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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Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot
Fri 25 Aug 2023
In 1974, women campaigned to swim at the Forty Foot in Dublin, Ireland
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Celtic Tiger: Ireland's 'ghost estates'
Thu 24 Aug 2023
How the collapse of Ireland's Celtic Tiger led to thousands of abandoned housing estates
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The first Rose of Tralee
Wed 23 Aug 2023
In 1959, the first Rose of Tralee festival was held in Ireland
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How electricity came to rural Ireland
Tue 22 Aug 2023
The Rural Electrification Scheme brought power to 300,000 homes in the Irish countryside
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Easter Rising in Ireland
Mon 21 Aug 2023
In 1916, a group of Irish rebels launched an armed revolt against British rule
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The Wizard of Oz: The stolen ruby slippers
Fri 18 Aug 2023
Ruby slippers used in the film 'The Wizard of Oz' were stolen in 2005.
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Returning Benin Bronzes
Wed 16 Aug 2023
In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures
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Iran: How the prime minister was overthrown in 1953
Tue 15 Aug 2023
It's 70 years since the US-backed coup which brought the Shah of Iran to power in 1953
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The boy who discovered a new species of human ancestor
Mon 14 Aug 2023
Matt Berger tripped over a hominid fossil whilst exploring with his dad in South Africa
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Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene
Fri 11 Aug 2023
The success of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal
Thu 10 Aug 2023
Journalist Claude Angeli broke the story that helped topple France's President in 1981
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Sarajevo’s haven of peace
Wed 9 Aug 2023
The Jewish charity that helped people in the Bosnian war during the siege of Sarajevo
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The Great Train Robbery
Tue 8 Aug 2023
In 1963, thieves held up a Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London
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Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties
Mon 7 Aug 2023
How Brownie Wise inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties
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Dinosaur in court
Fri 4 Aug 2023
In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of a restraining order and a court case
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Treehouse on the Berlin Wall
Thu 3 Aug 2023
In 1982 a Turkish worker in Germany built a treehouse against the Berlin Wall
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Birth of a new language
Wed 2 Aug 2023
In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a new sign language
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First dinosaur eggs identified in India
Tue 1 Aug 2023
In 1982, Ashok Sahni discovered nests of dinosaur eggs for the first time in India
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José Mujica: Prison break to president
Mon 31 Jul 2023
Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros
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Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway
Fri 28 Jul 2023
It’s been 50 years since Mr Bigg's was first launched in Nigeria
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The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie
Thu 27 Jul 2023
There was an attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in December 1960
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The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit
Wed 26 Jul 2023
Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip
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Brain: The first personal computer virus
Tue 25 Jul 2023
In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan
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Escaping the Nazis in Greece
Mon 24 Jul 2023
Yeti Mitrani and her family escaped deportation from Greece by the Nazis in 1943
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The US singer who became the Soviet Union’s Red Elvis
Fri 21 Jul 2023
In 1966, American Dean Reed was the first western rock star to tour the Soviet Union
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The birth of Barbie
Thu 20 Jul 2023
Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll which was first sold in 1959
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Japan surrenders in China
Wed 19 Jul 2023
The signing of the Japanese surrender documents at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1945.
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The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia
Tue 18 Jul 2023
More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991
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Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’
Mon 17 Jul 2023
How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment