Best Russian Language Arts Podcasts (2025)

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Literary hoaxes and an underground cathedral 1:01:25

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11h ago1:01:25

1:01:25

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is literature lecturer Dr Hetta Howes on major literary hoaxes around the world. We hear about Howard Hughes' fake autobiography, the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá in Colombia and how the Indian musician Ravi Shankar taught George Harrison…

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Juan Carlos becomes King of Spain and ending the Bosnian war 1:00:50

4d ago1:00:50

1:00:50

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Mercedes Peñalba- Sotorrío, a senior lecturer in modern European history at Manchester Metropolitan University, England. We start with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain. Then, we …

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Speed of Sound and prosecuting Nazis 1:01:38

16d ago1:01:38

1:01:38

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is aviation historian Dr Victoria Taylor. We start with an archive interview of American Chuck Yeager who became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound in 1947. Then, a couple who were caught up in the attack on the Batacl…

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The largest dinosaur and creating Miffy 1:00:26

23d ago1:00:26

1:00:26

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Darja Dankina, who's a palaeontologist from the Natures Research Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. We start with the discovery of the largest dinosaur ever, uncovered by a shepherd on a ranch in Argentina in 2012. Then, we hear from the d…

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Emerante de Pradines and Orson Welles’s The War of the Worlds 1:00:19

1M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

Emerante de Pradines's son, Richard Morse, tells us about his mother’s life and her commitment to de-demonising vodou culture through her music. Haiti expert Kate Hodgson, from University College Cork in Ireland, expands on the history of the country in the 20th Century. The story of how an Argentinian doctor was inspired to create a new treatment …

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Music producer Sonny Roberts and treating diabetes 1:00:48

1M ago1:00:48

1:00:48

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Sonny Roberts’ daughter tells us about how her father created the UK’s first black-owned music studio - this programme contains outdated and offensive language. Music producer and professor emerita at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Lu…

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Nordic Noir and the Moomins 1:00:03

1M ago1:00:03

1:00:03

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Indian-based author and podcaster Purba Chakraborty talks about the history of fiction writing. We hear about the rise in popularity of 'Nordic Noir', following the publication of Henning Mankell's crime novels. Then we listen to BBC archive of wr…

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The evacuation of Tristan da Cunha and Japan surrenders to China at the end of World War Two 59:50

2M ago59:50

59:50

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with a BBC archive interview where one woman recounts what it was like to survive the earthquake and landside in 1961 following the volcanic eruption in Tristan da Cunha. Our guest is Anne Green, a retired schoolteacher from the island of…

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India's nine day tea strike and the birth of the Excel spreadsheet 59:20

2M ago59:20

59:20

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. Tea expert Sabita Banerji talks about the history of tea in India. We look back at how women teapickers in 2015 fought for justice - and improved the lives of thousands of tea plantation workers. We hear the story of a famous photo of American president John F Kennedy working…

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The origins of Indian cinema and the start of Scouting 1:00:00

2M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes taking us from India to Texas. Professor Sunny Singh, author of A Bollywood State of Mind, discusses the origins of Indian cinema in 1912. And we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of Bollywood romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. We also head to Paris in 1971, to t…

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The fight against sexual harassment in Egypt and Omar Sharif enters the world stage 59:58

2M ago59:58

59:58

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Egyptian theme. We find out more about the 2014 fight against sexual harassment. And we hear from Professor Nicola Pratt, an expert on Middle East feminism about the significance of that moment in the fight for women's rights. Also, we go to the 1960s when antiqui…

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Nigeria’s Festac’77 and Gander’s generosity during 9/11 1:00:31

3M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Lucy Durán, a Spanish ethnomusicologist, record producer and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. We start with an African American artist who recounts exhibiting her work at Nigeria's largest ever festiv…

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The Chindits and USAID 1:00:31

3M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's episodes of Witness History. The formation of an unconventional special force during the Second World War sparks a discussion about three others around the world with military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson. Plus, the founding of the United States Agency for International Development, the discovery …

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Washington DC and a film noir classic 1:00:02

3M ago1:00:02

1:00:02

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We learn why the Mount Pleasant riots erupted in Washington DC in 1991, and hear from our guest, Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, a public historian of the US capital. Plus, more on John Lennon’s benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, his fin…

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BlackBerry phones and Spot the dog 59:07

3M ago59:07

59:07

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Jacquie McNish, author and former Senior Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal. We start with the former co-CEO of BlackBerry, who recounts the company's remarkable boom and bust. Then, the creation of the Spot the dog children's b…

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Indonesian history 50:20

4M ago50:20

50:20

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Anne-Lot Hoek, a research fellow at the International Institution of Social History in Amsterdam. This week, we’re looking at key moments in Indonesian history, as the country marks 80 years since independence. We start by hearing …

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Nagasaki bomb and Brazil’s biggest bank heist 50:52

4M ago50:52

50:52

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Simone Turchetti, Professor of the History of Science and Technology, at The University of Manchester in the UK. It's 80 years since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing Japan to surrender at the end of the S…

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Russian revolutionaries and Japan’s record breaking rollercoaster 50:54

4M ago50:54

50:54

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Lara Douds, Assistant Professor of Russian history. We start in 1907, the men who would go on to lead the Russian Revolution met in London for a crucial congress marking a point of no return between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks…

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Take the Money and Run - How a Danish artist tricked a museum out of half a million kroner in the name of art 29:03

4M ago29:03

29:03

This podcast is based on an article called “Jens Haaning stak af med en half million fra museum: Nu fortæller han hvad det kostede ham selv”.Here is the link (and it’s not behind a paywall!) https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/jens-haaning-stak-af-med-en-halv-million-fra-museum-nu-fortaeller-han-hvad-detI hope you enjoy the podcast. Have a great week!…

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Saxophone diplomacy and bulletproof vests 50:51

4M ago50:51

50:51

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Natalia Grincheva, an expert in cultural diplomacy from Lasalle, University of the Arts in Singapore. We start by hearing about when US president Bill Clinton was presented with a saxophone on a 1994 visit to Prague and he and the …

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Nuclear diplomacy and Italo disco 51:13

5M ago51:13

51:13

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dina Esfandiary, Middle East Geo-economics Lead at Bloomberg Economics. We start in 2015 with insider accounts of the Iran nuclear deal and the Greek debt crisis. Then, the 1995 'Turbot War' between Canada and Spain. We hear how inter…

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The 'trial of the juntas' and Evita’s missing body 50:59

5M ago50:59

50:59

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Argentine theme. We find out more about the 1985 ‘trial of the juntas’ when the country’s former military leaders stood accused of torturing and murdering thousands of their own people. And we hear from historian Dr Victoria Basualdo about life in Argentina, both …

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Dancing in the Street and Ai Weiwei 50:53

5M ago50:53

50:53

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes including the story behind Mick Jagger and David Bowie's duet for Live Aid in 1985 and the Chinese artist who was jailed for his art inspired by the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. He speaks to music journalist Alice Austin to explore other concerts in world history that have had …

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Robert Kennedy's funeral train and the opening of the Medellin Metro 50:58

5M ago50:58

50:58

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service, all related to trains and journeys which have helped to shape our world. Our guest Nicky Gardner, travel writer and co-author of Europe by Rail: the Definitive Guide, discusses the origins of train travel. The first story involved the hijacking of…

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Jaws and the Charleston church shooting 51:07

5M ago51:07

51:07

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. This programme includes outdated and offensive language. It’s 50 years since the original Jaws film was released in cinemas across America. The movie premiered on 20 June 1975. Our guest is Jenny He, senior exhibitions curator at the Academy Museu…

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The Danish Loser Man (tabermand) 28:41

6M ago28:41

28:41

In this episode, we will talk about “the Danish Loser Man “ and the problems he has. The term “tabermand” was coined years ago and refers to a man who is lagging behind women both financially and education wise. The podcast is based on an article from the Danish newspaper Information. Here is a link to the article:…

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Ronald Reagan and Lonesome George 50:51

6M ago50:51

50:51

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dolly Jørgensen, Professor of History at the University of Stavanger in Norway and a specialist in the history of extinction. We start in 2012 with the death of a famous Galapagos tortoise called Lonesome George, who was the last of h…

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Discovery of the first exoplanets and the goalie who killed a seagull 51:23

6M ago51:23

51:23

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Jeni Millard, a science presenter, astrophysicist and astronomer. First, how two astronomers announced they had discovered the first two planets outside our solar system. Then, German twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun on building Min…

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Battle of the Beanfield and the Champions League anthem 51:04

6M ago51:04

51:04

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Nivi Manchanda, a reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London. First, a moment when two cultures clashed in 1985 at Stonehenge. We hear about an English language novel from 1958, called Things Fall Apart. Th…

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The history of photography 50:58

6M ago50:58

50:58

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. The expert guest is Dr Mirjam Brusius, a research fellow in colonial and global history at the German Historical Institute. First, we hear about Martín Chambi - Peru's pioneering documentary photographer. Then Amaize Ojeikere talks about his fathe…

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Sweden’s Vipeholm experiments and the Intervision Song Contest 51:00

7M ago51:00

51:00

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Elizabeth Abbott, writer, historian and author of the book, "Sugar: A Bittersweet History". First, we confront the dark history of sugar. We hear how a researcher in the 1990s uncovered the unethical aspects of Sweden’s Vipeholm ex…

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Rescuing Palmyra’s treasures and 80 years since VE Day 50:33

7M ago50:33

50:33

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Rubina Raja, professor of classical archaeology and art at Aarhus University in Denmark. First, we go back to May 2015, when the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria was about to fall to Jihadist fighters and how of a group of men risked …

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The Vietnam War and the expansion of the EU 50:51

7M ago50:51

50:51

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service about the Vietnam War and the invention of the hugely popular mobile phone game, Snake. Don Anderson, a former BBC TV reporter during the final days of Vietnam, discusses the atmosphere in Saigon as the North Vietnamese forces closed in. We also he…

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Secret D-Day rehearsal and YouTube begins 51:32

7M ago51:32

51:32

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is World War Two military historian and archivist Elisabeth Shipton. We start by concentrating on two events from the last year of the Second World War. Exercise Tiger took place in April 1944 in preparation for the D-Day landings of All…

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The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and World Book Day 51:10

8M ago51:10

51:10

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. It’s 50 years since soldiers of the communist Khmer Rouge party stormed into the capital, Phnom Penh. It was the start of a four year reign of terror which resulted in up to two million people being killed. We hear two stories from people affected…

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Bonus: Defeated 49:47

8M ago49:47

49:47

8th May 1945 was a day of rejoicing in Britain, the US and many other countries: Germany had surrendered, and World War II was over, at least in Europe. Yet it was not a day of celebration for everyone: for the vanquished Germans, it marked the end of bombings and of Nazi rule. But it was also a time of deprivation and chaos, fear and soul-searchin…

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Nazis and sex strikes 50:57

8M ago50:57

50:57

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Dr Katrin Paehler, Professor of modern European history at Illinois State University. First, a journalist describes how he accompanied Hitler through the embers of the Reichstag fire in 1933. Then, the harrowing recollections of a doc…

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The wonder woman of the comic world and Namibia's 'ghost town' 51:27

8M ago51:27

51:27

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear from the first woman to lead DC Comics - the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Jenette Kahn began turning the company around in the 1970s. Our expert is Dr Mel Gibson, associate professor at Northumbria University. She has carried …

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The phone call that changed Nigeria and a 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela 50:59

8M ago50:59

50:59

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the historic moment in Nigerian politics when Goodluck Jonathan made a phone call to General Buhari marking the peaceful handover of power in 2015. Our expert is historian and creator of the Untold Stories podcast, Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie…

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The history of space travel 51:08

8M ago51:08

51:08

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.This week we’re looking at the history of space travel, including the 60th anniversary of the first ever space-walk by Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.Also, the speech that would have been given if the Apollo 11 astronauts didn’t make their way back…

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The Americans with Disabilities Act and the invention of GPS 51:24

9M ago51:24

51:24

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We find out about the landmark protest in 1990 when wheelchair users crawled up the steps of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, campaigning for disability rights. Our expert is Dr Maria Orchard, law lecturer at the University of Leeds, who h…

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The invention of the shopping trolley and the Calais 'Jungle' 50:55

9M ago50:55

50:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We find out how Sylvan Goldman’s invention of the shopping trolley in 1930s America turned him into a multi-millionaire. Our expert is Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London, who is also the author of two b…

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Discovering the haemoglobin structure and the Nellie massacre 51:16

9M ago51:16

51:16

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear about the moment Dr Max Perutz discovered the haemoglobin structure. Our expert is Professor Sir Alan Fersht, who is a chemist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and knew Dr Perutz personally. We also hear abou…

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Death of a language and the world’s longest kiss 51:13

9M ago51:13

51:13

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We hear about the death of one of the oldest languages in the world, when an 85 year old woman died and took it with her in 2010. Our expert guest is Dr Mandana Seyfeddinipur, who is the Head of the Endangered Languages Archive which endeavours to…

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Great speeches from around the world 51:20

10M ago51:20

51:20

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We discuss the 1992 speech given by Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, in which he acknowledged the moral responsibility his government should bear for the horrors committed against Indigenous Australians, with our guest Dr Rebe Taylor from …

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Cult films and a 'rockstar' philosopher 50:58

10M ago50:58

50:58

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is film critic and journalist Helen O'Hara who dissects what makes a cult film classic, after we hear about the making of the 1989 American film Heathers. We also learn about the French philosopher behind the theory of deconstruction and…

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The 'Wolf Children' of World War Two and China's TV lessons 51:13

10M ago51:13

51:13

We hear from 'wolf child' Luise Quietsch who was separated from her family and forced to flee East Prussia. Whilst trying to survive during World War Two, these children were likened to hungry wolves roaming through forests. Journalist and documentary film-maker Sonya Winterberg who recorded the testimony of “wolf children” for her book, discusses …

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Back to 1995 50:55

10M ago50:55

50:55

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all about events which happened in 1995. First, we hear how Microsoft launched Windows 95 after a $300 million marketing campaign. Our expert guest is Dr Lisa McGerty – Chief Executive of the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge. Next, after 17 years terrorising America,…

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World War Two on film and Africa's landmark lifestyle magazine 51:12

11M ago51:12

51:12

Josephine McDermott sits in for Max Pearson presenting a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear from the author who stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while shopping for a briefcase in Beverly Hills. Our guest is Dr Anne-Marie Scholz, from the University of Bremen in Germany, who reflects on the impact of dramatization…

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The Charlie Hebdo attack and the art of decluttering 51:08

11M ago51:08

51:08

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear a first-hand account of the attack at the offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. Our expert guest is Dr Chris Millington, who leads the Histories and Cultures of Conflict research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. We also hear about Swedish di…