Best The Immorality Act Podcasts (2024)

1
The ‘Battle of the Surfaces’ and becoming a republic 50:51

15m ago50:51

50:51

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Sporting Witness and Witness History programmes. We hear about the half-clay, half-grass exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Then, we look back through the archives to find out how Greece held a referendum to decide the country’s future. Next, a mountain massacre on the Himalayas …

1
Female heroes of WW2 and the Iranian Revolution 51:17

13d ago51:17

51:17

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about Polish war hero Irena Sendler who saved thousands of Jewish children during the World War Two. Expert Kathryn Atwood explains why women’s stories of bravery from that time are not as prominent as men’s. Plus, the invention of ‘Baby’ – one of the first programmab…

1
Magic, illusion and tigers 51:12

12d ago51:12

51:12

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. For nearly 40 years, Siegfried and Roy wowed audiences in Las Vegas with death-defying tricks involving white lions and tigers. But in 2003, their magic show came to a dramatic end when a tiger attacked Roy live on stage. We find out what went wrong, and speak to magician and…

1
Dungeons & Dragons and dinosaur remains 51:03

20d ago51:03

51:03

First, on its 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, we hear from Luke Gygax, whose father created the fantasy role-play game. We also hear from Dr Melissa Rogerson, senior lecturer and board games researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Then, the first dinosaur remains discovered in Antarctica in 1986, by Argentinian geologist Edu…

1
Flower revolutions 51:04

26d ago51:04

51:04

We hear about the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan in 2014. Brian Hioe, an activist who occupied Parliament in Taipei, recalls the events. We hear from Nino Zuriashvili, one of the protesters at the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003. And Prof Kasia Boddy, author of Blooming Flowers: A Seasonal History of Plants and People explains how flowers have bee…

1
Technology and artificial intelligence 50:52

1M ago50:52

50:52

We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC. Then we hear about the man who invented the original chatbot, called Eliza, but did not believe co…

1
Latin America's longest plane hijacking and Kristallnacht 51:05

2M ago51:05

51:05

We start our programme in 1973, when two men claiming to be Colombian guerrillas hijacked a plane making it fly across Latin American for 60 hours. Edilma Perez was a former fight attendant for SAM airline. Our expert guest is Brendan Koerner author of The Skies Belong To Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking. Then we take a look at th…

1
South Africa’s Immorality Act and India's Mars Orbiter Mission 51:13

2M ago51:13

51:13

We start with the story of a couple who were arrested under South Africa's Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people. Dr Zureena Desai was arrested under the Immorality Act in South Africa. Another law banned Inter-racial marriage in South Africa. In 1985, this was lifted. Suzanne La Clerc and Prota…

1
New Zealand’s first dinosaur and India’s plague outbreak 51:00

2M ago51:00

51:00

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We start our programme looking at the discovery of New Zealand’s first dinosaur by Joan Wiffen. Our expert guest is Professor Eugenia Gold, a paleontologist at Suffolk University, in Boston, United States, and the author of children’s book She Found Fossils. Then, we hear how…

1
Ethiopian history 50:52

2M ago50:52

50:52

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We’re looking at key moments in Ethiopian history, as it’s 50 years since Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a military coup. We start our programme looking at the moment a military junta called the Derg who ousted the monarchy in September 1974. Then, we hear how, befo…

1
Marriage bars and a Moon mission 49:55

3M ago49:55

49:55

Myra Anubi presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about the Irish law that banned married women from working in state jobs until 1973 and Apollo 13's attempted trip to the Moon in 1970. Plus the Umbrella protest in Hong Kong, the ancient Egyptian mummy who flew to France for a makeover and the Argentine basketball pla…

1
Space travel and Mary Poppins 51:13

3M ago51:13

51:13

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. Our guest is European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who completed the longest uninterrupted space flight of any European. First, we go to Australia in the 1990s when amateur radio enthusiast Maggie Iaquinto befriended Soviet cosmonauts on the Mir space statio…

1
Nazis in Egypt and Spain's La Tomatina 51:09

3M ago51:09

51:09

A warning, this programme includes an account of antisemitic views and descriptions of violence. Egypt recruited thousands of Nazis after World War Two to bolster its security. We hear from Frank Gelli, who in 1964 met Hitler's former propagandist, Johann von Leers, in Cairo. Author, Vyvyan Kinross is our guest and talks about Nazis in Egypt. Also,…

1
Indonesian’s independence and the last Olympic art competition 51:11

3M ago51:11

51:11

We hear about the founding father of Indonesian independence. Then, we look at how 'spray on skin' was used after the 2002 Bali bombings. Next, we hear about the last ever Olympic art competition. Plus, the most decorated Paralympian in history. And, the Brazilian singer who earned the title Queen of Samba. Max Pearson presents a collection of this…

1
American presidents 51:00

3M ago51:00

51:00

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. It's 50 years since Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign, following the Watergate scandal. To mark this anniversary, we're featuring first hand accounts from major moments in US presidential history. We start with the first ever presidential televi…

1
Ice Bucket Challenge and Bulgaria's dancing bears 51:07

4M ago51:07

51:07

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died. Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We take a look at the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral fundraising sensation that took over the internet in 2014. Our guest Professor Sander va…

1
Moscow Metro and the Olympics 50:47

4M ago50:47

50:47

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We go underground for a tour of the Moscow Metro, the subterranean transport network built by thousands of Russian workers in the 1930s. Our guest Mark Ovenden, author of Underground Cities, reveals how the Moscow system influenced many other countries around the world. Plus,…

1
Cyprus: Coups and clubbing 51:05

4M ago51:05

51:05

We hear Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot perspectives on the island's 1974 coup and subsequent invasion. Bekir Azgun, a Turkish-Cypriot writer, remembers the events. On the 20 July 1974 Captain Adamos Marneros landed the final flight at Nicosia Airport. Nicoletta Demetriou talks about returning to her family home in 2003. Then, a Cypriot Olympic s…

1
Brazil's ban on women in football and the first air fryer 50:14

4M ago50:14

50:14

We hear about the law in Brazil which made it illegal for women and girls to play football for 40 years. Dilma Mendes shares her incredible experience of being arrested numerous times as a child, just for kicking a ball. Our guest, Alexandra Allred, herself a pioneering sportswomen, discusses the discrimination women have faced to break into compet…

1
Subway Art and terror in Georgia 50:02

5M ago50:02

50:02

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear about the era-defining book Subway Art and how Fight the Power became a protest anthem. Artist curator Marianne Vosloo explains how both street art and hip-hop are linked. Plus, two stories from Georgia. Firstly, how Stalin carried out his most severe purge in Georgia…

1
The Sagrada Família and Hello Kitty 50:02

5M ago50:02

50:02

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes. We hear the story of the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world and the creation of one of the most recognisable characters on the planet. Plus, an amazing first hand account of the expulsion of German-speakers from Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War, …

1
Bungee jumping and the Benidorm boom 50:55

5M ago50:55

50:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service on the history of travel. Our guest is Dr. Susan Houge Mackenzie, Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago in New Zealand. First, we'll hear from the man responsible for the first commercial bungee jump. Then, the …

1
Boko Haram massacre in Nigeria and the Irish shopworkers strike 50:55

5M ago50:55

50:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, we hear about Boko Haram militants driving into Gwoza in north-east Nigeria in 2014, to begin an assault which left hundreds dead. Next, the Irish shopworkers who went on strike after refusing to handle South African goods. Then, it’s 25 yea…

1
The weather report that delayed D-Day and panda-mania in Taiwan 51:15

6M ago51:15

51:15

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, we hear how a young Irishwoman called Maureen Flavin Sweeney drew up a weather report that delayed the date of D-Day. Then, 99-year-old former field medic, Charles Norman Shay, shares his remarkable account of landing on the Normandy beach i…

1
South American revolutionaries and the first Aboriginal MP 50:31

6M ago50:31

50:31

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died. Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. First, the story of Brazil's most wanted, Carlos Lamarca. He was a captain who deserted the army in the 1960s and …

1
The first Air Jordan and Imelda Marcos's 3,000 pairs of shoes 50:08

6M ago50:08

50:08

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week’s programmes are all about the history of footwear. First we take a trip back to the 1960’s when Brazilians were introduced to a new type of footwear, which went on to become one of the country’s biggest exports. Plus the story of how a t…

1
Independence in French Polynesia and the 'Queen of Cuba' 51:30

6M ago51:30

51:30

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear how nuclear testing changed politics in French Polynesia. Plus, the story of how the FBI caught Ana Montes, the spy known as the ‘Queen of Cuba’. We also talk to Jewish and Palestinian people about the moment the state of Israel …

1
India’s ambitious ID scheme and the iconic Princess Diana photo 51:01

7M ago51:01

51:01

This week, how more than one billion people living in India were given a unique digital ID during the world's largest biometric project. The Aadhaar scheme was launched in 2009 but it wasn't without controversy. Our guest, digital identity expert Dr Edgar Whitley, tells us about the history of ID schemes around the world. Plus, the Spanish doctor w…

1
Paraguay’s ‘disappeared’ and the history of the Channel Tunnel 50:53

7M ago50:53

50:53

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week we hear the story of Rogelio Goiburu, who has dedicated his life to finding the victims of Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship in Paraguay, including the remains of his own father. Our expert Dr Francesca Lessa talks about other enforced di…

1
Thirty years since the first free elections in South Africa 51:02

7M ago51:02

51:02

It’s been thirty years since the first fully democratic elections in South Africa, which saw the African National Congress take power in 1994. But two years before that historic moment, white South Africans had to vote in a referendum that would decide whether or not to usher in a multi-racial government. We hear from President FW de Klerk’s then c…

1
Ebola outbreak and the Friendship Train returns 50:50

7M ago50:50

50:50

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It’s 10 years since the world’s deadliest outbreak of Ebola started in West Africa. We hear from a survivor and discuss the legacy of the epidemic with the BBC's global health reporter Tulip Mazumdar. Plus, the first World War Two battalion to be l…

1
The history of art heists 50:59

7M ago50:59

50:59

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It's 30 years since Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, was stolen from the national gallery in Oslo, Norway. We hear from the man who helped to recover it. Our expert guest is historian and author, Susan Ronald, who explores the history of art he…

1
Swedish History 50:57

8M ago50:57

50:57

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It has been 50 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, so we're exploring Swedish history. Also in 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. One father who took the leave…

1
Seventy-five years of Nato and the Heimlich Manoeuvre 52:37

8M ago52:37

52:37

It's 75 years since the founding of Nato. In 1949, a group of 12 countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to block the expansion of the Soviet Union. Professor Sten Rynning, the author of Nato: From Cold War to Ukraine, talks about some of the most significant moments in Nato's history. It's 30 years since the beginning of the Rwanda…

1
Chinese history 52:05

8M ago52:05

52:05

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. To mark 50 years since the discovery of the Terracotta Army, we're exploring modern Chinese history. We hear from the man who helped to modernise the Chinese language by creating a new writing system. It's called Pinyin and it used the Roman alphab…

1
Finding early vertebrate’s footprints and the Deaflympic badminton champion 52:07

8M ago52:07

52:07

First, we go back to 1992, when off the coast of Ireland, a Swiss geology student accidentally discovered the longest set of footprints made by the first four-legged animals to walk on earth. They pointed to a new date for the key milestone in evolution, when the first amphibians left the water 385 million years ago. Dr Frankie Dunn, who is a senio…

1
Uruguay's smoking ban and the Carnation Revolution 51:55

9M ago51:55

51:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We first hear about Uruguay’s tale of David v Goliath - when a tobacco giant took South America's second-smallest country to court over its anti-smoking laws. Uruguay’s former public health minister María Julia Muñoz describes the significance of t…

1
Whisky wars and the Lord of Sipan 51:32

9M ago51:32

51:32

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We first hear about a bloodless war between Denmark and Canada, that involved whisky. In 1984, the two nations were disputing the ownership of the tiny Hans Island, just off the coast of Greenland. It might be the friendliest territorial dispute ev…

1
Skiing and two-headed dogs 52:09

9M ago52:09

52:09

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the famous ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb. In 2003, the venue won its bid to host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. Hugh Smythe, known as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler, has been sharing his memories of the mount…

1
Letters to Juliet and Saint Valentine’s traditions 51:55

9M ago51:55

51:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the Juliet Club in Verona, Italy. The club has been replying to mail addressed to Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet since the early 1990s. Professor Lisa Bitel talks about the traditions of Valentine’s Day. Plus, how the small Iris…

1
Inspirational black women 51:38

10M ago51:38

51:38

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service telling stories about inspirational black women. In 1973, the Battle of Versailles pit up-and-coming American designers using black models against the more traditional French. We hear from Bethann Hardison, one of those black models, about how the c…

1
Internet cafes and Doomsday seeds 52:04

10M ago52:04

52:04

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about Cyberia - the first commercial internet café which opened in London in 1994. Director of the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, Professor Vicki Nash, talks us through other notable landmarks in the internet’s histo…

1
Traitors and treachery 52:52

10M ago52:52

52:52

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service all about figures branded as traitors. In 1939 Wang Jingwei, once a national hero in China, signed an agreement with Japanese invaders which made his name synonymous with the word ‘Hanjian’, a traitor to China. But Pan Chia-sheng’s memories of livin…

1
Lady Tarzan and Ibadan Zoo 51:50

10M ago51:50

51:50

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We’re going wild for animals this week. We find out how the Ibadan Zoo became one of Nigeria’s biggest tourist attractions during the 1970s. Our guest Harriet Ritvo, professor of history at MIT, looks back across the centuries to reveal the fascina…

1
The first lesbian couple to get married and World Laughter Day 51:43

10M ago51:43

51:43

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage. Four couples were chosen to take part in a collective wedding at midnight which was broadcast on TV. Hélène Faasen and Anne-Marie Thus talk about the wedding they thought t…

1
Hindenburg disaster and wingsuits 52:19

11M ago52:19

52:19

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Barbara Waibel, author of a book on the Hindenburg and Director of Archives at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. She tells us about the history of airships. We begin with some remarkable archive of the Hindenburg airship…

1
Pad Thai, kiwis and the chef Ken Hom 52:10

11M ago52:10

52:10

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we look at the disputed history of pad Thai with food writer Chawadee Nualkhair. We also hear from former fruit exporter Don Turner on why his family changed the name of the Chinese gooseberry to the kiwi fruit. Our expert guest is food …

1
Tsunamis and Caster Semenya 51:45

11M ago51:45

51:45

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. This week, we hear from Lumepa Hald who survived the devastating tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009 but suffered a tragic loss. Our expert guest, Prof Tiziana Rossetto, looks back at some of the worst tsunamis in history and how they have shaped our la…

1
Mandela's funeral and Tsar's reburial 51:50

11M ago51:50

51:50

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Ongama Mtimka, lecturer in South African politics at the Nelson Mandela University. He tells us about Mandela's life and legacy 10 years on from his death. We start with with Mandela's daughter, Makaziwe, describing her relationship…

1
Doom and Danish brains 51:32

12M ago51:32

51:32

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about two of the most influential computer games of the 1990s with their creators. John Romero was one of the developers of Doom and talks about the concept of a martian military base populated by zombie soldiers. Coder Jan Tian describes h…

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The Immorality Act Podcasts

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