The Shetland Bus and toxic shock syndrome

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)

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(513)

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and the creator of Star Wars toys

Max Pearson presents a collection of science fiction themed Witness History stories from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Lisa Yaszek, Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech i...

6 Sep 1h

Voting for water and surviving a hurricane

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the wor...

29 Aug 1h

The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New ...

22 Aug 1h

The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.C...

15 Aug 1h

Taiwan's White Terror and the making of City of God

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the end of decades-long martial law in Taiwan and discuss its impact on the country's literature with ...

8 Aug 1h 3min

The first Comic Con and making Oasis’ Wonderwall

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear how a comic book fan and his friends began the very first comic convention in New York in...

1 Aug 59min

Solar-powered flight and the Crazy Horse Memorial

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.This week, we hear about the first solar-powered flight around the world, and discuss other moments in the history of solar pow...

25 Jul 1h

The Spanish Civil War and the Birkin bag

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.This week, we mark 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War. Our guest is historian Prof...

18 Jul 1h