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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The first World Laughter Day
Thu 11 Jan 2024
The first World Laughter Day took place in Mumbai, India in January 1998
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Russian ballerina defects to the west
Wed 10 Jan 2024
The Russian ballerina who defected to the west
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The mystery of France's lost king
Tue 9 Jan 2024
The fate of Louis-Charles, imprisoned in 1795, was for years shrouded in rumour
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The world’s first lesbian couple to get married
Mon 8 Jan 2024
In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage
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What the 1989 solar storm did to Quebec
Fri 5 Jan 2024
In 1989, a huge solar flare ground life to a halt in Quebec
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The Hindenburg airship disaster
Thu 4 Jan 2024
In 1937, the Hindenburg burst into flames during mooring, killing 35 people on board.
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The invention of the wingsuit
Wed 3 Jan 2024
In 1999, skydiver Jari Kuosma developed the first commercial wingsuit
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Discovery of the hole in the earth’s ozone
Tue 2 Jan 2024
In 1985, news broke of a major environmental discovery: a hole in the earth’s ozone layer
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Earth: A pale blue dot in the universe
New Year's Day 2024
In 1990, a space probe's photograph of Earth captured the enormity of space
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Ken Hom's 'Chinese Cookery'
Fri 29 Dec 2023
In 1984, Ken Hom taught TV audiences to cook Chinese food for the first time
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The disputed history of pad Thai
Thu 28 Dec 2023
Exploring the different theories behind the creation of pad Thai
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Flavr Savr tomato: The world's first genetically-engineered food
Wed 27 Dec 2023
In 1994, a tomato became the world's first genetically-engineered food on sale
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Kiwi: How New Zealand hijacked China's fruit
Boxing Day 2023
How the Chinese gooseberry became the kiwi and one of New Zealand’s biggest exports
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'The bad boy of Welsh politics'
Fri 22 Dec 2023
In 1969, the singer Dafydd Iwan campaigned for official recognition of the Welsh language
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Al Jazeera Three: Imprisoned in Egypt
Thu 21 Dec 2023
There was an international outcry in 2014 when three journalists were imprisoned in Egypt
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The mysterious death of Pablo Neruda
Wed 20 Dec 2023
In 1973, the poet and prominent communist tried to flee persecution in Chile
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The assassination of King Faisal
Tue 19 Dec 2023
In 1975, the king of Saudi Arabia was shot by his nephew
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Tsunami devastates Samoa
Mon 18 Dec 2023
In 2009 a tsunami killed 149 people. Lumepa Hald tells the story of destruction and loss
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The funeral of Nelson Mandela
Fri 15 Dec 2023
In 2013, South Africa's first black president was buried in his ancestral village
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Vatican citizen Emanuela Orlandi disappears
Thu 14 Dec 2023
In 1983, a suspected kidnapping led to scandal
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Anna Akhmatova: The poet who defied a regime
Wed 13 Dec 2023
How the great poet kept writing even through the darkest days of Soviet history
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Yeltsin speaks at the reburial of the Romanovs
Tue 12 Dec 2023
In 1998, the Russian president condemned the Soviet violence that killed Tsar Nicholas II
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Murder of the Romanovs
Mon 11 Dec 2023
In 1918, the Russian royal family were killed by the Bolsheviks
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The release of DOOM
Fri 8 Dec 2023
In 1993, a controversial sci-fi video game called DOOM was released
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‘The disappeared’ of Argentina
Thu 7 Dec 2023
In 1977 a woman became one of thousands who disappeared from the streets of Buenos Aires
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A Greek coup: The day the colonels took power
Wed 6 Dec 2023
In 1967, army officers seized power in Greece in a US-backed coup
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Thousands of Danish brains in plastic buckets
Tue 5 Dec 2023
In 1945, a collection that would amass 9,479 brains was started
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La Haine: The film that shocked France
Mon 4 Dec 2023
How Mathieu Kassovitz's critique of policing shocked French society
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World's first solar-heated home
Fri 1 Dec 2023
In 1948, the Dover Sun House, in the US, was the first home to be heated by solar power