logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
9m 17s

David Attenborough's first expedition

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In 1954, the BBC broadcast a new television programme in Britain. It was called Zoo Quest and it launched the career of a man who has since brought the natural world into millions of homes around the world, the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. Louise Hidalgo has been listening back through the BBC archives to Sir David telling the story of the first natural history expedition for Zoo Quest, to Sierra Leone in West Africa.

Picture: David Attenborough, producer of the BBC wildlife documentary series Zoo Quest, and Jack Lester (right), curator of London Zoo's reptile house, planning their next expedition with the help of Gregory the parrot, March 1955 (Credit: William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Up next
Today
Ni Una Menos women’s movement in Argentina
On 3 June 2015, tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, and in dozens of cities and towns demanding an end to violence against women. There were demonstrations in Chile and Uruguay in solidarity too. Argentina was reporting a female murder rate of one e ... Show More
9m 31s
Yesterday
Argentina’s national genetics bank created to identify stolen babies
In 1982, Argentine geneticist Victor Penchaszadeh was living in exile in New York when he received a call that would change the course of his career. Two founding members of the campaign group, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, were asking for his help to find their kidnappe ... Show More
10m 41s
Jul 8
The mystery of Evita’s corpse
When Eva Peron, Argentina's most famous First Lady, died in 1952, her body was embalmed. Three years later, her widower, Juan Peron, was deposed in a coup. But military officers feared her corpse would become a rallying point of protest against the new government. So they stole i ... Show More
10m 34s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
The Next Big Thing | 4
Tim Walker and Dr. Darren Naish return for more conversation with Mike. They consider the legacy of Prehistoric Planet and the value of doing a nature series on long-gone animals. And there’s a special guest appearance by David Attenborough, who shares his personal thoughts on wh ... Show More
45m 43s
Feb 2021
Episode 23 - Anthony Geffen
One of the world’s leading documentary filmmakers and a pioneer in immersive storytelling. Anthony has collaborated with natural historian legend David Attenborough for 11 documentaries - winning three BAFTAs in total. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
28m 12s
Feb 2021
A wombat ate my homework
We’re exploring the theme of recovery, delving into times when we’ve stepped in to help save our natural world, and looking at the moments when it’s come to our rescue too. We’ll be starting off in the sea off the West Coast of Africa where a crew member from the latest David Att ... Show More
33m 16s
Sep 2022
A Man of the World
Go behind the yellow border to meet the family that made National Geographic an American institution. Gilbert M. Grosvenor’s 60-year career followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather—but he learned that sometimes he had to do things his own way. In his new memoir, A ... Show More
29m 40s
Jan 2021
Saving a species through sound
In this week’s episode of the BBC Earth podcast we’ll be looking to solve some of the natural world’s mysteries.Starting off in North West Honduras, we’ll hear from ethnobiologist and sound artist Ben Mirin who set out to discover the voice of a previously voiceless animal. The e ... Show More
32m 20s
Dec 2022
90 years of the BBC World Service
Max Pearson presents a compilation of this week's Witness History programmes from the BBC World Service. Sir Trevor McDonald reflects on the BBC's first black producer, Una Marson, and her legacy in the development of the BBC Caribbean Service. Also, how the BBC managed to broadc ... Show More
51m 22s
Apr 2024
David Attenborough’s BBC Mammals Producers: What nature’s high performers can teach us (E251)
For the first time ever, High Performance turns to the animal kingdom to unlock the secrets of mammals’ remarkable survival strategies. Jake and Damian are joined by the producers of BBC Earth’s “Mammals”, Roger Webb and Harry Lawrence; who share behind-the-scenes challenges and ... Show More
56m 55s
Apr 2023
Unearthing World War II mass graves and the Boston bombing
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History and Sporting Witness episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the unearthing of a mass grave in Sernyky, Ukraine, in 1990, and when the Boston Marathon was the target of a terror attack in 2013. This progr ... Show More
51m 13s
May 2022
The Okapi and the Western World
The okapi became known to European explorers in the late 19th century, and then several explorers tried and failed to even see a live okapi. Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston often gets credit for its discovery, but there's much more to the story than that.  Research: “Obituary: Dr. Wi ... Show More
35m 27s
Feb 2024
Ice Age Britain: Finding the First Homo sapiens
Over 45,000 years ago, Ice Age Britain was undergoing a transformation.  The first modern humans, Homo sapiens, were arriving and beginning to settle in the British Isles. Their evolutionary predecessors, the Neanderthals, were on their way to extinction. Until now we have known ... Show More
32m 58s