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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How to win friends and influence people
Wed 1 May 2024
In 1936, Dale Carnegie wrote the self help book - How to Win Friends and Influence People
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How the Milgram 'obedience' experiment shocked the world
Tue 30 Apr 2024
The study aimed to test whether 'ordinary' people were capable of committing evil acts
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Finding the victims of Stroessner's Paraguay
Mon 29 Apr 2024
One man has dedicated his life to finding the victims of Paraguay's dictatorship
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Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home
Sun 28 Apr 2024
The campaign to return Sarah Baartman to South Africa nearly 200 years after her death
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Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile
Fri 26 Apr 2024
Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa in 1990 after 30 years in exile.
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Brenda Fassie: Madonna of the townships
Thu 25 Apr 2024
Brenda Fassie was a popular South African pop star, dubbed the 'Madonna of the townships'
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Soweto uprising: Children who marched against apartheid
Tue 23 Apr 2024
In 1976, an uprising was sparked when demonstrating children were gunned down
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South Africa's referendum on apartheid
Mon 22 Apr 2024
The last whites-only vote in South Africa was held in 1992
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Major Charity Adams and the Six-Triple-Eight
Fri 19 Apr 2024
The first African-American woman to lead a World War Two battalion
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Deadly Everest avalanche
Thu 18 Apr 2024
In 2014, an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 sherpas on Mount Everest
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West Africa's Ebola virus epidemic
Wed 17 Apr 2024
In 2014, Sierra Leone was devastated by Africa's biggest Ebola outbreak on record
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The friendship train: Connecting India and Bangladesh
Tue 16 Apr 2024
In 2008, India and Bangladesh were reconnected by train after 43 years
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Egypt and the ‘Cairo 52’
Mon 15 Apr 2024
In May 2001, 52 men were arrested in a gay nightclub floating on the River Nile
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Hiroo Onoda, Japan’s last WW2 soldier to surrender
Fri 12 Apr 2024
Hiroo Onoda spent 30 years fighting in the jungle, believing the war was still going on
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St Teresa of Avila's severed hand
Thu 11 Apr 2024
How General Franco kept the hand of St Teresa of Avila for spiritual guidance.
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The Scream: A stolen masterpiece
Wed 10 Apr 2024
In 1994, an undercover operation was launched to recover the Scream painting
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How Lake Karla in Greece was drained
Tue 9 Apr 2024
In 1962, Thessaly’s Lake Karla was drained by the Greek government
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The 2010 Kampala bombings
Mon 8 Apr 2024
Bombings in Uganda in 2010 killed 74. Many were football fans watching the World Cup
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Bonus: The Black 14
Sat 6 Apr 2024
The lives of 14 black American footballers are changed forever in a fight against racism
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Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day
Fri 5 Apr 2024
In 1999, a delicious new tradition was born in Sweden's kitchens
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Sweden's pioneering paternity leave
Wed 3 Apr 2024
Fifty years ago Sweden introduced gender neutral parental leave
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The man who invented the seat belt
Tue 2 Apr 2024
In 1958, Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars
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Surviving the Rwandan genocide
Fri 29 Mar 2024
April 1994 was the start of the Rwandan genocide. One hundred days of atrocities followed
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The founding of Nato
Thu 28 Mar 2024
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to block the Soviet Union's expansion
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Britain's first beach for nudists
Wed 27 Mar 2024
In 1980, a seaside town opened a beach where people could strip off as they pleased
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Britain's Mirpuri migration
Mon 25 Mar 2024
In 1967, the Mangla Dam was built in Mirpur spurring a huge global migration
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Wham! in China
Fri 22 Mar 2024
How Wham! became the first Western pop act to perform in communist China