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Greg Jenner dives into the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú archive, hearing five clips from the past century, and explores the changes between then and now.

Marking the centenary of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú, Past Forward uses a random date generator to alight somewhere in the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's vast archive over the past 100 years. Presenter Greg Jenner hears archive clips for the first time at the top of the programme, and explores the changes between then and now.

In this omnibus edition, Greg is presented with five fragments of archive. The first is of Ernest Marples, transport minister in the 1960s, discussing the emerging challenges of car congestion and pollution in Britain’s cities, and Greg speaks to the writer Lynsey Hanley and historian Joe Moran about the rise of car culture since then. On 30th June 1998 the news featured the build up to a certain FIFA World Cup football match – England v Argentina – on which the life and career of a young David Beckham would turn. Greg talks to Liza Betts and Jonathan Hirshler about the aftermath and how much we’ve moved on. Then Greg seeks the help of Professor Steven Fielding and Sathnam Sanghera to navigate his way around a short news item from 1977 which concerns a businessman in trouble, and a scandal about racist slurs recorded in secret. A slither of archive from 1935 references triple Wimbledon champion Fred Perry, and to find out more about him Greg talks to writer and inveterate tennis fan Geoff Dyer. Finally Greg listens to an archive interview with the veteran Holocaust survivor Kitty Hart-Moxon and then speaks to Kitty herself, now aged 95. They reflect on human brutality, human survival and the importance of preserving Holocaust memories.

Available now

57 minutes

Last on

Fri 2 Dec 2022 21:00

Broadcast

  • Fri 2 Dec 2022 21:00