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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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
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Leonardo da Vinci v Michelangelo
Wed 23 Mar 2011
Over 500 years ago in Renaissance Italy, a battle was underway between two great painters.
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Tokaimura nuclear accident
Mon 21 Mar 2011
In September 1999 there was a nuclear accident at Tokaimura in Japan
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Isherwood in Berlin
Fri 18 Mar 2011
The English author Christopher Isherwood lived in Berlin throughout the 1930s.
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Ordination of Women Priests
Thu 17 Mar 2011
Angela Berners-Wilson on her experiences that day, and her long fight to become a priest
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Halabja
Wed 16 Mar 2011
In March 1988 Iraqi forces attacked the Kurdish town of Halabja with chemical weapons
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Air strikes on Libya 1986
Mon 14 Mar 2011
It is almost 25 years since the US decided to take military action against Libya
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Dunblane school shooting
Thu 10 Mar 2011
The lasting emotional impact of a gun attack at a small Scottish school in 1996
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Zeebrugge ferry disaster
Wed 9 Mar 2011
Survivors recall when a Belgian ferry capsized and killed more than 190 people
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Political Activist Rosa Luxemburg
Tue 8 Mar 2011
A revolutionary theorist and feminist icon, Lenin called her the Eagle of the Revolution
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Witness: Weathermen radicals in the USA
Fri 4 Mar 2011
The inside story of how three Weatherman revolutionaries died in New York in March 1970
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Rhodesian republic
Thu 3 Mar 2011
In 1970, the white minority thought they could rule Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, for ever
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The Krakow Ghetto
Wed 2 Mar 2011
In March 1941 the Nazi authorities in Krakow moved the city's Jews into a ghetto
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Libya 1969 coup
Tue 1 Mar 2011
It is over 40 years since Colonel Gaddafi took power in Libya in a military coup
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Assassination of Malcolm X
Mon 28 Feb 2011
How black leader Malcolm X was assassinated in New York in February 1965.
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Nicaraguan elections
Fri 25 Feb 2011
It is 21 years since the left-wing Sandinista government in Nicaragua lost power
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Khrushchev's Secret Speech
Thu 24 Feb 2011
How Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev secretly denounced Stalin as a tyrant
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Apartheid in the 1950s
Wed 23 Feb 2011
The mood across South Africa in the 1950s as the Apartheid laws were being put in place
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People Power in the Philippines
Tue 22 Feb 2011
How people power brought down President Marcos of the Philippines in 1986.
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Algeria emergency
Mon 21 Feb 2011
How Algeria's experiement with democracy ended in civil war and a state of emergency.
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The Lindbergh kidnapping
Fri 18 Feb 2011
On 1 March 1932, the baby son of one of the most famous men in America went missing
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The death of Captain Cook
Wed 16 Feb 2011
In February 1779 the British seafarer Captain Cook was beaten to death in Hawaii
