The History Hour

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
Our guest is Dr. April Nowell, a paleolithic archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria in Canada.
We start by hearing how in 2012, archaeologists on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi made a discovery that changed our understanding of early human history.
Next, we're in the UK in 1957, as the final touches are made to what was then the largest radio telescope in the world: Jodrell Bank.
Plus, how the contraceptive pill was finally legalised in Japan in 1999, after decades of campaigning.
Then we go back to 1947 for what's been described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century: the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And we hear one soldier's account of the siege of Ladysmith, a key moment in the Boer War in 1899.
Finally, we're in Kenya for the start of one athlete's historic journey to javelin gold at the World Athletics Championships in 2015.
Contributors:
Professor Maxime Aubert - archaeologist, Griffith University, Australia
Sir Bernard Lovell - British radio astronomer and physicist (archive)
Yoriko Madoka - Japanese politician
Gerald Lankester Harding - British archaeologist (archive)
James Dalton - British Army bandsman with the Gordon Highlanders (archive)
Julius Yego ('Mr YouTube Man') - Kenyan track and field athlete
(Photo: Cave painting, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Maxime Aubert)

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)