Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the famous ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb.
In 2003, the venue won its bid to host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. Hugh Smythe, known as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler, has been sharing his memories of the mountain. We also have former Winter Olympian and BBC presenter, Chemmy Alcott, to walk us through the long history of skiing.
Plus, how the tiny island nation of American Samoa suffered the worst defeat ever in international football.
Also, the shocking creation of a two-headed dog by a Soviet scientist.
The murder of transgender woman in Honduras during a military coup in 2009.
And, a long-running dispute over the final resting place of Christopher Columbus’ ashes.
Contributors: Hugh Smythe — One of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler.
Chemmy Alcott — Former Winter Olympian and TV presenter.
Nicky Salapu—American Samoa goalkeeper.
Igor Konstantinov — Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon.
Claudia Spelman — LGBT activist.
Angelita Baeyens — Human rights lawyer.
Samuel Bisono — Tour guide and historian.
(Photo: Whistler Blackcomb ski resort. Credit: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The right to drive in Saudi Arabia
The birth of Bangladesh
Four decades of HIV/Aids
The assassination of the Mirabal sisters
Sudan's October Revolution
The South African football star murdered for being a lesbian
When Eritrea silenced its critics
The child environmental activist of the 1990s
The Greenham Common women's peace camp
The Pakistani law that jailed rape survivors
Black history: Britain and race
Photographing Brazil's Yanomami
Kenya: Westgate mall attack
The earthquake that devastated Haiti
9/11 and the war on terror
Surviving the fall of Saigon
My father survived the sinking of the Titanic
US withdrawal: The Fall of Saigon
The Berlin Wall
Chipko: India’s tree-hugging women
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