The US presidential election of 2000 was one of the closest and most contested in history. It was more than a month before the result was decided after a Supreme Court decision. It all came down to the vote in Florida, where irregularities and technical problems added to the confusion. In the end it's thought there were just a few hundred votes in it but the result still divides opinion. Callie Shell was the official photographer for Al Gore's presidential campaign and documented the dramatic ev...
Aug 06, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pete Souza was Chief Official White House Photographer during Barack Obama's presidency. His photo from when Bin Laden was killed by US soldiers in 2011 has become one of his most famous. He tells Uma Doraiswamy what that day was like leading up to the moment when he took the photo. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minut...
Aug 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2014, the ice bucket challenge craze took over the internet. Millions of people including sports stars and celebrities filmed themselves being doused in ice cold water for charity. Nancy Frates' son Pete helped to make the ice bucket challenge become a phenomenon. Nancy tells Gill Kearsley the poignant story of how the challenge went from a simple idea to world news. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events...
Aug 02, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names of people who have died. Nearly 60 years ago, a group of university students set out on a bus to challenge the discrimination of Australia’s indigenous people. Led by Sydney University’s first indigenous undergraduate, Charles Perkins, they toured north-western New South Wales highlighting the public pools, cinemas, theatres and pubs in country towns where Aboriginal people were excluded or segregat...
Aug 01, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1998, brown bears were declared a protected species in Bulgaria and the ancient tradition of forcing them to dance for people's entertainment became illegal. A veterinarian called Dr Amir Khalil helped establish a bear sanctuary in the country, to look after the retired animals. In this programme, first broadcast in 2018, he spoke to Farhana Haider. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped ...
Jul 31, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Islamic State (IS) militants took control of Syria and Iraq in June 2014, the entire Yazidi population in Sinjar were immediately in grave danger. The Sunni Muslims of IS believed Yazidis were infidels and should either convert to Islam or be killed. On 3 August 2014, 5,000 Yazidis were killed on the first day of the genocide. For those who survived that night, the only escape route was to climb Mount Sinjar in the blistering heat, with no shelter or food, and pray to be rescued. Mirza Dinn...
Jul 30, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1983, punk rock was strictly forbidden in East Berlin. However, that didn’t stop young music obsessive Mark Reeder, from Manchester in the UK, smuggling cassettes, and then a punk band across the Berlin Wall. Mark shares how he arranged for the West German band, Die Toten Hosen, to perform illegally at a secret concert in a church. This episode was produced by Paul Hanford and Rosalie Delaney. A Munck Studios production for the BBC World Service. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archiv...
Jul 29, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1974, Ghana pioneered a new system which would help in the roll-out of the immunisation of serious diseases across Africa and the rest of the world. The World Health Organisation chose the country to trial its cold chain system, to help keep vaccines for often deadly diseases refrigerated. It would later evolve into the storage systems used to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Justice Baidoo meets Patience Azuma, who was one of the first children to benefit from the Enhanced Immunisation Progr...
Jul 26, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than 10,000 Russian workers built the first line of the Moscow Metro which opened in 1935 to great fanfare. The spectacular stations were designed to show the world the power and possibility of Russian strength. Stalin wanted architects to design stations to be 'palaces for the people', with statues and structures built to make people look up and admire the marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers. Now one of the busiest undergrounds in the world, Uma Doraiswamy goes through the ar...
Jul 25, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast At the London 2012 Olympics, the Somali sprinter Zamzam Farah became a crowd favourite after finishing last in her 400m heat by 27 seconds. Zamzam had grown up in war-torn Mogadishu, where she had to dodge violence while training on the so-called ‘Road of Death’. She competed with her body fully covered, but, after the Olympics, her family in Somalia received death threats because of what Al-Shabab considered unacceptable behaviour for a Muslim woman. She remained in the UK and gained asylum. Za...
Jul 24, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast After being designed in one night, Shuss, the cartoon skier, debuted at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France. Instead of ‘mascot’, the Olympic Organising Committee referred to it as a ‘character’ at the time. In the colours of the French flag, Shuss was available as a variety of souvenirs. Megan Jones speaks to one manufacturer of Shuss merchandise, André Thiennot. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events...
Jul 23, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The last time Paris held the Olympic Games was 100 years ago in 1924. More than 3,000 athletes from 44 nations took part, of which only 135 were women, in 17 sports. Rachel Naylor goes through the BBC archive for interviews with two British medallists - the sprinter Harold Abrahams and the tennis player Kitty Godfree. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the p...
Jul 22, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1990s, Ayia Napa, in Cyprus, went from quiet fishing village to party resort. The Kool Club was one of the first nightclubs to open in 1995. Rachel Naylor speaks to founder and DJ Nick Power, the 'godfather of Ayia Napa'. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the...
Jul 19, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Between 1963 and 1974, more than 2,000 people in Cyprus went missing during clashes, a coup and the Turkish invasion. Only about half of them have been found. Rachel Naylor speaks to Nick Neokleous, the President of the Organisation of Relatives of Missing Cypriots, whose brother, Pavlos, went missing in 1974. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people wh...
Jul 18, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In April 2003, the people of Cyprus were allowed to cross the ceasefire line for the first time in 29 years. Hundreds of people rushed to the check points and queued for hours to visit the homes they had left after the Greek coup and Turkish invasion of July 1974. Greek Cypriots made up the great majority of those displaced, often fleeing under fire with nothing but the clothes they had on. Singer and ethnomusicologist Nicoletta Demetriou’s parents were among them. Nicoletta tells Maria Margaron...
Jul 17, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast On the 20 July 1974, a young pilot was preparing to land passenger flight CY317 into Nicosia Airport in Cyprus, amidst the threat of an imminent Turkish invasion. From the air, he could see warships approaching the island. Little did he know that his aircraft would be the final one to land there, it would be destroyed within hours, and the airport remains frozen in time to this day. Fifty years later, Captain Adamos Marneros tells Amelia Parker about that fear-filled final flight, on a pivotal d...
Jul 16, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast On 15 July 1974, the Greek military dictatorship in Athens sponsored a coup on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, aiming to overthrow its selected president and unite the island with Greece. Days later, Turkey invaded the island, taking a third of it and displacing many thousands of its inhabitants. The writer Bekir Azgun grew up in the village of Potamia, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots had once lived together in harmony. He speaks to Maria Margaronis about the day of the coup and ref...
Jul 15, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Like many young children growing up in Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s, Dilma Mendes had one dream: to play football for her country. There was just one problem. It was illegal for women in Brazil to play football at that time, a law that came into force in 1941 - and lasted nearly 40 years. Dilma lost count of the amount of times she was arrested and taken to the police station for playing football. She tells Vicky Farncombe the confusion and fear she felt as a child. "I did not understand why pe...
Jul 12, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In September 1988, protests broke out in Manfredonia, Italy, after the arrival of a large ship carrying toxic waste of Italian origin. The Deep Sea Carrier had arrived from Nigeria, after a protracted diplomatic dispute between Italy and Nigeria. For four days, the town was completely shut down and by the end of the protests, an environmental movement was born. The Deep Sea Carrier and another ship, the Karin B, became known as the ‘navi dei veleni’, or poison ships. Jill Achineku speaks to Rosa...
Jul 11, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast On 2 October 1968, thousands of students protested in Mexico City, 10 days before the Olympics. The students wanted the government to free political prisoners and respect their right to protest. More than 4,000 activists came to the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in the capital's Tlatelolco district that evening. It resulted in Mexican soldiers opening fire on the protesters. The death toll has never been confirmed, a government report from the time put it at 26, while student leaders estimated it a...
Jul 10, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In January 1990, Cuban singer Celia Cruz, known as ‘the Queen of Salsa’, went back to Cuba. Banned by Fidel Castro for opposing his regime, it was the only time in her 43 years of exile that she was able to visit the island. She was invited to sing in the US naval base on Guantanamo Bay. The trip only lasted a day and a half, but it was full of touching moments and symbolisms. Omer Pardillo Cid, Celia’s manager and close friend, tells Stefania Gozzer about the mark this visit left in the singer....
Jul 09, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2006, Dutch engineer Fred van der Weij invented a kitchen device that changed the way many of us cook today: the air fryer. Fred’s first prototype was nearly as big as a dog kennel and made of wood and aluminium, with a chicken wire basket. It was only a partial success. But Fred was certain he could make the machine work thanks to an idea he patented called rapid air technology. Four years later, and after several more prototypes, Fred took his invention to the electronics company, Philips, ...
Jul 08, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Canada's 1993 election, the governing Progressive Conservative Party was routed, ending up with just two seats. In the 1980s, the party won the largest majority in Canadian history. But by 1993, it was in crisis and the new Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, called an election. But she didn’t bank on the emergence of a new populist party called Reform, which stormed Canada’s traditionally two-party system claiming 52 seats. The Progressive Conservatives never recovered. Ben Henderson speaks to the...
Jul 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's 35 years since the release of one of the most provocative songs in music history. Fight the Power by hip-hop group, Public Enemy, was radical both politically and sonically. The song was written at the request of filmmaker, Spike Lee, who needed an anthem for his 1989 movie, Do the Right Thing. The film became a box office smash and - despite controversy surrounding Public Enemy's image - the song soon became an anthem of protest and rebellion all over the world. Public Enemy frontman, Chuc...
Jul 04, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the newly independent state Georgia found itself on the verge of a civil war. Rebel groups in Tbilisi came together to overthrow the newly elected President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who was forced into hiding. Gunmen took to the streets and hospitals were overwhelmed. In 2010, Tom Esslemont spoke to Lamara Vashakidze, a survivor of Georgia’s crisis. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by ...
Jul 03, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Between 1937 and 1938, Soviet leader Josef Stalin carried out his most severe purge in Georgia. Known as the Great Terror, thousands of political rivals, intellectuals and ordinary citizens were executed without trial and buried in mass graves. Dan Hardoon speaks to Levan Pesvianidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, whose grandfather Viktor and uncle Giorgi were both executed. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that...
Jul 02, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1984, urban photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant came together to publish an era-defining book about the early graffiti movement. They had been documenting the work of graffiti arts on the subways system of New York for many years. The colourful book was called Subway Art and it quickly became known as the graffiti bible. Forty years on from its release, Martha and Henry explore its enduring legacy with Matt Pintus. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is...
Jul 01, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1974 an unknown Japanese artist put pen to paper and created a character that would go on to be worth more than $80 billion. The illustration was titled ‘Unknown White Cat’ but you will probably know it better as Hello Kitty. The artist, Yuko Shimizu, designed Hello Kitty while she was working for the firm Sanrio. Fast forward 50 years and Yuko’s friendly feline has been on a fair few adventures including going to space and becoming Japan’s ambassador for tourism. Yuko tells Anoushka Mutanda-...
Jun 29, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In June 1954, the first CIA-backed coup took place in Guatemala, when President Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown in a operation organised by the US government. The Administration of Dwight D Eisenhower feared his policies - which included a land reform - could threaten the interests of one of the most powerful firms in the US at the time – the United Fruit Company. Arbenz was labelled a communist, and he was forced into a long exile that took him and his family to seek shelter across Europe and Lati...
Jun 27, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1998, the assisted dying society, Dignitas was set up in Switzerland by lawyer Ludwig Minelli. It was the first end-of-life organisation in the world to help foreigners - non-Swiss citizens - to die. Since then around 4,000 people from 65 different countries have ended their lives with help from the group, which operates under the full name 'Dignitas - To live with dignity. To die with dignity.' But while 10 countries have legalised assisted dying, most have not. Critics say it can weaken res...
Jun 26, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
