The History Hour

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 Attenborough. To mark his 100th birthday, we go back to the mid 1950s and the television programme that launched his career. Our guest is Dr Paula Kahumbu, a Kenyan conservationist and head of the conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct.
Then, the story of a World War Two sabotage plot carried out by a team of Norwegian resistance fighters.
We hear about Africa's worst stadium disaster, at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana.
Plus, a Spanish nun reflects on the killing of two fellow sisters during the Algerian civil conflict in the 1990s.
We also hear how the world's most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was found in South Dakota, USA, in 1990.
Finally, how the Nigerian 4 x 400m relay team were declared Olympic champions, 12 years after the race.
Contributors:
Sir David Attenborough - naturalist and broadcaster (BBC archive)
Dr Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Kenyan conservation organisation, Wildlife Direct
Gunnar Deinboll Jenssen - nephew of the Norwegian resistance fighter Lieutenant Peter Deinboll
Herbert Mensah - former chair of the football club Asante Kotoko
Sister Lourdes Migueles - Spanish nun who chose to stay in Algeria during civil conflict
Peter Larson - American commercial fossil collector and researcher
Enefiok Udo-Obong - former Nigerian sprinter
(Photo: Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster, with two ring-tailed lemurs. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

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 world’s first perfume archive in Versailles France. Our guest is Dr William Tullett, a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York and author of Sniff, History of Smells.
Then, we hear how in 1991 African journalists created the Windhoek declaration - a set of free press principles. It led to World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May.
Next, the global oil crisis of 1973. A former Dutch politician tells us how the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to introduce car-free Sundays.
Plus, the philosopher on how his 1972 essay on the Drowning Child thought experiment inspired the Effective Altruism movement.
And President Obama’s speech writer on how secret negotiations in 2014 improved relations between the US and Cuba.
Finally, a Sporting Witness on the Juventus match-fixing scandal in 2006.
Contributors:
Jean Claude Ellena - perfumer
Dr Will Tullett - Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York and author of Sniff, History of Smells
Wim Meijer - State Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Social Work in the Den Uyl Labour Government
Peter Singer - philosopher
Ben Rhodes - Barack Obama’s speech writer
Paddy Agnew - journalist
(Photo: Perfume bottles. Credit: Walter Zerla via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
On the 40th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, we hear from one man involved in the clean-up operation.
Our guest is Jordan Dunbar, presenter of the BBC documentary ‘The Last Dance Floor in Chernobyl’.
Next, we hear about the worst floods in 50 years that the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced and the race to save thousands of animals in Paraguay and Brazil in 1982.
Plus, the unexpected drought in the Danube River in 2011 and when Canada saw their largest ever campaign of civil disobedience in 1993 to save a rainforest.
In our episode of Sporting Witness, the tale of the 1981 film ‘Escape to Victory’.
Contributors:
Yurіy Skaletskyy – former radiological officer in Soviet Union military
Jordan Dunbar – BBC presenter
Marco Franco – emergency co-ordinator for the Red Cross in Mexico
Dario Perez Chena – rescue worker in the Mymba Kuera operation
Kristian Yakimov - an ecologist and tourist guide in Bulgaria
Tzeporah Berman – environmental activist in Canada
(Photo: Chernobyl in the aftermath of the explosion in 1986. Credit: SHONE/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

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)