logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
51m 22s

90 years of the BBC World Service

Bbc World Service
About this episode

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 broadcast through the Iron Curtain, Colombia's false positives scandal and the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped in Chile.

(Photo: Sir Trevor McDonald. Credit: BBC)

Contributors: Sir Trevor McDonald, Una Marson, Debbie Ransome and Neil Nunes - BBC presenters Bridget Kendall - the BBC’s former Moscow correspondent Peter Udell - the BBC's former controller of European Services Jacqueline Castillo - whose brother was a victim of the 'false positives' scandal Dr Aslan Doukaev - university teacher when the first Chechen war started Mario Sepulveda - Chilean mine disaster survivor

Up next
Mar 14
Movie history: Seven Samurai and Casablanca
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is media, culture and creative industries lecturer Sarah Jilani. We start in 1954 with the Japanese film Seven Samurai which is widely considered to be one of world ci ... Show More
1 h
Mar 7
Sweden and the USA's diplomatic freeze and Elvis in the UK
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear how a speech by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, in 1972, caused a break down in relations with the USA. Our guest is an expert in the historic relations between Swede ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 28
Blood diamonds and the meeting between Florence Nightingale and Aga Khan III
We begin with the trial of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. It was claimed that he traded in arms and ammunition in return for so-called blood diamonds.Our guest, gemmologist James Evans discusses the creation of synthetic diamonds.Next we head to Syria where a gr ... Show More
59m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
The BBC broadcasting through the Iron Curtain
It is the 90th anniversary of the BBC World Service. Broadcasting to countries behind the Iron Curtain without a free or independent media between 1947 and 1991 was arguably the service’s finest hour. The corporation was on the front line of the information war as the BBC’s forme ... Show More
9m 4s
Nov 2021
The government vs the BBC: A Hundred Year War
This week Jack picks through the long and turbulent relationship between the government and the BBC, and asks why these two great pillars of British public life can't seem to get along. Veteran BBC Radio 4 presenter and author Edward Stourton and BBC historian Professor Jean Seat ... Show More
48m 25s
Jul 2022
Ukraine's foreign fighters
Since February, thousands of international volunteers have travelled to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia. We hear about some foreign combatants whose stories have been reported by our language services, with Sunyoung Jeong of BBC Korean, Benny Lu of BBC Chinese and Bev ... Show More
34m 47s
Mar 2023
BBC Tackles Gary Lineker
What should the BBC do about the Match of the Day host, after criticism of his tweets on the government's asylum policy?Former director of BBC News, Richard Sambrook, reveals how he would handle the comments, from an impartiality point of view, and media editor, Katie Razzall, di ... Show More
29m 29s
Apr 2023
Escape from Khartoum
After the first evacuation planes carrying British nationals arrive in Cyprus, Adam hears one Newscaster’s first-hand account of fleeing war-torn Sudan, and speaks to Larry Madowo, CNN’s international correspondent, from Nairobi.And the BBC’s media editor Katie Razzall is in the ... Show More
32m 1s
May 2023
King Charles III coronation; America’s position in the world; a new documentary on Ukraine
Joanna Coles, former chief content officer for Heart Magazines, joins the show this week to talk about King Charles III's coronation and the future of the British monarchy. Then, Fareed hosts a global panel with The Economist's Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and Executive D ... Show More
40m 41s
Nov 2021
Migrant tragedy in the Channel
More than 30 people have drowned after their boat sank on the way to the UK… Emily Maitlis (who was en route to Dover as the story was unfolding) takes us through the details. After his exclusive interview with the President of Belarus went viral, the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg and hi ... Show More
38m 38s
May 2021
Bashir and the BBC
On the day that the BBC announces an investigation into how the journalist, Martin Bashir, was rehired, Adam chats to John Whittingdale, the media minister, about the future of the organisation. And, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford explains what's going on with the detained Belarus jou ... Show More
35m 53s