The History Hour

Egypt's first democratic Presidential election


Listen Later

In June 2012, Egypt held its first ever free democratic Presidential election. Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, emerged victorious. Ben Henderson spoke to Rabab El-Mahdi, Chief Strategist to one of Morsi’s rival candidates. She described what it was like to be involved in the first election of its kind, how Morsi tried to recruit her, and the personal impact of political campaigning in such a polarised country.

In June 1982 a young Chinese-American engineer was murdered with a baseball bat by two white men in the US city of Detroit. The lenient sentences the perpetrators received sparked an Asian-American activist movement with protests across the US. At the time, America was going through an economic depression and many blamed Japan, which was perceived to be flooding the US with its cars. For Asian-Americans, it was a time of fear. Farhana Haider spoke to Helen Zia, one of the activists who led the fight for justice. This programme was first broadcast in 2017.

In 2003, Dr Nayana Patel, who ran her own fertility clinic in the state of Gujarat in India, carried out her first surrogacy procedure. It involved a surrogate mother and her own daughter. Dr Patel's clinic would go on to become one of the biggest in India attracting Western couples. It was legalised in 2002 but due to growing criticism, the government banned couples from the West from paying Indian surrogates to bear their children in 2015, arguing that the industry was exploiting poor women. Reena Stanton-Sharma spoke to Dr Nayana Patel.

In 1985, the first robot-assisted medical surgery took place in Vancouver, Canada. It’s now become a standard feature of operating theatres worldwide. The original gadget was named Arthrobot. A member of the original project team, Geof Auchinleck, told his story to Kurt Brookes. A Made in Manchester production.

The UK’s first official gay Pride march took place 50 years ago – on 1st July 1972. Alex Collins talked to Ted Brown, who took part in the London march.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The History HourBy BBC World Service

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

557 ratings


More shows like The History Hour

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,794 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

379 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,072 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,472 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,819 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,252 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

968 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,882 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,816 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,042 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,061 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

481 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

600 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,795 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

738 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

851 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,217 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

760 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,360 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,043 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

15,798 Listeners

Empire: World History by Goalhanger

Empire: World History

2,445 Listeners