The History Hour

The Shetland Bus and toxic shock syndrome


Listen Later

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Guri Hjeltnes, an author and World War Two historian.

We start with Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway during World War Two by hearing about a secret resistance operation known as “The Shetland Bus”.

Then, we learn about a playboy spy who, during the 1940s, became one of wartime’s most successful double agents and the reported inspiration behind James Bond.

We hear how a black and white photograph taken in 1982, of a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest, became a symbol of Argentina’s resistance.

Plus, the public health crisis in America in 1980 that led to the setting up of the Tampon Task Force.

In sport, we speak to the BMX rider known as "The Canadian Beast" who took part in the first Extreme Games in 1995.

Finally, we hear from an Austrian mountaineer who spent seven years in Tibet and, in 1948, became friends with the country’s spriritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Contributors:

Leif Larsen – Norwegian sailor and a skipper on “The Shetland Bus”.

Dusko Popov – British double agent during World War Two.

Adriana Lestido - Argentinian newspaper photographer.

Nancy King Reame – Professor Emerita Columbia University and researcher with the Tampon Task Force.

Jay Miron - Canadian BMX rider.

Heinrich Harrer – Austrian mountaineer who became a tutor to the Dalai Lama.

(Photo: Leif Larsen (middle) and other member of The Shetland Bus. Credit: Scalloway Museum)

...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

558 ratings


More shows like The History Hour

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,913 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

376 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,067 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,576 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,808 Listeners

HistoryExtra podcast by Immediate

HistoryExtra podcast

3,196 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

977 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,910 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,729 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,018 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,952 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

580 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,791 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

965 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

410 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

746 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

363 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

471 Listeners

Death in Ice Valley by BBC World Service

Death in Ice Valley

2,734 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,245 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,358 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,010 Listeners