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 鈥� Argentina鈥檚 Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 鈥榯ear down this wall鈥� speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler鈥檚 List; and Jacques Derrida, France鈥檚 鈥榬ock star鈥� 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鈥檚 oldest languages.
Episodes to download
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Four minute mile
Thu 5 May 2011
In 1954 a record was broken when a young British athlete ran a mile in under four minutes
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Al-Qaeda 1998 Embassy Bombings in Africa
Tue 3 May 2011
Following Osama Bin Laden's death, we recall al-Qaeda's attacks in Africa in 1998
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Fall of Berlin
Mon 2 May 2011
The experiences of one German woman after Berlin fell to the Red Army in 1945
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Dennis Tito - The first space tourist
Thu 28 Apr 2011
Ten years ago an American businessman called Dennis Tito became the first space tourist
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Rock against Racism 1978
Wed 27 Apr 2011
How an anti-racism concert in London in 1978 influenced a generation
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The bombing of Guernica
Tue 26 Apr 2011
It was one of the worst atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.
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The Hitler diaries hoax
Mon 25 Apr 2011
In 1983 a German magazine believed it had found Hitler's wartime diary.
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Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
Fri 22 Apr 2011
Witness takes you back to the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
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Romanian family history
Thu 21 Apr 2011
One family's extraordinary story kept hidden for decades by the communist secret police
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Gandhi's Salt March protest
Wed 20 Apr 2011
How Gandhi's Salt March in 1930 showed the power of peaceful protest in India
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Waco siege
Tue 19 Apr 2011
How a man from northern England lost his entire family in the siege of Waco in 1993
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Bay of Pigs Invasion
Mon 18 Apr 2011
Cuban exiles, backed by the US government, tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro
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Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier
Fri 15 Apr 2011
She was a Hollywood superstar - he was Prince of a tiny European state
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The Hama massacre 1982
Thu 14 Apr 2011
In 1982 people in the Syrian city of Hama rose up against the Assad regime
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Windscale - Britain's worst nuclear accident
Wed 13 Apr 2011
In 1957 a nuclear reactor in the north of England caught fire
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Yuri Gagarin
Tue 12 Apr 2011
The first man in space became a hero and a poster boy for Soviet achievement
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The Rwandan genocide
Wed 6 Apr 2011
A plane crash on 6 April 1994, set off a wave of killing in Rwanda which lasted 100 days
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The death of Kurt Cobain
Tue 5 Apr 2011
Thirty years ago, the lead singer of the rock band Nirvana was found dead in his home
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Poll tax riots
Thu 31 Mar 2011
The anti-poll tax demonstration of March 1990 brought thousands onto the streets of London
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War in East Pakistan
Mon 28 Mar 2011
In 1971, war began between East and West Pakistan - leading to the creation of Bangladesh
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Posh and Becks - the wedding
Fri 25 Mar 2011
In July 1999 two members of British celebrity royalty tied the knot
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The 蜜芽传媒 Russian service
Thu 24 Mar 2011
For 65 years the 蜜芽传媒 World Service has broadcast in Russian, this weekend it stops
