot of Championship Manager. Credit: Tonton Zola Moukoko)

A collection of Witness History episodes, this week focusing on global events where women have taken a stand for equality from Sudan to Iran and Australia. In Iran in 1979, Islamic rules about how women dressed were just one of the issues women objected to during the Iranian revolution. The BBC's Rana Rahimpour discusses the protests currently taking place in Iran triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini with echoes of what happened in 1979. We also head to Sudan in 1991 when a law was introduced to control how women acted and dressed in public resulting in arrests, beatings and deaths. And we hear from a survivor of the 2002 Moscow siege when heavily armed Chechen rebels took an entire theatre full of people hostage, with some disturbing scenes. (Photo: Women during the Iranian revolution in 1979. Credit: Alain Dejean/Sygma via Getty Images)

A collection of the latest Witness History programmes which are all about Cuba. Presented by Max Pearson, who speaks to boxing journalist Steve Bunce about the nation's great boxers. Earlier this year, Cuba lifted the ban on professional boxing, which Fidel Castro imposed in 1962. Rachel Naylor speaks to Mike ‘The Rebel’ Perez, who escaped in 2007 after being rewarded with a fizzy drink and two snapper fish after winning a world amateur title for his country. His defection needed the assistance of Mexican gangsters, an Irish promoter with an eye for a winning fighter and a fishing boat. We also hear about a campaign aimed at eradicating illiteracy, a baseball match between Cuba and the US that was an act of diplomacy and the Cuban Missile Crisis which saw the world brought to the brink of nuclear war. (Photo: Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson at the 1980 Olympics. Credit: Jerry Cooke via Getty Images)

A collection of the latest Witness History programmes, presented by Max Pearson. We look at moments from around the world when workers took industrial action in pursuit of better conditions from geisha in Japan to tortured wig factory workers in South Korea. This programme contains descriptions of torture. Disney cartoonists went on strike for nine weeks in 1941. They were led by Art Babbitt, Disney’s top animator who created Goofy. The picket line was remarkable for its colourful artwork and support from Hollywood actors. Anousha Sakoui, an entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times discusses the impact of the Disney strikes and significant moments when Hollywood workers fought for their rights. (Photo: Art Babbitt leads Disney animators holding placards with cartoon characters at a film premiere. Credit: Kosti Ruohomaa, a former Disney worker, courtesy of Cowan-Fouts Collection)

A collection of this week's Witness History programmes, presented by Max Pearson. The guest is Dr Emily Zobel Marshall. She explains the rise of festivals around the world celebrating Caribbean culture. In 1962, Nigerian man Phil Magbotiwan opened a brand new nightclub in Manchester, UK. In part because of his own personal experiences of racism, Phil wanted to create somewhere where everyone would be welcome – Manchester’s first racially inclusive nightclub. The Reno was born. Phil’s youngest daughter, Lisa Ayegun has been speaking to Matt Pintus about the venue. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. We also hear about how an Israeli solider was brought back home after spending five years in captivity in Gaza, the fall of Slobodan Milosevic and how a low budget film staring musician Jimmy Cliff brought reggae to the world. (Photo: A woman having a good time at Claudia Jones' Caribbean carnival, at St Pancras Town Hall in London, 1959. Credit: Daily Mirror via Getty Images)

A collection of this week's Witness History programmes, presented by Max Pearson. The guest is Nicholas Smith, author of "Kicks: The Great American Story of Sneakers" and Presenter of the BBC's "Sneakernomics" podcast. He explains how footwear revolutionised sport and became high-fashion. In 1948, two brothers from a small German town called Rudi and Adi Dassler created the sportswear firms Puma and Adidas. Reena Stanton-Sharma hears from Adi Dassler’s daughter, Sigi Dassler, who remembers her father's obsession with footwear and talks about her fondness for the rappers, Run-DMC, who paid tribute to her dad’s shoes in a song. We also hear about one man's mission to castrate Pablo Escobar's hippos, the unpredictable rule of Kenya's former President, Jomo Kenyatta, the 'Japanese Schindler', and the raising of the 400-year-old Mary Rose. (Photo: Adi Dassler. Credit: Brauner/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

We look at some of the broadcasts delivered by Queen Elizabeth II including her first radio address to the children of the Commonwealth on 13 October 1940. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond looks back on the Queen's significant moments in front of a microphone. Pope Paul VI's first visit to Africa when he travelled to Uganda in 1969, and was hosted by an Ismaili Muslim family and the start of the Iran-Iraq war in September 1980. (Photo: Princess Elizabeth makes a broadcast from the gardens of Government House in Cape Town, South Africa, on her 21st birthday. Credit: BBC)

We hear personal accounts of historical moments during the seventy year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Memories from the Queen's maids of honour from her coronation in 1953; the huge race her horse very nearly won as well as the Windsor Castle fire and the opening to the public of Buckingham Palace. Presented by Max Pearson. (Photo: Queen Elizabeth II. Credit: Getty Images)

Stories from Brazil, ahead of the presidential election in October, including the murder of Tim Lopes, the hero of Brazilian democracy and the Candelaria Massacre. Plus the creation of the capital, Brasilia, and the history of the Fusca - the car that charmed Brazil. This programme contains descriptions of violence and some listeners may find parts of it distressing. (Photo: Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Buena Vista Images)

The former President of the Soviet Union's reforms in 1987, known as Perestroika, and the release of the dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya in 1986. Plus a survivor of the Marikana Massacre in South Africa, the Native American nicknamed 'the Last Indian' and Princess Diana's dance with John Travolta at the White House. (Photo: Mikhail Gorbachev (centre right) meets with the Warsaw Pact Foreign Ministers' Committee in Moscow in 1987. Credit: AFP / Getty Images)

A compilation of witness accounts from when inflation and the cost of living were seriously affecting people's lives, among other topics. In 1971, inflation was a huge problem in the USA so the President, Richard Nixon, made one of the most drastic moves in economic history; abandoning the Gold Standard. It became known as the 'Nixon Shock' and nearly caused a trade war between America and its allies. But, it also saved the US economy from a crisis. Ben Henderson spoke to Bob Hormats, an economic adviser in the Nixon administration, who was at the heart of decision-making. In 1997, Bulgaria was in financial meltdown with hyperinflation making money worth a lot less. The country had emerged out of communism following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Like other post-Soviet regimes, the country found the transition from communism to capitalism harder than expected. The President of Bulgaria, Petar Stoyanov, knew he had to do something and a recovery plan from one of Ronald Reagan’s key economic advisers was on the table. But would it work? Matt Pintus has been speaking to Steve Hanke, an economics professor. In January 1980, Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) party was voted into power in India. Before the election, inflation meant that the cost of onions was unaffordable for many Indians. The price of the vegetable became a political hot potato in the election campaign. Reena Stanton-Sharma spoke to Suda Pai, a former Professor of Political Science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. In 2012, Syrian government soldiers surrounded Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, bombing buildings and searching for people who had spoken out against President Assad. Hundreds of people died over four days in what was described by activists as a “massacre”. Mohamad Zarda has been speaking to Laura Jones. It has been 40 years since the first Gay Games were held in San Francisco in 1982. Attracting a large crowd and featuring more than 1,000 athletes from more than 100 countries, the event was organised by a group of LGBT activists, including former Olympians, to raise awareness of homophobia in sport. The Gay Games are now held every four years at venues around the world. In 2019, Ashley Byrne spoke to organiser Sara Waddell Lewinstein and athlete Rick Tomin. A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service. (Photo: President Richard Nixon with his economic advisers in 1971. Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a compilation of stories marking 75 years since India's Partition. We'll hear the stories of people from both sides of the divide and find out about partition’s effect on the subcontinent’s diaspora. Also, the daughter of the last British Viceroy in India, Lord Mountbatten, remembers the transfer of power in 1947. Plus, we'll hear about the death of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and how one of India’s greatest poets known as the ‘Bard of Bengal’, Rabindranath Tagore, became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. (Photo: Wrecked buildings after communal riots in Amritsar, Punjab, during the Partition of British India, March 1947. Credit: Getty Images)

Max Pearson introduces first-hand accounts of the nightclub that changed Ibiza, some of the worst forest fires in history, the resignation of Richard Nixon, discovering the Hale Bopp comet and Sweden’s pronoun battle. (Photo: Sunset over the sea in Ibiza with boats in the distance. Credit: BBC and Minnow Films)

Compilation of stories marking 50 years since Idi Amin expelled thousands of Asians from Uganda in 1972. We hear about why they migrated there, their expulsion, and what they did next. Jamie Govani’s grandparents always dreamed about finding a better life away from India. After getting married in the Indian state of Gujarat in the 1920s, they decided to pack their bags and move to Uganda with their young family. It was a wonderful place to grow up for Jamie, but racial segregation lingered in the background, and things began to change after Ugandan independence in 1962. She’s been speaking to Ben Henderson. As well as in Uganda, there was also an Asian population in Kenya, who experienced discrimination. This was initially from white settlers but, after independence, it came from black Kenyans too. Following the partition of India in 1947, Saleem Sheikh’s parents fled to Kenya. His family joined a thriving Asian community there. But, they were forced to leave in the late 1960s after a rise in violence against the Asian population. Saleem tells Ben Henderson about his life. In August 1972, the dictator Idi Amin announced that all Asians had just 90 days to leave Uganda. Nurdin Dawood, who was a teacher with a young family, initially didn't believe that Amin was being serious. But soon he was desperately searching for a country to call home. He spoke to his daughter Farhana Dawood in 2011. Thousands of Asians who were expelled from Uganda in 1972 settled in the UK and many made the city of Leicester their home. They helped to shape the east Midlands city’s identity with lots of new businesses. Now Leicester has the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India. Nisha Popat was nine-years-old when she arrived there with her family who later opened a restaurant in the area that became known as the Golden Mile. Nisha tells her story to Reena Stanton-Sharma. President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986. He encouraged exiled Asians to return to Uganda and reclaim their homes and businesses in order to rebuild the country. The economy had collapsed under the dictator Idi Amin. Dr. Mumtaz Kassam was one of the people who went back to Uganda years after arriving in the UK as a refugee. She talks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about returning to the country that had expelled her. (Picture of Jamie Govani's grandparents, aunts and uncles in Uganda in the 1950s) The following programme has been updated since its original broadcast.

A student protest in Ukraine, the Surkov leaks, the world’s deadliest ever earthquake, a leaflet bomber in South Africa and the invention of the nicotine patch. (Photo: Oksana Zabuzhko wearing a red jumper at the Revolution on Granite in 1990)

The history of television from around the world and its enduring impact, including a look at Nigeria's sitcom Papa Ajasco and an interview with actor turned food writer and Indian TV cook Madhur Jaffrey. Also we take you behind the scenes of telenovelas- Mexican soap operas and one of the most successful drama schools in Latin America The Centro de Educación Artística.

Stories from around the world on women's reproductive rights. Women fighting both sides of the abortion debate as well as the first Muslim country to legalise abortion. Also, the development of the Pill and why Japan took so long to make it legal for women. (Image: Speakers from Tunisia Women's Union at an event. Credit: Saida El Gueyed)

In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States. He was a drag queen called Jose Sarria, well-known for his performances at the bohemian 'Black Cat' bar in San Francisco. He was determined to stop gay people being second-class citizens. His friend and fellow drag performer Mike-Michelle spoke to Josephine McDermott about his memories of the campaign. In 1928 the smear test was invented by Dr George Papanicoloau, a Greek immigrant who had made a new life in the United States. He discovered a way of detecting changes in cells from a woman’s cervix, which meant cancer could be prevented from developing. His work has stopped millions of women worldwide getting cancer. Dr Papanicolaou’s great niece Olga Stamatiou speaks to Laura Jones. It’s 10 years since scientists in Geneva said they believed they had found the Higgs Boson - known as the 'God particle'. In July 2012 after more than 40 years of searching, teams taking part in experiments at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed the existence of the particle which gives everything mass. Dr André David from CERN speaks to Laura Jones. In 1968 and early 1969 university students across Japan fought pitched battles with riot police after they barricaded themselves into their lecture halls and went on strike. They were protesting about the poor quality of their education and the inequalities of Japanese society in a period of rapid economic change. Emily Finch talks to Kazuki Kumamoto who was a young student who joined the protests. This is a Whistledown production for BBC World Service. The south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra. In response, Nigerian forces invaded the state on the 6th July 1967, beginning the Nigerian Civil War. More than a million people died before the fighting stopped. We bring you one child’s story of getting caught up in the frontline. In 2021 Paul Waters spoke to Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe, now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye, who was 13 years old when she had to try to escape the conflict. (Photo: Jose Sarria in drag. Credit: The Jose Sarria Foundation)

Stories from Hong Kong, 25 years on since the handover from British to Chinese rule. We hear from the last governor of Hong Kong, a pro democracy campaigner and about life in Kowloon Walled City. (Photo: Chris Patten at the handover ceremony of Hong Kong from Britain to China. Credit: Getty Images)