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, the man behind Dignitas, the assisted dying organisation in Switzerland, and the son of a Guatemalan president who was overthrown in an American-backed coup in the 1950s.

Contributors:

(Photo: The Sagrada Família, in Barcelona. Credit: Getty Images)

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 pioneers of low-cost transatlantic flights and luxury cruises describe how they revolutionised travel.

Finally, we hear the remarkable stories of how Cancún and Benidorm transformed into holiday hotspots, involving General Franco, bikinis and excommunication.

Contributors:

(Photo: Bungee jumping. Credit: Getty Images)

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 years since Nato bombed the Serbian state TV station in Belgrade.

Plus, Norway’s biggest industrial disaster.

And, Brazil’s iconic egg-shaped telephone booth.

Contributors:

Ruoyah who lived through the Boko Haram massacre.

Makena Micheni - Associate Lecturer at St Andrews University.

Irish shopworker Mary Manning.

TV technician Dragan Šuković.

Harry Vike and his wife Greta.

Chu Ming Silveira’s son Alan Chu.

(Photo: A woman from Gwoza displaced by the violence. Credit: Reuters/Stringer)

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 in France codenamed Omaha on D-Day.

Next, we also talk to Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi who hurled his shoes at the President of the United States.

Plus, we hear about China gifting Taiwan two giant pandas, in a practice known as ‘panda diplomacy’.

Finally, it’s the 40th anniversary of the popular computer game Tetris being invented.

Contributors:

Edward Sweeney – Maureen Flavin Sweeney’s son.

(Photo: U.S Troops rushing to the Normandy beaches. Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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 joined in the armed struggle against the military regime in the country.

Then, Bill Booth - historian of twentieth century Latin America at University College London - joins Max to talk about other revolutionary figures from South America.

Next, the story of Australia's first Aboriginal MP and how he fought for indigenous rights.

Plus, the 90th anniversary of the first ever quintuplets, the 1984 Apple commercial that changed advertising and the 2014 Flint, Michigan water contamination crisis.

Contributors:

(Photo: Subcomandante Marcos pictured in 2001. Credit: Getty Images)

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 then rookie basketball player called Michael Jordan signed a deal with Nike that revolutionised sports marketing.

We also hear about the thousands of shoes owned by the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos.

Then we learn how one family feud led to the creation of two massive sportswear companies, Adidas and Puma.

Finally, we hear how a Czech company revolutionised shoe production and brought affordable footwear to the world.

Contributors:

(Photo: Air Jordan Original. Credit: Getty Images)

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 was proclaimed in 1948.

Finally, we tell the unlikely story of how a heavy metal rock band emerged during the violent years of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

Contributors:

(Photo: Antony Géros. Credit: Getty Images)

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 whose pioneering surgery helped millions of people to get rid of their glasses and see more clearly. And why East Germany's thirst for caffeine in the 1980s led to an unusual collaboration with Vietnam.

Also, the story behind one of the most famous royal photographs ever taken – Princess Diana sitting alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal in 1992. The man who took the image tells us more.

And finally, how a Ghanaian athlete, Alice Annum, earned the nickname ‘Baby Jet’ after her medal-winning success in the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Contributors:

(Photo: Scanning fingerprints for Aadhaar registration. Credit: David Talukdar/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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 disappearances in South America.

Plus, we hear about how, in February 2014, ordinary people got to see inside Mezhyhirya, the extraordinarily extravagant home of Ukraine's former president.

Also, a shocking psychological experiment from the 1960s. Just to warn you, this includes original recordings of the experiments which listeners may find disturbing.

The programme also includes the breakthrough moment when the Channel Tunnel was finally completed linking England and France beneath the sea and, finally, the story behind one of the world's most popular self-help books.

Contributors:

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 communications officer about how they helped “close the book on apartheid.”

Then we journey back to 1976 and hear about the Soweto Uprising, a student led protest against the enforced study of Afrikaans. Bongi Mkhabela who helped organise the peaceful march, tells us how it came to a bloody and tragic end.

Plus we take a look at the pivotal role played by women and girls in the lead up to the 1994 elections. Journalist and researcher Shanthini Naidoo tells us why women’s work and activism in the ANC is so often overlooked.

We hear from Oliver Tambo’s son about his father’s return to South Africa after 30 years in exile.

We also hear about the long overdue return of Sarah Baartman’s remains to South Africa, after over 190 years being kept in Europe, where she suffered horrific abuse while she was alive. This programme contains discriminatory language.

And finally, we learn about one of South Africa’s biggest popstars Brenda Fassie, from her friend, rival and admirer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

Contributors:

(Photo: Nelson Mandela after winning the election in 1994. Credit: Getty Images)