Past Forward: A Century of Sound

01

About

A funny, fascinating and personal look at 100 years of history in the BBC archivesHistorian Greg Jenner uses a random date generator to visit somewhere in the BBC's vast archives of remarkable sound clips from the last 100 years. Using that clip as a jumping-off point to explore what has changed between then and now, Greg talks to experts and those connected to the archived people, places, and ideas, including Stephen Fry, writer Naomi Alderman, playwright Nell Leyshon, social historian Carol Dyhouse, author and disability campaigner Dr Amit Patel, food historian Annie Gray, and inveterate tennis fan Geoff Dyer.From dance crazes, post-war Christmases and communist sitcoms to pub evolution, life on the waterways and women's political activism, Past Forward provides a rich and thought-provoking look at the oral histories, personal stories, big moments and small joys of the past and the present, and how our history has shaped the people we have become.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:The Lambeth Walk 03 January 20221984 - Comrade Dad 04 January 2022Christmas 1945 05 January 2022Mary Whitehouse 06 January 2022Porton Down 07 January 2022Match Point 10 January 2022Kitty Hart-Moxon 11 January 2022If People Can't Let Slip... 12 January 2022Traffic 13 January 2022England v Argentina 1998 14 January 2022Dinner Is Served 21 March 2022Get Out of My Pub 22 March 2022Talking Technology 23 March 2022The Teen Age 24 March 2022Louie Hooper sings Lord Rendall 25 March 2022Listen with Mother 28 March 2022Rebuilding Britain 29 March 2022The Corncrake and the Croft 30 March 2022Life on the Canals 31 March 2022Save our Steelworks 01 April 2022Production creditsProduced by Dan Potts, Amelia Parker, Martin Williams, Megan Jones, and Eliane Glaser, for BBC WalesCover creditsPhotographer: James Gifford-Mead (jamesgiffordmead-photography.co.uk)Image adapted by Rabia Ali© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd