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World Service,21 Feb 2026,60 mins

The Shetland Bus and toxic shock syndrome

The History Hour

Available for over a year

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the 麻豆社 World Service. Our guest is Professor Guri Hjeltnes, an author and World War Two historian. We start with Nazi Germany鈥檚 occupation of Norway during World War Two by hearing about a secret resistance operation known as 鈥淭he Shetland Bus鈥. Then, we learn about a playboy spy who, during the 1940s, became one of wartime鈥檚 most successful double agents and the reported inspiration behind James Bond. We hear how a black and white photograph taken in 1982, of a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest, became a symbol of Argentina鈥檚 resistance. Plus, the public health crisis in America in 1980 that led to the setting up of the Tampon Task Force. In sport, we speak to the BMX rider known as "The Canadian Beast" who took part in the first Extreme Games in 1995. Finally, we hear from an Austrian mountaineer who spent seven years in Tibet and, in 1948, became friends with the country鈥檚 spriritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Contributors: Leif Larsen 鈥 Norwegian sailor and a skipper on 鈥淭he Shetland Bus鈥. Dusko Popov 鈥 British double agent during World War Two. Adriana Lestido - Argentinian newspaper photographer. Nancy King Reame 鈥 Professor Emerita Columbia University and researcher with the Tampon Task Force. Jay Miron - Canadian BMX rider. Heinrich Harrer 鈥 Austrian mountaineer who became a tutor to the Dalai Lama. (Photo: Leif Larsen (middle) and other member of The Shetland Bus. Credit: Scalloway Museum)

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