Podcast · 65 episodes
The History Hour
by BBC World Service · English
A compilation of the latest Witness History programmes.
Latest episodes
Manchester's racially inclusive nightclub and the artist who portrayed Nelson Mandela from lifeThis episode of BBC World Service’s History Hour focuses on Manchester’s role in major social and political change, plus two art and culture stories tied to wider global history.26 Sep 2026 · 1 h
Norway's teacher resistance and Ireland's deadly nightclub fireThe episode draws on BBC Witness History to cover (1) Norwegian teacher resistance to Nazi propaganda during WWII, (2) Ireland’s 1981 Stardust nightclub fire and its aftermath, (3) how cable modem…19 Sep 2026 · 1 h
The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11This episode of BBC History Hour (Witness History) moves through several true stories. It opens with the Bayeux Tapestry’s return to Britain and the 1994 rediscovery of Nazi-era research documents.12 Sep 2026 · 1 h 3 min
All episodes
Manchester's racially inclusive nightclub and the artist who portrayed Nelson Mandela from lifeThis episode of BBC World Service’s History Hour focuses on Manchester’s role in major social and political change, plus two art and culture stories tied to wider global history.26 Sep 2026 · 1 h · 20 chapters
Norway's teacher resistance and Ireland's deadly nightclub fireThe episode draws on BBC Witness History to cover (1) Norwegian teacher resistance to Nazi propaganda during WWII, (2) Ireland’s 1981 Stardust nightclub fire and its aftermath, (3) how cable modem…19 Sep 2026 · 1 h · 20 chapters
The mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry and surviving 9/11This episode of BBC History Hour (Witness History) moves through several true stories. It opens with the Bayeux Tapestry’s return to Britain and the 1994 rediscovery of Nazi-era research documents.12 Sep 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 20 chapters
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toysScience fiction across media, anchored by E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), plus Star Trek’s 1968 interracial kiss, Turkey’s “Turkish Star Wars” (Dünyaya Kötar and Adam), and how Star Wars toy…6 Sep 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 24 chapters
Voting for water and surviving a hurricaneThe episode is a BBC World Service “History Hour” compilation focused on water rights and hurricane survival, plus several unrelated historical witness stories (a Pan Am hijacking, Auschwitz photo…29 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 19 chapters
The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwwormThe episode is a BBC History Hour compilation covering four topics: the Battle of Mandalay (March 1945) and how BBC radio recorded the fighting; Canada’s 1950s outport resettlement program; the 1950s…22 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 28 chapters
The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lionsThe episode is a BBC World Service “History Hour” collection of eyewitness stories from Kenya, plus one sports segment.15 Aug 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 25 chapters
Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of GodThe episode is a BBC History Hour “Witness History” compilation that moves across eras and places, using personal testimony to explain how major events shaped culture and institutions.8 Aug 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 16 chapters
The first Comic Con and making Oasis’ WonderwallThe episode is a wide-ranging BBC History Hour episode on how popular culture and politics shape public life.1 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 18 chapters
Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse MemorialA BBC World Service “Witness History” special that moves through multiple stories: Solar Impulse 2’s 10th-anniversary solar-powered circumnavigation; the origins and construction of the Crazy Horse…25 Jul 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 21 chapters
The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bagA BBC History Hour episode that links multiple historical stories: the Spanish Civil War through one Basque child’s experience; the 1967 “Kiss of Life” Pulitzer-winning rescue photo; Inuit activism…18 Jul 2026 · 1 h · 23 chapters
Buildings of power and the Dada art movementThe episode is a BBC History Hour/Witness History compilation about how power and institutions shape people and places, from architecture and art to protest, disaster, and nation-building.11 Jul 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 20 chapters
The return of Chief Long Wolf and The Statue of Liberty's faceliftThis episode of BBC Witness History (History Hour) and related segments marks major US milestones and controversies around 250 years of independence, plus three landmark stories: repatriation of…3 Jul 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 14 chapters
The Slip Slop Slap campaign and the Brexit referendumHow public campaigns and political events shaped public life, moving from Australia’s “Slip Slop Slap” skin-cancer messaging to the Irish perspective on the 2016 Brexit referendum, then to other…27 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 21 chapters
An uprising in South Africa and an exodus in the CaucasusThe episode of BBC History Hour (Witness History) is built around “a week’s worth” of historical stories, mainly: the Soweto Uprising in South Africa (1976), the Abkhazia conflict and Georgian/ethnic…19 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 14 chapters
Opening the archives: A cellist, a playwright and a kingBBC History Hour “Witness History” episode drawn from BBC archives, focused on how audio recordings preserve personal testimony and cultural memory.13 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 24 chapters
The creation of Inspector Montalbano and Australia's first Big ThingThe episode of BBC World Service’s History Hour uses first-hand accounts and archive material to cover (1) how Andrea Camilleri created Inspector Montalbano and helped spark a new wave of Italian…6 Jun 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 28 chapters
Mexican history: A love song and a gas explosionA BBC History Hour episode featuring multiple stories from Mexico’s past: the origin of the Spanish love song “Bésame Mucho,” the 1984 San Juanico (San Juan Ixuatepec) gas explosion, Mexico’s 2000…30 May 2026 · 1 h · 16 chapters
Belgium’s royal affair and Montenegro gains independenceA BBC “History Hour” episode compiling three Witness History stories: (1) a Belgian royal scandal sparked by an unauthorized teen biography; (2) a women-led underground newspaper in communist Poland…23 May 2026 · 51 min · 22 chapters
The first reality game show and a joik performance on EurovisionThis BBC History Hour episode (Witness History) moves through several stories: the origins of reality TV, Canada’s residential schools truth process, feathered dinosaur evidence, slavery archaeology…16 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 33 chapters
Sir David Attenborough's first Zoo Quest and a WW2 sabotage mission in NorwayThe episode (BBC History Hour) links multiple “Witness History” stories.9 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 21 chapters
The world’s first perfume archive and Dutch car-free Sundays in the global oil crisisA BBC History Hour “Witness History” collection spanning (1) the Osmothèque, the world’s first perfume archive opened in Versailles in 1990; (2) how the 1973–74 oil crisis led the Dutch government to…1 May 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 15 chapters
Cleaning up Chernobyl and Canada’s war in the woodsWitness History episode collection; main segment focuses on Chernobyl “liquidators” cleaning up after the 26 April 1986 reactor 4 explosion, plus related stories (Mexico’s 2007 Tabasco floods, South…25 Apr 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 27 chapters
Winning the Booker Prize and discovering a lost fairytaleRoddy Doyle’s 1993 Booker Prize win for Paddy Clark, Ha Ha Ha; plus other Witness History segments including Aceh’s 2005 Sharia law canings, Thomas Sankara’s 1987 assassination, a lost Hans Christian…18 Apr 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 20 chapters