logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2018
50m 11s

When The US Shot Down An Iranian Airline...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

How a US warship downed a passenger jet killing 290 people, plus the story behind The Toilet, the controversial 1990s Russian 'masterpiece', Madeleine Albright on Kosovo, the history of adventure playgrounds. and the hunt for Deep Throat.

Photo: The USS Vincennes fires a surface to air missile towards Iran Air flight 655 on 3 July 1988 (Rudy Pahoyo)

Up next
Jul 3
The return of Chief Long Wolf and The Statue of Liberty's facelift
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jan English from the American Museum and Gardens in Bath in the UK. We start with the moment the remains of a Native American chief were returned to the US, more th ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 27
The Slip Slop Slap campaign and the Brexit referendum
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.We start with the birth of an Australian campaign to get people to take car ... Show More
1 h
Jun 19
An uprising in South Africa and an exodus in the Caucasus
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern African History at Durham University in the UK.We begin with the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which bec ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Strange News: Armenia Under Attack, A Missing Jet and Murders in LA
Azerbaijan wages war against Armenia -- and from the US to Europe, from Russia to Iran, it seems no one will intervene to protect civilians. The US loses and later recovers an out-of-control fighter jet. In Los Angeles, two suspicious deaths cause locals to wonder whether there i ... Show More
58m 38s
Mar 2022
Flight 149 | Ep 5 | Separated
The US Embassy finds itself under siege. As the international pressure on Saddam Hussein intensifies, he makes a sudden announcement that creates a dilemma for many of the human shields. British Airways gave us the following statement: "Our hearts go out to all those caught up in ... Show More
38m 3s
Jan 2020
War Powers Act; Iran Airliner Crash; Iran Latest; Collins Dem Attack; Impeachment Latest; Ridiculist
Video Appears To Show Missile Hitting Plane; Iran Questioning Allegation It Shot Down Jet; U.S. Official: Iran Shot Down Passenger Plane Using Two Surface To Air Missiles; NTSB Will Join Investigation Of Iran Plane Crash; U.S. Officials Believe Iran Mistakenly Shot Down Jet; Hous ... Show More
41m 8s
Oct 2025
CLASSIC: How a Broken Toilet Foiled a German Sub
Toward the end of World War II, the German Type VIIC submarine was acknowledged to be one of the most advanced -- and deadliest -- predators on the seas. Yet, in at least one case, some of the same technological breakthroughs that made these subs astonishing also led to their dem ... Show More
25m 48s
Jun 2022
Pan Am Flight 103 Pt. 1
Days before Christmas 1988, scorched metal rained from the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Its source: Pan Am flight 103, headed from London to New York. The explosion killed 270 people and was declared a terrorist attack by investigators. The only question: Who was resp ... Show More
40m 17s
Feb 2024
Is the US going to war with Iran?
After 3 US Servicemen were killed by a drone strike launched by Iran backed militias, the burning question remains - Is the US going to go to war with Iran? We invited our friend Matthew Hoh on the show once again to give us his take on this issue, and the historical context behi ... Show More
1h 55m
Nov 2015
The "Gobble Gobble Toil and Trouble" Edition
Turkey shoots down a Russian jet after it allegedly violated Turkish airspace. Brussels goes on lockdown, raising the question of how long it’s rational to shut down a major city to preempt a terrorist attack. And thoughts on the “forever war” by a commander who served in it. Plu ... Show More
44m 50s
Jan 2019
How a Broken Toilet Foiled a German Sub
Toward the end of World War II, the German Type VIIC submarine was acknowledged to be one of the most advanced -- and deadliest -- predators on the seas. Yet, in at least one case, some of the same technological breakthroughs that made these subs astonishing also led to their dem ... Show More
23m 22s