HeyJaredThe History Hour
A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 9
- Latest publication
- Sep 6, 2026
- Audience
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 11, 2026
Latest episodes
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys (opens the original)
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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 Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA. Actor Peter Coyote looks back on the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, sharing memories from the set and reflecting on the film's enduring appeal. We hear the story of Octavia E. Butler, who overcame poverty, racism and sexism to become one of the most influential voices in science f
Voting for water and surviving a hurricane (opens the original)
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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 constitution - the first country in the world to do so. And environmental historian Ellen Arnold reveals how water has shaped human history. Also, we tell the story of the fatal hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan, 40 years ago. And how the island of Antigua was devastated when Hurricane Luis hit the Caribbean in 1995. We find out mor
The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm (opens the original)
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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 at St John's University in New York, USA. We start by hearing some groundbreaking frontline reporting from the Battle of Mandalay in World War Two. Then, we hear how in 1950s Canada, a controversial government scheme saw the relocation of nearly 30 thousand people. Next, a pioneering scientist on his role in the fight against a
The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions (opens the original)
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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 of hiding and lay down her arms. Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutality of the conflict between Kenya’s Land and Freedom Army, the British and Kenyan loyalists. Next, when Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel, a lodge in the Aberdare National Park. In 199
Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of God (opens the original)
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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 on the country's literature with Ti-han Chang, the Deputy Director of Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS University of London. Next, the making of City of God, the film that showed the raw reality of children's gangs in Brazil's favelas. Plus, we remember Ashley Kriel, the young activist who became an anti-apartheid icon on the Cape
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