Witness History Podcast
History told by the people who were there. For nine minutes every weekday, Witness History takes you back to moments which have shaped our world.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest, the disastrous D-Day rehearsal, and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
Episodes to download
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Breaking the sound barrier
Yesterday
In 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound
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Discovering the largest dinosaur ever
Friday
In 2012, a shepherd uncovered a bone belonging to a new dinosaur in Argentina
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The ‘father of e-books’
Thursday
In 1971, there was a key moment in the digital revolution of e-books
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The creation of Miffy
Last Wednesday
The children's book character Miffy was created by Dick Bruna in 1955
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President Clinton is impeached
Last Tuesday
In 1999, US President Clinton was impeached over a relationship with a White House intern
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The brains behind Thunderbirds
Last Monday
It's 60 years since Thunderbirds first blast onto TV screens
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Emerante de Pradines: Haiti’s musical trailblazer
Fri 31 Oct 2025
The singer, dancer and folklorist who became the first Haitian to sign a record deal
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Orson Welles broadcasts The War of the Worlds
Thu 30 Oct 2025
In 1938, Orson Welles terrified radio listeners with The War of the Worlds
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The invention of the balloon-expandable stent
Tue 28 Oct 2025
The story of how an Argentinian doctor created a new treatment for heart disease
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The man who invented the scratch card
Fri 24 Oct 2025
In 1974 the chance to win instant cash went on sale for the first time
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GLP-1: A breakthrough for diabetes and obesity
Thu 23 Oct 2025
In the 1980s, a scientific breakthrough paved the way for new treatments
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The UK’s first black-owned music studio
Wed 22 Oct 2025
In 1961, record producer Sonny Roberts changed the history of British music
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Wangari Maathai: The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Tue 21 Oct 2025
In 2004, Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize
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The British oil tanker sunk in Indonesia
Mon 20 Oct 2025
In 1958, the British oil tanker, SS San Flaviano was sunk, reportedly by a CIA pilot
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My aunt created The Moomins
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Tove Jansson's book The Moomins and the Great Flood was published in 1945
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Helen Fielding: The creator of Bridget Jones
Thu 16 Oct 2025
In 1995, a single 30-something woman first appeared in a weekly newspaper column
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The trial of Soviet writers Daniel and Sinyavsky
Wed 15 Oct 2025
How the arrest of two writers sparked the Soviet dissident movement
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Jorge Luis Borges: 'Father' of Latin American fiction
Tue 14 Oct 2025
In 1961, the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges came to the world's attention
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Wallander and the rise of Nordic Noir
Mon 13 Oct 2025
First published in 1991, Henning Mankell's novels changed the world of crime fiction
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How BRICS got its name
Fri 10 Oct 2025
In 2001, economist Jim O’Neill wrote a report on countries set to shape the world economy
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Japan surrenders in Beijing
Thu 9 Oct 2025
A rare eyewitness account of Japan's surrender in Beijing in 1945
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The remote island that was evacuated to 10,000km away
Wed 8 Oct 2025
On 10 October 1961, the population of Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to the UK
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'I designed the Indian rupee symbol'
Tue 7 Oct 2025
On 15 July 2010, India announced its official currency symbol
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The home video war
Mon 6 Oct 2025
In the 1970s and 80s VHS and Betamax went head-to-head over the home entertainment market
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The acquittal of OJ Simpson
Fri 3 Oct 2025
The American football star was found not guilty of double murder in 1995
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'I took the famous photo of JFK and his son'
Thu 2 Oct 2025
On 2 October 1963, Stanley Tretick took a well-known picture of President John F Kennedy
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The strike that shook up India's tea industry
Wed 1 Oct 2025
In 2015, thousands of women tea pickers spent nine days protesting about low wages
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The birth of the Excel spreadsheet
Tue 30 Sep 2025
In September 1985, Excel, an electronic spreadsheet document was created