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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Discovering the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion
Fri 17 Nov 2023
In 2000 Franck Goddio made one of the greatest ever underwater discoveries
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The Bolivian Water War
Thu 16 Nov 2023
How Bolivians in the city of Cochabamba fought against the “leasing of the rain”
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Rosalind Franklin: DNA pioneer
Wed 15 Nov 2023
The scientist produced an X-ray photograph in 1952, that helped show the structure of DNA
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Eyjafjallajökull: The volcano that stopped a continent
Tue 14 Nov 2023
In 2010, a cloud of volcanic ash brought Europe’s planes back to earth
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The invention of the EpiPen
Mon 13 Nov 2023
How engineer Sheldon Kaplan and his team made the EpiPen, the lifesaving allergy device
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The hippo and the tortoise
Fri 10 Nov 2023
In 2004, a hippo and a tortoise became friends. Their story gained worldwide fame
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Destruction of Mostar Bridge
Thu 9 Nov 2023
On 9 November 1993 the historic bridge was destroyed during the Bosnian War
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The Pakistani teens who became disco superstars
Wed 8 Nov 2023
How Nazia and Zoheb Hassan changed South-East Asian pop with their album, Disco Deewane
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Debbie McGee in Iran
Tue 7 Nov 2023
Showbiz star, Debbie McGee describes being caught up in the Iranian revolution in 1978
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Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire
Mon 6 Nov 2023
More than 300 people died in Paraguay's capital in 2004
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Freddie Mercury 'marries' Jane Seymour
Fri 3 Nov 2023
The actress Jane Seymour shares what it was like being rock star Freddie Mercury's bride
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Che Guevara’s daughter: A Cuban doctor in Angola
Thu 2 Nov 2023
In 1986 Dr Aleida Guevara travelled from Cuba to treat children in communist Angola
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Inventing the black box
Wed 1 Nov 2023
In 1962 a prototype of the cockpit flight recorder was tested in Australia
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The discovery of the HIV virus
Tue 31 Oct 2023
In 1983, scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris first discovered the HIV virus
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The billion dollar bid to stop oil drilling in the Amazon
Mon 30 Oct 2023
In 2010 a $3.6billion fund began to stop oil drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuni national park
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Turkey: Gezi Park protests
Fri 27 Oct 2023
In 2013 protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park led to civil unrest across Turkey
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'The streets of Harare were littered with money'
Thu 26 Oct 2023
Professor Gift Mugano describes when Zimbabwe’s inflation hit 89.7 sextillion per cent
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The 1993 MAD hijack
Wed 25 Oct 2023
In 1993, a Nigerian Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked
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The first Bosphorus Bridge
Mon 23 Oct 2023
In 1973, the first bridge connecting Europe and Asia was completed
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Launching Lagos Fashion Week
Thu 19 Oct 2023
Lagos Fashion Week was launched in 2011 putting Nigerian style on the global map
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Mexico’s murdered women
Wed 18 Oct 2023
In the 1990s, hundreds of young women were murdered in a Mexican border town
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Rana Plaza building collapse
Tue 17 Oct 2023
In 2013, an eight-storey building in Bangladesh collapsed killing more than 1,000 people
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Cambodian peace walk
Mon 16 Oct 2023
In 1992, Cambodia held its first peace walk aimed at uniting a country torn apart by war
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Surviving an acid attack and changing the law
Fri 13 Oct 2023
In 2013, acid attack survivors in India celebrated a landmark Supreme Court ruling
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Kwame Nkrumah: Ousted from power
Thu 12 Oct 2023
In 1966, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa's most famous leaders was ousted from power
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Theodosia Okoh: Designer of Ghana’s flag
Wed 11 Oct 2023
Ghana's independence in 1957 was marked with a new flag designed by Theodosia Okoh
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The 84-year-old primary school pupil
Tue 10 Oct 2023
In 2004, Kenyan great grandfather Kimani Maruge became the oldest person to start school
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Yinka Shonibare: Nelson's Ship in a Bottle
Mon 9 Oct 2023
On 24 May 2010, artist Yinka Shonibare unveiled his sculpture, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle