Sweden and the USA's diplomatic freeze and Elvis in the UK
The History Hour
BBC
4.4 • 912 Ratings
🗓️ 7 March 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
We hear how a speech by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, in 1972, caused a break down in relations with the USA.
Our guest is an expert in the historic relations between Sweden and the US, Dr Saniya Lee Ghanoui from the University of El Paso in Texas.
Plus, the story of India’s secret first nuclear test in 1974, and Portugal’s worst train crash which killed 150 people.
We also learn about the invention of the mobility scooter in the 1960s and the only time the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis, set foot in the UK.
Contributors:
Jan Elliason – former Swedish diplomat.
Dr Saniya Lee Ghanoui – Assistant Professor of history at the University of El Paso.
Dr SK Sikka – former Indian nuclear scientist.
Américo Borges – Portuguese volunteer fire commander.
Al Thieme – the inventor of the mobility scooter.
Anne Murphy – Elvis superfan.
(Photo: Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1972 during the diplomatic freeze with the USA. Credit: Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too. |
| 0:12.1 | You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:15.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. |
| 0:18.2 | All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond. |
| 0:22.2 | And great guests. |
| 0:23.3 | And it's on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.7 | Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and live radio. |
| 0:29.9 | Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. |
| 0:34.5 | But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack. |
| 0:36.3 | Obviously. |
| 0:36.7 | Obviously. |
| 0:55.7 | So if you like music, listen on BBC Sans. A moment in time captured by what they heard. I heard some people making phone calls. Okay, which one way would you like at Teterborough? What they saw. I put my head down. I saw the movie of my life. Start going through my head. What they smelt. I still remember the smell of the fresh fish. |
| 0:58.3 | And I completely lost my appetite. |
| 1:02.4 | Moments captured which last for a lifetime. |
| 1:05.2 | Scientists have made the atomic bomb. |
| 1:10.1 | That sort of flash set on fire the birds, and they all fell down without their feathers on. The way was clear for Hitler to realize all his demonic plans. |
| 1:17.2 | Stories from people with first-hand accounts of events that have shaped our world. |
| 1:23.1 | At the end, Kissinger called me in his office, and he said, he did a good job. |
| 1:28.5 | I left the office with tears in my eyes. |
| 1:31.4 | She called me and told me, I'm doing Studio 54. |
| 1:34.9 | She had already become a star in Paris. |
... |
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