
The History Hour
BBC World Service
A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.
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Top 10 The History Hour Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The History Hour episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The History Hour for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The History Hour episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The death penalty and broadcasting bans
The History Hour
01/28/23 • 51 min
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)
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Pink triangles and political assassinations
The History Hour
03/04/23 • 51 min
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)
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Stories from iconic TV shows from around the world
The History Hour
07/23/22 • 51 min
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.
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Adopted By The Man Who Killed My Family
The History Hour
12/08/18 • 50 min
A child survivor of a Guatemalan army massacre during the country's brutal civil war, the women who cleared up post war Berlin, plus Armenia's 1988 earthquake, how Bokassa became Emperor of the Central African Republic, and Angela Merkel's rise to power. Photo: Ramiro as a child in Guatemala (R.Osorio)

Why a British MP was filmed taking mescaline
The History Hour
05/15/21 • 50 min
# Warning: This programme contains descriptions of drug use # In 1955 Christopher Mayhew MP took the hallucinogenic drug mescaline for a TV experiment. We look back at the history of psychedelic research and speak to Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. Plus, the battle to legalise contraception in Ireland, a pro-democracy activist in China, the chemical and biological weapons programme in apartheid South Africa, and why thousands of Jews secretly fled Iraq in the 1970s.

US withdrawal: The Fall of Saigon
The History Hour
08/21/21 • 55 min
The desperate scramble to evacuate the US embassy at the end of the Vietnam war in 1975, also the 1940s Indian radio station calling for independence. We'll look at life as a 'human shield' in Iraq under Saddam, the man who invented the term 'genocide' and why, and the messy diplomatic embarrassment of Nicolae Ceaușescu's visit to The Queen in 1978.
(Photo: A CIA employee helps Vietnamese evacuees onto an Air America helicopter from the top of 22 Gia Long Street, a half mile from the U.S. Embassy. April 1975. Getty Images.)

Disability History special
The History Hour
11/28/20 • 50 min
We look back at the fight for disability rights in the UK and India in the 1990s, plus the remarkable life of Helen Keller as told by her great niece, how a Rwandan Paralympic volleyball team made history, and the invention of the iconic disability vehicle, the Invacar. And we speak to Colin Barnes, Emeritus Professor of Disability Studies at Leeds University, about the historic struggle for disabled rights and recognition.
Photo: A disabled woman on her mobility scooter is carried away by four policemen after obstructing the traffic outside the Houses of Parliament. Credit: PA Archive/PA Images

The Capture of the USS Pueblo
The History Hour
01/27/18 • 50 min
When North Korea and the US came close to war in 1968; plus Salvador Dali, re-creating Francis Bacon's studio, the first veggie burger and the origins of Lego Photo: Members of the USS Pueblo's crew being taken into custody. Credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service

Prozac
The History Hour
02/06/16 • 50 min
The birth of the Prozac generation, the battle to save Afghanistan's ancient artworks and death and violence in the Spanish embassy in Guatemala. Plus we hear about an American political corruption scandal and the launch of the Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Man Who Inspired Britain's First Aids Charity
The History Hour
12/01/18 • 50 min
The first man in Britain to die of AIDS, whale hunting in the South Atlantic in the 1950s, how Norway voted not to join the EU, the American adventurer who inspired the Indiana Jones stories, and Saddam Hussein's draining of Iraq's southern marshes in a bid to flush out his opponents.
Picture: Terrence Higgins (Courtesy: Dr Rupert Whitaker)
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FAQ
How many episodes does The History Hour have?
The History Hour currently has 434 episodes available.
What topics does The History Hour cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, History, Personal Journals and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on The History Hour?
The episode title 'Stories from iconic TV shows from around the world' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The History Hour?
The average episode length on The History Hour is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of The History Hour released?
Episodes of The History Hour are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of The History Hour?
The first episode of The History Hour was released on Aug 15, 2015.
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