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
-
![]()
Chiapas Uprising
Fri 31 Dec 2010
On January 1 1994 indigenous people in southern Mexico began their rebellion.
-
![]()
Hamlet
Thu 30 Dec 2010
Hamlet - by William Shakespeare - is still popular four centuries after it was written.
-
![]()
-
![]()
The Great Escape
Tue 28 Dec 2010
One of the Great Escapees from a German prisoner of war camp speaks out
-
![]()
Jamaica Slave Rebellion
Mon 27 Dec 2010
The rebellion was brutally crushed, but it had a significant impact
-
![]()
Christmas Truce
Christmas Eve 2010
When British and German troops sang carols, exchanged gifts and played football together
-
![]()
Andrei Sakharov
Thu 23 Dec 2010
On 23 December, 1986 the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov was allowed to return to Moscow
-
![]()
Georgia in crisis
Wed 22 Dec 2010
Christmas 1991 was a very difficult time for the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
-
![]()
Lockerbie
Tue 21 Dec 2010
On December 21 1988 a US passenger plane blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
-
![]()
US invasion of Panama
Mon 20 Dec 2010
It is 21 years since the US invaded the tiny Central American state of Panama.
-
![]()
Washington Snipers
Fri 17 Dec 2010
It is 7 years since one of the Washington snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo, was convicted of murder
-
![]()
Operation Desert Fox
Thu 16 Dec 2010
On 16 December 1998 the US and Britain began a four day bombardment of Iraq.
-
![]()
Siege of Grozny
Wed 15 Dec 2010
In December 1994 Russian forces invaded Chechnya and laid siege to the capital Grozny.
-
![]()
Capture of Saddam Hussein
Tue 14 Dec 2010
It was on this day in 2003 that Saddam Hussein was finally captured by US forces
-
![]()
Argentina's disappeared
Mon 13 Dec 2010
On 13 December 1983, the government of Argentina promised to investigate military crimes
-
![]()
Albert Luthuli Receives the Nobel Peace Prize
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Chief Albert Luthuli was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Peace - in 1960
-
![]()
Smallpox Eradication
Thu 9 Dec 2010
It was once one of the most feared diseases in the world - disfiguring and often deadly
-
![]()
John Lennon
Wed 8 Dec 2010
It is exactly 30 years since the former Beatle, John Lennon, was shot dead in New York.
-
![]()
Pearl Harbour
Tue 7 Dec 2010
The Japanese attack on American ships in Pearl Harbour forced the US into World War II.
-
![]()
-
![]()
Kindertransports
Fri 3 Dec 2010
In December 1938 the Kindertransports began, carrying Jewish children to safety in Britain
-
![]()
El Salvador killings
Thu 2 Dec 2010
On December 2nd 1980 the military in El Salvador killed 3 US nuns, and a layworker.
-
![]()
Channel Tunnel
Wed 1 Dec 2010
The moment of breakthrough for the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France
-
![]()
Tomb of Tutankhamun
Tue 30 Nov 2010
In late November 1922 the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, was uncovered
-
![]()
Inca defeat
Mon 29 Nov 2010
How the great Inca empire was brought to its knees - almost 500 years ago.
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
Afghan Prison Massacre
Wed 24 Nov 2010
The story of the bloody suppression of an uprising by Taliban prisoners in an Afghan jail
-
![]()
-
![]()
