The History Hour

Moscow Metro and the Olympics


Listen Later

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, more about a revolutionary new method for transporting medicines that was launched in Ghana in 1974. The cold chain system helped refrigerate vaccines aimed at tackling potentially deadly diseases.

Also, as Paris lifts the curtain on the 2024 Olympics, we go back to the last time the French city hosted the Games - one hundred years ago.

We hear the remarkable story of Somali 400m sprinter Zamzam Farah, and how she became a crowd favourite in the London 2012 Olympics after finishing last in her heat by 27 seconds.

Finally, we meet Shuss - a French cartoon skier and the first Olympic mascot, designed for the 1968 Winter Games.

Contributors:

Tatiana Fedorova – a worker on the Moscow Metro.
Mark Ovenden - author of Underground Cities.
Patience Azuma – vaccinated as a child in Ghana.
Dr Kofi Ahmed – chief medical officer.
Harold Abrahams – Olympic medallist.
Kitty Godfree – Olympic medallist.
Zamzam Farah – Somali sprinter.
André Thiennot - manufacturer of Shuss merchandise.

(Photo: Underground train station ceiling in Moscow. Credit: Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

...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

546 ratings


More shows like The History Hour

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,410 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

366 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,829 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,700 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,203 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

302 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

508 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,784 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,085 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

890 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

569 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

959 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,947 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,043 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,912 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

592 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

753 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,631 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

815 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,990 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

2,950 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

12,483 Listeners