logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2021
50m 10s

The assassination of the Mirabal sisters

Bbc World Service
About this episode
The three Mirabal sisters were leading figures in the Dominican Republic's opposition movement against the dictator General Rafael Trujillo. They were all killed on the 25th November 1960. We hear from the daughter of one of them, Minerva, who tells us about her family and from Professor Elizabeth Manley on the Mirabal sister's legacy in the Dominican Republ ... Show More
Up next
Jul 5
Dancing in the Street and Ai Weiwei
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes including the story behind Mick Jagger and David Bowie's duet for Live Aid in 1985 and the Chinese artist who was jailed for his art inspired by the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. He speaks to music journalist ... Show More
50m 53s
Jun 28
Robert Kennedy's funeral train and the opening of the Medellin Metro
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service, all related to trains and journeys which have helped to shape our world.Our guest Nicky Gardner, travel writer and co-author of Europe by Rail: the Definitive Guide, discusses t ... Show More
50m 58s
Jun 21
Jaws and the Charleston church shooting
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This programme includes outdated and offensive language.It’s 50 years since the original Jaws film was released in cinemas across America. The movie premiered on 20 June 1975. Ou ... Show More
51m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
El Salvador's missing children
During El Salvador’s brutal civil war hundreds of children were separated from their families. Some were seized by soldiers during military operations against left-wing rebels, and later found living with new families in Europe and North America. Others were given up for adoption ... Show More
52m 58s
Sep 2020
The mothers of Argentina's disappeared
In April 1977 a group of women in Argentina held the first ever public demonstration to demand the release of thousands of opponents of the military regime. It was the start of a long campaign by the women, who became known as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. In 2017 Mike Lanchi ... Show More
9m 20s
Feb 2023
153 - The assassination of Galeazzo Maria and the Moore takes control (1468 - 1494)
Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza continues with his expensive naughty ways until he is assassinated in 1476. His son Gian Galeazzo becomes duke under the regency of his mother, Bona of Savoy, until his uncle Ludovico, known as "il Moro" the Moore takes over as Italy heads towa ... Show More
26m 2s
Oct 2017
Saving Italy's Art During WW2
Italy's great works of art were threatened by bombing and looting during World War Two. But a plan known as 'Operation Rescue' was devised to keep the paintings and sculptures safe. Some were hidden in remote spots, others were moved to the Vatican. Pasquale Rotondi was a leading ... Show More
9m 2s
Nov 2018
Marie Antoinette
In a programme first broadcast in November 2018, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess Maria Antonia, child bride of the future French King Louis XVI. Their marriage was an attempt to bring about a major change in the balance of power in Europe and to undermine th ... Show More
49m 7s
Mar 2017
The Murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero
On March 24 1980, as El Salvador edged towards civil war, a right-wing death squad shot dead the head of the Roman Catholic church. Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed by a single bullet as he said mass at the altar in San Salvador. Mike Lanchin hears from local journalist, Milagr ... Show More
8m 56s
Nov 2023
SYMHC Classics: Mirabal Sisters
This 2018 episode covers the four Mirabal sisters, who are national heroes in the Dominican Republic. But they weren't very well-known elsewhere until 20 or so years ago when they became the subject of a historical novel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
24m 49s
Apr 2021
Mexico's female serial killer
Former female wrestler Juana Barraza was found guilty in March 2008 of murdering at least eleven elderly women in Mexico city over a period of seven years. Barraza, who became known as the "little old lady killer", admitted to murdering three women, and told investigators that it ... Show More
9m 1s