logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
52m 25s

Judy Garland's legacy and the Benin Bron...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

A compilation of this week's Witness History episodes. Gerald Clarke, the author of Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland, speaks to Max Pearson about the legacy of the stage and screen actress who died in 1969.

We also look at how a chance encounter led to the return of two of the looted Benin Bronzes, ancient artworks which were among thousands stolen from Benin City by the British Army in 1897.

And we head back to 2008, when a nine-year-old boy tripped over a fossil that would lead to one of the most important discoveries in the history of human evolution.

Contributors:

Author Gerald Clarke John Kelsch from the Judy Garland Museum Production assistant Rosalyn Wilder Retired police officer Tim Awoyemi Matt Berger who discovered the Australopithecus sediba fossil Hedayat Matine-Daftary, grandson of Mohammed Mossadeq

(Photo: Judy Garland during a press conference in 1963. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)

Up next
Jul 25
Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar power with Prof Laura Herz, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, in th ... Show More
1 h
Jul 18
The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Professor Sir Paul Preston, who explains how the conflict transformed Spain and pave ... Show More
1 h
Jul 11
Buildings of power and the Dada art movement
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Mateja Kurir, associate professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the editor of the book, On Power in Architecture.We start with Jackie Kennedy's 1962 ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2015
Cultural Lifespans
<p>On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe picks through the remains of vanished buildings with the writer James Crawford. In his book, Fallen Glory, Crawford looks at the life and death of some of the world's most iconic structures. The conductor Semyon Bychkov explores why some music f ... Show More
41m 44s
Nov 2022
Leaving A Mark
For millennia, humans have created artifacts of their lives—from art, to books, to music. This hour, we explore ideas about capturing the ephemeral human experience for future generations to find. Guests include paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, museum curator Ariana C ... Show More
49m 30s
Jul 2024
Empires and the Benin Bronzes
The Benin Bronzes are some of the most famous artifacts in the world. And the story of how they were looted from the Kingdom of Edo in the 19th century by the British is the story of colonialism, revenge, and the European scramble for African resources. Support Noble Blood: — Bon ... Show More
33m 8s
Mar 2012
Legacy
In this Diamond Jubilee year, BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz has been selecting some of the most revealing objects from the Royal Collection to see what they tell us about the monarchs who acquired them. It is one of the most wide-ranging collections of art and artefacts in the wo ... Show More
27m 56s
Jan 2025
Learning from what others leave behind
For millennia, humans have created artifacts of their lives — from art, to books, to music. This hour, we explore ideas about capturing the ephemeral human experience for future generations to find. Guests include paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger, museum curator Ariana ... Show More
50m 4s
Jun 2018
020 - Nefertiti's face
<p>This month Iszi presents the Members' exclusive lecture from Joyce Tyldesley and explores the creation of a cultural icon, from its ancient origins to its modern context: its discovery, its display, and its dual role as a political pawn and artistic inspiration.</p> <p>The Bri ... Show More
39m 35s
Jan 2025
The Kingdom Behind Glass
Who owns stolen art? Today on the show, the bloody journey of a Benin Bronze from West Africa to the halls of one of England's most elite universities — a tale of imperialism, betrayal, and the making of the modern world.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an ... Show More
48m 24s
Jul 2023
Acting Out
Malcolm talks with Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of The Last Archive, about the forgotten origins of a major social science, the missing chapter in Ella Fitzgerald’s life, and what it all has to do with the prison just down the street from Malcolm’s office. Listen, and check out the b ... Show More
36m 34s
Nov 2017
SYMHC Classics: Frances Glessner Lee and Tiny Forensics
<p>Today's show revisits the story of a Chicago heiress who helped develop forensic investigation standards still in use today. Her most notable contribution to the field came in the form of tiny homicide dioramas.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https:// ... Show More
29m 24s