The History Hour

A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.

World Service,487 episodes

Episodes

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The House of the Spirits and Tracey Emin's unmade bed
Isabel Allende's debut novel in 1982 and a controversial piece of art in 1999
10 Jan 2026,61 mins
The American Freedom Train and the invention of text messaging
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes
03 Jan 2026,60 mins
The history of toys
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes
27 Dec 2025,61 mins
Norway’s sushi contribution and Laurel and Hardy’s Christmas
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes
20 Dec 2025,60 mins
Banky's 'Dismaland' and the Paris climate agreement
Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes
13 Dec 2025,60 mins
Nigerian history
Max Pearson presents a collection of Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes
06 Dec 2025,60 mins
Literary hoaxes and an underground cathedral
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes
29 Nov 2025,61 mins
Juan Carlos becomes King of Spain and ending the Bosnian war
King Juan Carlos takes the throne in 1975 and the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995
22 Nov 2025,60 mins
Speed of Sound and prosecuting Nazis
The first major war crimes trial in 1945 and breaking the sound barrier in 1947
15 Nov 2025,61 mins
The largest dinosaur and creating Miffy
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes
08 Nov 2025,60 mins
Emerante de Pradines and Orson Welles’s The War of the Worlds
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes
01 Nov 2025,60 mins
Music producer Sonny Roberts and treating diabetes
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s witness history episodes
25 Oct 2025,60 mins
Nordic Noir and the Moomins
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes about writers.
18 Oct 2025,60 mins
The evacuation of Tristan da Cunha and Japan surrenders to China at the end of World War Two
The evacuation of a remote island in 1961 and Japan's surrender in Beijing in 1945
11 Oct 2025,59 mins
India's nine day tea strike and the birth of the Excel spreadsheet
An hour of historical reporting told by the people who were there.
04 Oct 2025,59 mins
The origins of Indian cinema and the start of Scouting
An hour of historical reporting told by the people who were there.
27 Sep 2025,60 mins
The fight against sexual harassment in Egypt and Omar Sharif enters the world stage
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from Egypt
20 Sep 2025,59 mins
Nigeria’s Festac’77 and Gander’s generosity during 9/11
The 1977 celebration of African culture and sanctuary for 7000 stranded flight passengers
13 Sep 2025,60 mins
The Chindits and USAID
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's episodes of Witness History
06 Sep 2025,60 mins
Washington DC and a film noir classic
The 1991 riots that erupted in the US capital, plus the making of a movie classic
30 Aug 2025,60 mins
BlackBerry phones and Spot the dog
The rise and fall of BlackBerry phones, and the interactive children's book
23 Aug 2025,59 mins
Indonesian history
It's 80 years since Indonesia declared independence
16 Aug 2025,50 mins
Nagasaki bomb and Brazil’s biggest bank heist
An hour of historical reporting told by the people who were there
09 Aug 2025,50 mins
Russian revolutionaries and Japan’s record breaking rollercoaster
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes
02 Aug 2025,50 mins
Saxophone diplomacy and bulletproof vests
An hour of historical reporting told by the people who were there
26 Jul 2025,50 mins
Nuclear diplomacy and Italo disco
The 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and Ryan Paris' 1983 hit Dolce Vita
19 Jul 2025,51 mins
The 'trial of the juntas' and Evita’s missing body
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes from Argentina
12 Jul 2025,50 mins
Dancing in the Street and Ai Weiwei
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes
05 Jul 2025,50 mins
Robert Kennedy's funeral train and the opening of the Medellin Metro
A collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service
28 Jun 2025,50 mins
Jaws and the Charleston church shooting
An hour of historical reporting told by the people who were there
21 Jun 2025,51 mins