Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.
To mark 50 years since the global oil crisis, we’re focusing on oil - from discovery to disaster. We hear from Dr Fadhil Chalabi, then the deputy secretary general of Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) about what happened during the 1 ... Show More
Mar 2022
167. Oil: The Making of the Modern World
Tom and Dominic are joined by Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge, to talk about the incredible influence of oil over the last couple of centuries.
Discussion covers the first oil well ever drilled, how it's hard to overestimate Hitler's ... Show More
45m 4s
Jan 2023
Why are we still subsidising fossil fuels?
In 2009, the G20 countries pledged to phase out 'inefficient' fossil fuel subsidies, which have long been seen as an obstacle to fighting climate change. But today, subsidies for oil and gas producers are at record levels -- $64 billion in 2021. It’s not just to do with the war i ... Show More
27 m
Mar 2022
168. Oil: Conflict, Chaos and Climate Change
Tom and Dominic are back with Helen Thompson for a second episode on the history of oil, its impact and how it shapes geopolitics.
Tune in to hear about the impact of oil production on US Politics, its importance to the history and current situation in Ukraine, and what we can le ... Show More
47m 8s