The History Hour

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 Sherif Ali - Egyptian actor (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. (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. 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. 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 (Photo: Two books of photographs in the exhibition 'Martin Chambi and his contemporaries’. Credit: Getty Images)