Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Rachel E. Johnson, Professor of Modern African History at Durham University in the UK.

We begin with the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which became a defining symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. We hear from one of the students who took part in the protest, which was violently suppressed by South African security forces in June 1976.

Then we have the harrowing account of an ethnic Georgian poet who fled his home in Abkhazia when the breakaway region was engulfed in war in 1993.

We also hear from one of the Greek Cypriot women who, in 1987, marched towards the ceasefire line dividing Cyprus to protest against the island’s partition.

Next, the scientist who identified Lyme disease in 1976.

Plus, the discovery of the remains known as “Mungo Man”, a 42,000‑year‑old skeleton that transformed understanding of Australia’s ancient past.

And Brazil’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup, which happened on home soil in 2014.

Contributors:

Professor Rachel E. Johnson – Professor of Modern African History, Durham University

Bongi Mkhabela – Soweto Uprising participant

Guram Odisharia – Georgian poet from Abkhazia

Niki Katsaouni – Greek Cypriot peace activist

Dr Jim Bowler – geologist

Prof Allen Steere – rheumatologist

Thomas Müller – German footballer

(Photo: Black students protesting against the compulsory teaching of Dutch-based Afrikaans in schools. Credit: Getty)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. And today, we’re celebrating international archives week, set up to highlight the importance of protecting the world's historical records.

Our guest is BBC curator Joe Schultz who talks about some of the jewels in the BBC radio collections. We find out why cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in 1978.

Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela reveals how he survived prison in South Africa. Plus, Pablo Picasso and his fellow artists enjoy a Surrealist summer in 1930s France. And more on the inspiration behind Anton Chekhov's most famous play, Three Sisters.

We hear about the Jordanian king who survived numerous assassination attempts to become one of the Middle East’s longest serving leaders. And finally, Pickles the dog: the four-legged hero who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy ahead of the 1966 World Cup.

Contributors:

Joe Schultz – BBC curator.

Mstislav Rostropovich - virtuoso cellist.

Nelson Mandela – former president of South Africa.

Eileen Agar – Surrealist artist.

Paul Shishkoff – friend of playwright Anton Chekhov.

King Hussein of Jordan.

Jack Pizzey – TV documentary-maker.

Pickles the dog – hero of the 1966 World Cup.

David Corbett – Pickles' owner.

(Photo: Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, 1950. Credit: Michael Ward/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Professor Giuliana Pieri, an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London.

We start with the author Andrea Camilleri on the creation of his fictional detective Inspector Montalbano in 1994, and his influence on Italian noir.

Then we explore the tapes recorded in the 1950s with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

We hear about the Chinese protests in 1989 that led up to the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Plus, the launch of Ireland's first Irish language television channel in 1996.

Next, when Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup in 1994.

Finally, we hear from the artist behind the first of Australia's 'Big Things', the giant novelty sculptures that became a national phenomenon.

Contributors:  

Professor Giuliana Pieri - an expert in Italian noir from Royal Holloway, University of London

Andrea Camilleri - Italian crime-writer (archive)

Saskia Sassen - daughter of Dutch journalist Willem Sassen, who recorded interviews with Adolf Eichmann

Wu'er Kaixi - Chinese student organiser of pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square

Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir - first live presenter to speak on Teilifís na Gaeilge: Ireland's first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language

Alan Rothenberg - former president of the US Soccer Federation

Paul Kelly - Australian artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster

Christobel Kelly - daughter of Paul Kelly

(Photo: Italian writer Andrea Camilleri, Rome, Italy, 2011. Credit: Luciano Viti/Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

Our guest is Michelle Meinhart, a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. We start by hearing about a Mexican song that captivated lovers in World War Two. Then, a marketing strategist recalls how he worked on a Mexican election campaign in 2000 that saw a change of government for the first time in 71 years. We hear how millions of indigenous women in Mexico won the right to vote and stand in elections in 2014. Plus, a woman recalls her family's escape from a deadly gas explosion in Mexico City in 1984. Finally, we find out how Titanic, one of the most successful films in movie history, was made in Mexico in 1997. Contributors: Mariano Rivera Velazquez - son of singer Consuelo Velazquez who wrote Bésame Mucho. Michelle Meinhart - a reader in musicology and cultural history at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Francisco Ortiz - marketing strategist. Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza - campaigner for indigenous women's rights. Virginia Martínez Tellez - San Juanico resident. Antonio Moreno - sports journalist. Luisa Gomez de Silva - assistant coordinator in the art department for the movie Titanic. (Photo: A welcoming kiss. Credit: Topical press agency/Hulton archive/Getty images)