The History Hour

The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that t

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys

Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science F

Voting for water and surviving a hurricane

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitutio

The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism

The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya. We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out o

Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of God

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. This week, we hear about the end of decades-long martial law in Taiwan and discuss its impact o

The first Comic Con and making Oasis’ Wonderwall

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear how a comic book fan and his friends began the very first

Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other mom

The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil

Buildings of power and the Dada art movement

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University o

The return of Chief Long Wolf and The Statue of Liberty's facelift

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jan English from the American Museum and Gardens in

The Slip Slop Slap campaign and the Brexit referendum

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at t

An uprising in South Africa and an exodus in the Caucasus

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern Afric

Opening the archives: A cellist, a playwright and a king

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to

The creation of Inspector Montalbano and Australia's first Big Thing

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir fr

Mexican history: A love song and a gas explosion

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Michelle Meinhart, a reader in musicology and cultura

Belgium’s royal affair and Montenegro gains independence

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. First, the story of the Belgian teenager who exposed a scandal wi

The first reality game show and a joik performance on Eurovision

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with the launch of Expedition Robinson in Sweden in 1997

Sir David Attenborough's first Zoo Quest and a WW2 sabotage mission in Norway

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with the broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborou

The world’s first perfume archive and Dutch car-free Sundays in the global oil crisis

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear from a perfumer who in 1990 helped create the wo