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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The 1924 Paris Olympics
Sun 21 Jul 2024
The last time Paris held the Olympic Games was 100 years ago in 1924
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How Ayia Napa became a clubbing capital
Fri 19 Jul 2024
In the 1990s, Ayia Napa, in Cyprus, went from quiet fishing village to party resort
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The missing people of Cyprus
Thu 18 Jul 2024
Between 1963 and 1974, more than 2,000 people in Cyprus went missing
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Cyprus 2003: Crossing the ceasefire line
Wed 17 Jul 2024
In April 2003, people in Cyprus crossed the ceasefire line for the first time in 29 years
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Cyprus 1974: The Final Landing
Tue 16 Jul 2024
In July 1974, Captain Adamos Marneros landed the last flight at Nicosia Airport in Cyprus
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Cyprus 1974: The Greek coup
Mon 15 Jul 2024
How a coup in Cyprus led to the division of the island’s communities
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Arrested for playing football in Brazil
Fri 12 Jul 2024
For nearly 40 years, women in Brazil were banned from playing football
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Italy's 'poison ships'
Thu 11 Jul 2024
In 1988, a ship carrying toxic waste arrived in Manfredonia, Italy
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The 1968 Mexico City massacre
Wed 10 Jul 2024
The massacre in Mexico City in October 1968, 10 days before the Olympics
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The day Celia Cruz returned to Cuba
Tue 9 Jul 2024
Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz's only return to the island in 43 years of exile.
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How the air fryer was invented
Mon 8 Jul 2024
In 2006, Dutch inventor Fred van der Weij cooked up an idea for a new kitchen device
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Conservative wipe-out in Canada
Fri 5 Jul 2024
In Canada's 1993 election, the governing party was routed, ending up with just two seats
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Fight the Power: The song that became an anthem of protest
Thu 4 Jul 2024
In 1989, Public Enemy provided the soundtrack for Spike Lee's movie, Do The Right Thing
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Georgia’s political crisis
Wed 3 Jul 2024
In 1991, the newly independent country found itself on the verge of a civil war
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Executed in Stalin’s Great Terror in Georgia
Tue 2 Jul 2024
In the 1930s, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin executed hundreds of thousands without trial
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Subway Art: The graffiti bible
Mon 1 Jul 2024
In 1984, Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper released an iconic photography book
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I designed Hello Kitty
Fri 28 Jun 2024
In 1974, a Japanese artist created a character who is now worth more than $80 billion
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The first CIA-backed coup in Latin America
Thu 27 Jun 2024
President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala was overthrown in a revolt sponsored by the US
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Dignitas: Founding an assisted dying society
Wed 26 Jun 2024
In 1998, Swiss lawyer Ludwig Minelli set up the controversial organisation Dignitas
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Sagrada Familia: Completing Gaudi’s vision
Tue 25 Jun 2024
How architects carried on building Barcelona's basilica after the death of designer Gaudi
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The expulsion of the Sudeten Germans
Mon 24 Jun 2024
Sudeten Germans were expelled by the Czechoslovak government after World War Two
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Kawarau Bridge: The first bungee jumping site in New Zealand
Fri 21 Jun 2024
In 1988 AJ Hackett brought bungee jumping to paying customers
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The first mega cruise ship
Thu 20 Jun 2024
In 1988, the world’s largest passenger ship set sail on her maiden voyage from the USA
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The beginning of Benidorm
Wed 19 Jun 2024
How one man grew a sleepy Spanish town into one of the world’s biggest holiday resorts
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How Cancún became a tourist destination
Tue 18 Jun 2024
In 1969, Antonio EnrÃquez Savignac started building Cancún
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The first budget transatlantic flights
Mon 17 Jun 2024
In 1955, an Icelandic airline slashed the cost of flying across the Atlantic
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Orelhão: Brazil's iconic egg-shaped telephone booth
Fri 14 Jun 2024
In 1971, a Chinese architect called Chu Ming Silveira created Orelhão
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Kielland disaster
Thu 13 Jun 2024
In 1980, 123 men died when a platform capsized in Norway's biggest industrial disaster
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The Irish shopworkers strike against apartheid
Wed 12 Jun 2024
In 1984, 11 Dunnes store workers walked out after refusing to handle South African goods
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Boko Haram massacre in Gwoza
Tue 11 Jun 2024
In 2014, Boko Haram drove into Gwoza in Nigeria and began an assault that killed hundreds