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The History Hour
India's nine day tea strike and the birth of the Excel spreadsheet
The History Hour
Oct 4, 2025

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 at his desk in the White House - with his cheeky young son underneath.

Also, from 1985 one of the most notorious killings from the apartheid era in South Africa of the men who became known as the Cradock four - this includes graphic descriptions of violence.

It’s 30 years since American football star OJ Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. We hear from one of his former friends who testified against him in the criminal trial including his desciptions of the injuries suffered by the victims.

And finally, it’s 40 years this week since the release of Microsoft Excel, the spreadsheet software that's now used all over the world. We hear from one of the creators.

Contributors: Rajeshwary - tea plantation worker. Sabita Banerji - founder of Thirst tea charity. Lukhanyo Calata - son of Fort Calata, one of the Cradock Four. Ron Shipp - who testified against OJ Simpson. Mike Koss – one of the creators of Microsoft Excel. Plus, archive recordings of American photographer Stanley Tretick from the John F Kennedy Library and Museum.

(Photo: Female tea pickers on strike in Munnar. Credit: Countercurrents.org)

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Mar 14, 2026
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Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is media, culture and creative industries lecturer Sarah Jilani. We start in 1954 with the Japanese film Seven Samurai which is widely considered to be one of world cinema's most influential films. Then, we hear about the 2006 Hindi film Rang de Basanti which broke box-office records and inspired thousands of young Indians to march for justice. We delve into the BBC Archives to hear from director Leni Riefenstahl about one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made, Triumph of the Will, which was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally in 1934. Next, we hear about the challenges of making the Hollywood 1942 classic, Casablanca, from the late son and nephew of the screenwriters. Finally, the story of the Spanish language fantasy, Pan's Labyrinth, which took the world by storm in 2006. Contributors: Hisao Kurosawa - movie producer, head of the Kurosawa Production Company and son of Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa. Sarah Jilani - a Lecturer in the Department of Media, Culture and Creative Industries, City St George's, University of London. Kamlesh Pandey - screenwriter. Leni Riefenstahl - film maker (from BBC Archive). Leslie Epstein - the late son and nephew of screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein respectively. Ivana Baquero - actress. (Photo: Ingrid Bergman with Humphrey Bogart in a still from Casablanca. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)


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

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