Robert Kennedy's funeral train and the opening of the Medellin Metro
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service, all related to trains and journeys which have helped to shape our world.Our guest Nicky Gardner, travel writer and co-author of Europe by Rail: the Definitive Guide, discusses the origins of train travel. The first story involved the hijacking of a train in 1950s communist Czechoslovakia which was driven across the border into West Germany.We also hear about Senator Robert Kennedy's funeral train in 1960s America, and Italy's "happiness train", which took children from the poverty stricken south to wealthier families in the north.Contributors - Archive interview with Karel Ruml.
Frank Mankiewicz - Robert Kennedy's former press secretary, and Rosey Grier, his former bodyguard.
Bianca D’Aniello - a passenger on the “happiness train”.
June Cutchins - received gifts from the Gratitude Train.
Tomas Andreas Elejalde - general manager of the Medellin Metro.(Photo: People stand near railroad tracks as a train carries the body of Robert Kennedy on June 8, 1968. Credit: Steve Northrup/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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50:58
Jaws and the Charleston church shooting
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This programme includes outdated and offensive language.It’s 50 years since the original Jaws film was released in cinemas across America. The movie premiered on 20 June 1975. Our guest is Jenny He, senior exhibitions curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. She tells us about the history of this blockbuster movie. We also hear from Carl Gottlieb, who co-wrote the screenplay.Also, the story of the women who were forcibly detained in sexual health clinics across East Germany, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and the 1964 civil rights swimming protest that ended when acid was poured into the pool.Finally, the horrific account of Polly Sheppard who was a survivor of the Charleston church shooting in South Carolina, USA in 2015.Contributors:
Carl Gottlieb - Jaws co-writer.
Jenny He - senior exhibitions curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
Sabine - one of the women forcibly detained and abused in a sexual health clinic in East Germany.
Archive of William Norman Ewer - journalist who attended the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
Archive of JT Johnson and Mimi Jones -activists in a civil rights swimming protest .
Polly Sheppard- survivor of the Charleston Church shooting.This programme contains movie excerpts from the 1975 film which was a Universal Picture, a Zanuck/Brown production and directed by Steven Spielberg.
(Photo: Steven Spielberg on the set of the film 'Jaws' in 1975. Credit: Archive Photos/Stringer)
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51:07
Ronald Reagan and Lonesome George
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dolly Jørgensen, Professor of History at the University of Stavanger in Norway and a specialist in the history of extinction.We start in 2012 with the death of a famous Galapagos tortoise called Lonesome George, who was the last of his species.Then, the incredible tale of how an Irish priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, saved thousands of prisoners of war and Jews in Rome during World War 2.We hear how the Sino-Indian War of 1962 left a painful legacy for Indian families of Chinese descent.Plus, one of the signatories of the Schengen Agreement recalls the day it was signed in 1985.Finally, Ronald Reagan's former speechwriter looks back on the President's 1987 'Tear down this wall' speech, delivered in Berlin.Contributors: Dolly Jørgensen - Professor of History at the University of Stavanger.
James Gibbs - Vice President of Science and Conservation at the Galapagos Conservancy.
Hugh O’Flaherty - relative of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty.
Joy Ma - Indian woman of Chinese descent born in the Deoli camp.
Robert Goebbels - signed the Schengen Agreement.
Peter Robinson - US President Reagan's former speechwriter.(Photo: Lonesome George the tortoise. Credit: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP Getty Images)
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50:51
Discovery of the first exoplanets and the goalie who killed a seagull
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Dr Jeni Millard, a science presenter, astrophysicist and astronomer. First, how two astronomers announced they had discovered the first two planets outside our solar system.Then, German twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun on building Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, which is now a world-famous destination visited by celebrities like Adele and Sir Rod StewartAnd in 1949, South Africa’s first feature film, Jim Comes to Jo’burg, also known as African Jim, aimed at black audiences was released, launching Dolly Rathebe’s career.Finally, how a goal kick in 1970, meant to pick out a striker, instead hit and killed a seagull in a Dutch football match. The dead bird was later stuffed and now resides in the club’s museum.Contributors:Alex Wolszczan - astronomer
Dale Frail - astronomer
Roland Reisley - resident of Usonia
Dolly Rathebe - actor
Eddy Treijtel - goalkeeper(Photo: A gull on a football pitch. Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
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51:23
Battle of the Beanfield and the Champions League anthem
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Nivi Manchanda, a reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London.First, a moment when two cultures clashed in 1985 at Stonehenge.We hear about an English language novel from 1958, called Things Fall Apart.Then, the 1992 creation of the iconic Champions League anthem.Plus, how police raided the popular but controversial file-sharing website The Pirate Bay in 2006.Finally, how Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip went on one final tour, after their guitarist was given months to live in 2015.Contributors: Helen Hatt - one of more than 500 people arrested at the Battle of the Beanfield.
Dr Nivi Manchanda - reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London.
Nwando Achebe - Chinua Achebe's youngest daughter.
Tony Britten - composer of the Champions League anthem.
Peter Sunde - co-founder of The Pirate Bay.
Rob Baker - lead guitarist in the Tragically Hip.(Photo: Stonehenge protests. Credit: PA/PA Archive/PA Images)
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