Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC

Sounds.

Choosing what to watch.

Night after night.

The flicking through. The endless searching is a nightmare. We want to help you. On our

brand new podcast off the telly we share what we've been watching.

Cladie aider. Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming, lovely.

Off the telly with me Joanna Paige and me, Natalie Cassidy,

so your evenings can be a little less searching

and a lot more watching listen on BBC

sounds.

Hello you're listening to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Ashley Byrne and today I'm taking you back to 1974 and an epidemic in India

which killed, disfigured or blinded tens of thousands of people.

I've been speaking to two doctors who remember the world's last major outbreak of smallpox.

In the shallows of the Holy Ganges River, pilgrims purify themselves before offering thanks to the gods.

And here in the ancient city of Benaras, many pilgrims come solely to worship in the temple of Sietla, the smallpox goddess.

...