Paul Robeson and the transatlantic phone line
Witness History11 Jan 2023

Paul Robeson and the transatlantic phone line

In September 1956, a telephone cable called TAT-1 was laid under the Atlantic Ocean.

This made high-quality transatlantic phone calls possible for the first time.

Eight months later in May 1957, 1,000 people squeezed into St Pancras Town Hall in London to listen to a transatlantic concert.

The person performing, Paul Robeson, was a globally renowned singer, but he’d been banned from travelling outside the USA.

So, he made use of the new transatlantic telephone line to perform to his fans in the UK.

Ben Henderson speaks to John Liffen, who curated an exhibition on TAT-1 and the concert at the Science Museum in London.

(Photo: Engineers build repeaters used in TAT-1. Credit: Russell Knight/BIPs via Getty Images)

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

Episoder(2000)

The origins of the all-inclusive holiday

The origins of the all-inclusive holiday

Holidaymakers arrived at the first Club Med resort on the Spanish island of Majorca in the summer of 1950. Founded by the Belgian water polo player Gérard Blitz, Club Méditerranée offered a new kind o...

7 Aug 10min

When Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ ended

When Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ ended

In 1987, Taiwan finally lifted martial law after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule.The moment marked a profound shift for a society long shaped by censorship, surveillance and political fear.F...

6 Aug 9min

Ashley Kriel: South Africa's anti-apartheid 'Che Guevara'

Ashley Kriel: South Africa's anti-apartheid 'Che Guevara'

In the 1980s, townships in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town became an unexpected hotbed of activity against South Africa's apartheid government. One charismatic young activist emerged as a leader of t...

5 Aug 10min

The first carbon offset

The first carbon offset

In 1988, as floods struck Bangladesh and a heat wave swept across the United States, climate change became a political issue. Governments and businesses alike talked about how to stop it, or at least ...

4 Aug 9min

City of God: The film that reshaped global cinema

City of God: The film that reshaped global cinema

In 2001, filming began on City of God which would stun audiences with its unflinching honesty.It captured the brutal realities of child gangsters from Rio De Janeiro’s favelas trapped in an unforgivin...

3 Aug 10min

The cellist who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau

The cellist who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau

In 1943, the cellist, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She expected to be killed in the gas chambers but survived because she was recruited to play in an o...

31 Jul 10min

'I organised the first Comic Con'

'I organised the first Comic Con'

In 1964, a group of teenage boys organised a convention in New York – it became known as the first official Comic Con.The idea began after 16-year-old Bernie Bubnis wrote an article in his comic book ...

30 Jul 10min

Sweden's summer shutdown

Sweden's summer shutdown

In the summer of 1978, many Swedish workers relished the chance to take longer, paid vacations than ever before.This was thanks to an update to Sweden’s Annual Leave Act - or Semesterlagen in Swedish ...

29 Jul 11min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
alt-fortalt
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
bokmerket-2
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
aftenpodden-usa
synnve-og-vanessa
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-siktet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
den-politiske-situasjonen