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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Appeasement
Mon 30 Sep 2013
In September 1938, Neville Chamberlain tried to negotiate with Hitler over Czechoslovakia.
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The Kinsey Report into Female Sexuality
Fri 27 Sep 2013
Sex, 60 years ago: The Kinsey Report revealed all in 1953
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Siege of Vukovar
Thu 26 Sep 2013
In 1991 the Yugoslav army pounded the Croatian town of Vukova for 87 days
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The Death of Paquirri
Wed 25 Sep 2013
The fatal goring of the legendary bullfighter Francisco Rivera Pérez in September 1984
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Baywatch
Tue 24 Sep 2013
Executive producer Michael Berk on the birth of a global hit TV show in September 1989
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Re-education in Communist China
Mon 23 Sep 2013
Hear from a British man who spent five years being 're-educated' in China in the 1950s
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Duke Ellington Plays Afghanistan
Thu 19 Sep 2013
The jazz legend Duke Ellington played at a concert in Kabul In September 1963
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Anthrax Attacks
Wed 18 Sep 2013
In Sept 2001 letters were sent to journalists containing the biological agent Anthrax
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The Oslo Peace Accords
Tue 17 Sep 2013
In September 1993 a peace agreement was signed between Israel and the Palestinians
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Evita's Odyssey
Mon 16 Sep 2013
The disappearance of the remains in 1955 of Evita Peron, the revered Argentine first lady
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16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
Fri 13 Sep 2013
Four young black girls were killed in a racist bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, USA
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Saving the Tiger
Thu 12 Sep 2013
In 1973 PM Indira Gandhi launched a campaign to save the Bengal Tiger from extinction
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Military Coup in Chile
Wed 11 Sep 2013
On September 11th 1973, Gen Augusto Pinochet ousted the socialist government in Chile
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US Airman Shot Down by Syria
Tue 10 Sep 2013
In December 1983, a US airman was shot down while attacking Syrian forces in Lebanon
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The Attica Prison Riot
Mon 9 Sep 2013
In September 1971 prisoners in a high security jail in the US rose up against their guards
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HMS Trinidad
Fri 6 Sep 2013
George Lloyd, a young English composer, wrote a march for the ship he served on in WWII
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Special Operations Executive
Thu 5 Sep 2013
During WWII Britain set up a secret organisation to wage war in Nazi occupied Europe
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Fleeing from Laos
Wed 4 Sep 2013
In 1973 the American war against communism in Laos ended leaving their allies behind
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Jack The Ripper
Tue 3 Sep 2013
In September 1888, the most famous serial killer in history stalked the streets of London.
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Eritrea's Long War
Mon 2 Sep 2013
A doctor who took part in Eritrea's 30 year struggle for independence from Ethiopia
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Women Murdered in Mexico
Fri 30 Aug 2013
In 1993 young women began disappearing in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez.
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Aboriginal Strike
Thu 29 Aug 2013
The first ever strike by Australian Aborigines to help free them from virtual slavery
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I Have a Dream
Wed 28 Aug 2013
Martin Luther King made his historic plea for racial equality at the March on Washington
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The Sherri Finkbine Abortion Case
Tue 27 Aug 2013
How one Arizona couple's campaign for a termination split America in 1962
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Krakatoa
Mon 26 Aug 2013
In 1883, the Indonesian volcano caused one of the world's biggest disasters
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Brazil Protests: Caras Pintadas
Fri 23 Aug 2013
In 1992, a huge wave of protests forced President Collor of Brazil from office.
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Legionnaires' Disease
Thu 22 Aug 2013
In August 1976 more than 200 people developed a mystery illness at a hotel in Philadelphia
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The Assassination of Benigno Aquino
Wed 21 Aug 2013
On August 21 1983, the opposition leader, Benigno Aquino, was shot dead in the Philippines
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Prague Spring
Tue 20 Aug 2013
The student who appealed for the world's help when Soviet tanks invaded Czechoslovakia
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Saddam Hussein's 'Human Shields'
Mon 19 Aug 2013
The British family who were held as 'human shields' in Iraq before the First Gulf War