{"id":387353,"date":"2026-10-13T04:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsisc.com\/videos\/john-simpson-on-the-pivotal-moments-that-shaped-the-world-as-we-know-it-the-global-story\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T04:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:00:18","slug":"john-simpson-on-the-pivotal-moments-that-shaped-the-world-as-we-know-it-the-global-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsisc.com\/videos\/john-simpson-on-the-pivotal-moments-that-shaped-the-world-as-we-know-it-the-global-story\/","title":{"rendered":"John Simpson on the pivotal moments that shaped the world as we know it | The Global Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.ytimg.com\/vi\/DGY8DD2UQoA\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"John Simpson on the pivotal moments that shaped the world as we know it | The Global Story\"><br \/> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DGY8DD2UQoA\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p>Politicians and commentators keep telling us we\u2019re living through unprecedented times. But how unusual is the world we\u2019re living in, really? <\/p>\n<p>John Simpson has spent 60 years reporting for the BBC, witnessing some of the most consequential moments in modern history. He was on the plane that brought Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran during the 1979 revolution. He watched the Berlin Wall come down. And he reported from Beijing during the protests in Tiananmen Square. <\/p>\n<p>Those experiences have left Simpson with a perspective that\u2019s not entirely pessimistic. Having lived through the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of apartheid, Simpson has seen seemingly entrenched systems change in ways few thought possible. <\/p>\n<p>Now, as wars rage and the global order shifts again, he joins The Global Story\u2019s Asma Khalid to reflect on what those moments can tell us about the present \u2014 and whether today\u2019s conflicts are repeating familiar patterns.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our channel here: https:\/\/bbc.in\/bbcnews<\/p>\n<p>For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com\/news<\/p>\n<p>Timecodes:<br \/>\n0:00 Are we living through unprecedented times?<br \/>\n0:54 John Simpson and his career throughout the BBC<br \/>\n3:50 The Iranian revolution of 1979<br \/>\n5:55 Did it feel the revolution would last as long as it has?<br \/>\n7:13 The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989<br \/>\n12:55 What is John&#8217;s main takeaway from the Berlin wall?<br \/>\n13:23 Tiananmen Square incident in China, 1989<br \/>\n15:12 The U.S and British involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan<br \/>\n17:37 Are more unprecedented times ahead?<br \/>\n20:30 John&#8217;s message to the younger generation <\/p>\n<p>#BBCNews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Politicians and commentators keep telling us we\u2019re living through unprecedented times. But how unusual is the world we\u2019re living in, really? John Simpson has spent 60 years reporting for the BBC, witnessing some of the most consequential moments in modern history. He was on the plane that brought Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran during the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":387354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128810],"tags":[],"actors":[],"class_list":["post-387353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bbc-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>John Simpson on the pivotal moments that shaped the world as we know it | The Global Story | News ISC Videos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watch John Simpson on the pivotal moments that shaped the world as we know it | The Global Story for free, here on News ISC. 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