The best pictures

I've probably mentioned before that I'm a bit of an insomniac.  When I'm lying awake at night I'll often put the radio on to try and lull myself back to sleep.  Sometimes it works, but it depends what's on, of course.  Our local public radio station broadcasts the BBC World Service through the small hours on weekdays.  Sometimes it's just too good to sleep through.

A few months ago, I lay listening to a programme that has stayed with me ever since.  It was an episode of Witness, a ten minute show that sheds light on events of modern world history through the accounts of people who were actually present.  It covers a huge range of topics, and is nearly always fascinating.  This particular episode was on Ruby Bridges.  As a six year-old in 1960, Ruby was the first black child to attend the all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans. She had to be escorted there each day by federal marshals, to safeguard her from the angry crowds outside.

You can listen to the story here - it is simply told, by Ruby Bridges herself, and it's extraordinarily powerful.  In a scant ten minutes we see both the worst and the very best of humanity.  This programme, like so many in the Witness series, proves once again that - yes - the pictures really are better on the radio.