The History Hour

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We dedicate this edition to Manchester, in England. We hear about the man who opened the city's first racially inclusive nightclub in 1962. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. Our guest Kath McDermott, a Mancunian DJ and producer at BBC 6 Music, tells us about Manchester's musical scene and how it helped shape the town’s culture and identity.
The acclaimed artist Harold Riley was a local to Greater Manchester and also the only one granted access to paint Nelson Mandela from life.
Plus, we remember the time the city hosted the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945, where activists from around the world met to discuss the struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination.
And we go back to 1948, when the University of Manchester developed ‘Baby,’ the world’s first stored-program computer.
Also, the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District that challenged private landownership to demand access to the countryside.
And the UK’s first female football photographer.
Contributors:
Lisa Ayegun – daughter of Phil Magbotiwan, the founder of The Reno.
Harold Riley – artist (archive).
Peter Abrahams – African National Congress activist and writer.
Tom Kilburn – creator of the 'Baby' computer (archive).
Hakim Adi – historian.
Benny Rothman – organiser of the Kinder Scout mass tresspass (archive).
Harry Rothman – son of Benny Rothman.
Magi Haroun – football photographer.
(Photo: Albert Square in Manchester in 1968. Credit: Manchester Evening News Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear how Norwegian teachers resisted peddling Nazi propaganda during the German occupation of the Second World War and our guest, Dr Rachel Pistol, talks us through other examples of resistance around Europe.
Plus, the Stardust nightclub fire in Dublin in 1981, the Iranian engineer who connected homes to the internet using cable TV and the birth of India's call centre industry.
Finally, this week's Sporting Witness - the most successful Paralympian and the discovery of the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks.
Contributors:
Mr Roll Hansen - Norwegian teacher.
Dr Rachel Pistol - a historian specialising in the Second World War, from the University of Southampton.
Antoinette Keegan - survivor of the Stardust nightclub fire.
Rouzbeh Yassini - father of the cable modem.
Pramod Bhasin - businessman who set up India’s first call centre.
Trischa Zorn-Hudson - the most successful Paralympian.
Juan Manuel Santos - former President of Colombia.
(Photo: German troops marching through Oslo in occupied Norway during World War Two in 1940. Credit: European / FPG / Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two.
Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us through the finer details of the famous medieval tapestry.
Plus, communist fighters struggling to survive while following Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War in 1935.
The firefighter who survived the collapse of the North Tower with his crew during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The Irish woman whose report changed the date of D-Day, and the winner of the first Rubik's Cube World Championship.
We also learn how reports of a moving statue in rural Ireland drew thousands of visitors in 1985.
Contributors:
Sylvette Lemagnen - former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry

Catherine Clarke - Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Zhong Ming - soldier in Mao Zedong's army
Jay Jonas - former New York firefighter
Edward Sweeney - son of Maureen Flavin
Minh Thai - Rubik's Cube World Champion 1982
Ita Dungan - pilgrim to the site of the reported moving statue in Ballinspittle
(Photo: The Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau)

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 fiction.
Plus, how American television boldly went where it had never gone before with what is claimed to be the country’s first interracial kiss broadcast on television, in an episode of Star Trek in 1968.
We also hear about Turkish Star Wars, the cult film that would go on to gain a reputation as one of the world's worst movies.
And how the success of the original Star Wars transformed toy marketing forever.
Then, in Sporting Witness, the story behind Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien's legendary reaction to Norway's 2-1 victory over England in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo in 1981.
Contributors:
Lisa Yaszek - Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech in the USA.
Peter Coyote - actor in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Nisi Shawl - friend of Octavia E. Butler.
Nichelle Nichols - actress who played Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek (archive).
Çetin İnanç - film director (archive).
Jim Swearingen - toy designer.
Marius Lillelien - son of Bjørge Lillelien.
(Photo: On the set of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Credit: Universal/Getty Images)

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 more about the abandoned Nazi photo album revealing the chilling normality of life at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Plus, how a Northern Ireland peace movement was born from one family’s tragedy.
Finally, in Sporting Witness, why Ghana’s sprinting superstar Alice Annum won the nickname ‘Baby Jet’.
Contributors:
Carmen Sosa - member of the water workers trade union.
Ellen Arnold – environmental historian.
Eli Fuller – Antigua resident.
Madhvi Bahunga - Pan-American Airways flight attendant.
Rebecca Erbelding – archivist and historian.
Gerry Grehan - chairperson of the Peace People.
Alice Annum - Ghanian sprinter.
(Photo: A woman casts her ballot in Montevideo, 2004. Credit: Miguel Rojo/AFP via Getty Images)