The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and World Book Day

The History Hour

BBC

History, Society & Culture, Personal Journals

4.4 • 879 Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

It’s 50 years since soldiers of the communist Khmer Rouge party stormed into the capital, Phnom Penh. It was the start of a four year reign of terror which resulted in up to two million people being killed. We hear two stories from people affected by the regime.

Our guest is journalist and author, Elizabeth Becker. She is one of the foremost authorities on the history of Cambodia, and one of the few westerners to have interviewed Pol Pot.

The scientist who invented the white LED lightbulb in 1993 tells his story.

Plus, the Bali Nine: young Australians facing the death penalty for drug smuggling and, Spain’s historic link to World Book Day.

Contributors:

Youk Chang – lived through the Khmer Rouge regime Aki Ra - child soldier of Cambodia Elizabeth Becker – journalist and author Professor Shuji Nakamura – inventor of the white LED lightbulb Bishop Tim Harris – friend of one of the Bali Nine families Pere Vicens - book publisher and one of the creators of World Book Day

(Photo: The fall of Phnom Penh in 1975. Credit: Roland Neveu/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	If a Banksy appeared on your house, you'd be sitting on a fortune, right?
0:06.9	But first you think you're gifted, but you're actually not.
0:10.4	This is a tale of two murals, Margate's Valentine's Day Mascara and the lowest off seagull.
0:17.3	And the true cost of free art for the people who have to live with it.
0:21.3	40,000 pounds cost per annum. We didn't know what to do.
0:25.5	Nobody's turned up to say, we'll help you protect it.
0:28.9	The Banksy story. When Banksy comes to town, listen on BBC Sounds.
0:39.4	Hello and welcome to the History Hour podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Max Pearson,
0:45.1	the past brought to life by those who were there.
0:48.1	Coming up, the Bali Nine young Australians caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.
0:53.6	Here were young people being paraded about with drugs strapped to their bodies.
1:00.3	I thought to myself, boy, these people are going to be in trouble.
1:04.6	Also, the moment which has changed the way we light our world, the invention of the white LED.
1:10.4	I came into the lifetime testing in the early morning at 7am, and the steel LED is on with the same brightness.
1:17.6	As a time, I was so excited.
1:20.6	I said, Banzai!
1:22.6	Banzai means wow, we got it.
1:25.6	And?
1:26.6	No way, yeah. And... No way.
1:28.7	And I'm already hooked.
1:30.3	It's World Book Day and I'm on my way to go and get up going.
1:33.3	That's the World Book Day song and we'll hear about the origins of this annual event.
	...

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