Past Forward: A Century of Sound

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Greg Jenner dives deep into the BBC archive to explore what it says about who we are now.

Greg Jenner takes a deep dive into the BBC archive to explore what it can tell us about who we are now.

Marking the Centenary, Past Forward uses a random date generator to alight somewhere in the BBC's vast archive over the past 100 years. Historian Greg Jenner hears an archive clip for the first time at the top of the programme, and uses it as a starting point in a journey towards the present day. The archive captures a century of British life in a unique way -  a history of ordinary people's lives, as well as news of the great events.  Greg uncovers connections through people, places and ideas that link the archive fragment to Britain in 2022, pulling in help from experts and those who remember the time - and sometimes the speakers themselves, decades later - along the way. What he discovers are stories, big and small, that reveal how the people we were have shaped the people we have become.

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Past Forward: A Century of Sound: Traffic

Traffic

BBC Radio 4 - Past Forward: A Century of Sound, Traffic

Greg Jenner reflects on the history, present and future of motoring in Britain.

Greg Jenner hears an archive clip of 1960s transport minister Ernest Marples and reflects on the history, present and future of car culture in Britain.

Greg Jenner watches an archive clip of Ernest Marples, transport minister in the 1960s, discussing the emerging challenges of car congestion and pollution in Britain’s cities. Greg speaks to the writer Lynsey Hanley and the historian Joe Moran about the rise of car culture in Britain. What is the particular appeal of the private car, how does the rise in car ownership relate to the rise of the environmental movement, and what is their vision for how we’ll get from A to B in the future?  

Marking the centenary of the BBC, Past Forward uses a random date generator to alight somewhere in the BBC's vast archive over the past 100 years. Public historian Greg Jenner hears an archive clip for the first time at the top of the programme, and uses it as a starting point in a journey towards the present day. The archive captures a century of British life in a unique way - a history of ordinary people’s lives, as well as news of the great events. Greg uncovers connections through people, places and ideas that link the archive fragment to Britain in 2022, pulling in help from experts and those who remember the time – and sometimes the speakers themselves, decades later - along the way. What he discovers are stories, big and small, that reveal how the people we were have shaped the people we have become.

Producer: Eliane Glaser

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