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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Tenzing Norgay conquers Everest
Tue 30 May 2023
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest
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Edmund Hillary conquers Everest
Mon 29 May 2023
In 1953 Edmund Hillary became the first human to reach the top of Mount Everest
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The deadliest glacial avalanche in the world
Fri 26 May 2023
On 31 May 1970, the Huascarán avalanche destroyed the town of Yungay, in Peru
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Trying to unite Africa
Thu 25 May 2023
On 25 May 1963, leaders of 32 newly-independent African nations came together
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Chasing the world’s biggest tornado
Wed 24 May 2023
In May 2013, the widest tornado ever recorded hit the US state of Oklahoma
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Fikret Alić
Tue 23 May 2023
In 1992, a photograph of a starving man in a Bosnian concentration camp stunned the world
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The sergeants' coup in Suriname
Mon 22 May 2023
Sixteen army sergeants seized power in the South American country in 1980
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Pippi Longstocking
Fri 19 May 2023
In Stockholm in 1941, Astrid Lindgren made up a story for her daughter about a young girl
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Creating New Zealand's national walking trail
Thu 18 May 2023
Geoff Chapple's vision was to create New Zealand's national walking trail
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The Dambusters
Wed 17 May 2023
Eighty years ago a daring raid destroyed dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley
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German child evacuees of World War Two
Tue 16 May 2023
Thousands of German children during World War Two were sent to camps in the countryside
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Singapore executes Filipina maid
Mon 15 May 2023
The execution of Flor Contemplacion caused a crisis between the Philippines and Singapore
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World War II victory in North Africa
Fri 12 May 2023
It is 80 years since the Allies in World War II declared victory in North Africa
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Warsaw Ghetto uprising
Thu 11 May 2023
In May 1943, the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw in Poland came to an end
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The last commercial flight out of Kai Tak
Wed 10 May 2023
In 1998, the last commercial flight left Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport
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The sinking of the SS Tilawa: the ‘Indian Titanic’
Tue 9 May 2023
Hundreds died when an passenger ship was hit by Japanese torpedoes in 1942
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United States bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
Mon 8 May 2023
On 7 May 1999, US bombs damaged the embassy and relations between China and the West
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The removal of Scotland's Stone of Destiny
Fri 5 May 2023
In 1950, four young Scottish students took the 'Stone of Destiny' from Westminster Abbey
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Last King of Bulgaria
Thu 4 May 2023
In June 2001, Bulgaria’s former King Simeon II won the country’s parliamentary election
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The 'execution' of Oliver Cromwell
Wed 3 May 2023
In 1661 in England, the body of Oliver Cromwell was dug up for ritual execution
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Jean-Bédel Bokassa's coronation
Tue 2 May 2023
Jean-Bédel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Republic in 1977
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The king under the car park
Mon 1 May 2023
In 2012, the lost grave of King Richard III was found under a car park in Leicester
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The fight to televise the Queen's Coronation
Fri 28 Apr 2023
How ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ bosses battled with the government for the right to film inside Westminster Abbey
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The Met Gala goes global
Thu 27 Apr 2023
In 1995, Anna Wintour became chair of the Met Gala and changed it forever
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Guatemala's outspoken bishop
Wed 26 Apr 2023
Human rights campaigner Bishop Juan Gerardi was bludgeoned to death on 26 April 1998
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Discovering the secrets of DNA
Tue 25 Apr 2023
James Watson and Francis Crick published their discoveries about DNA on 25 April 1953
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Althea McNish: 'I designed fabrics for the Queen'
Mon 24 Apr 2023
In 1966, Althea McNish designed fabrics for the Queen's visit to Trinidad
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The Russian man who pretended to be a dog
Fri 21 Apr 2023
In 1994, Oleg Kulik posed as a dog to protest conditions in post-Soviet Russia
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Smoky the World War II dog hero
Thu 20 Apr 2023
In 1944, Bill Wynne adopted a Yorkie believed to be one of the first therapy dogs
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Roselle the 9/11 guide dog
Wed 19 Apr 2023
In 2001, Roselle helped his owner escape from the World Trade Center