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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Sir Don McCullin’s photo of a US marine
Thu 15 Jun 2023
In 1968, British photographer travelled to Vietnam for his second ever war assignment
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Malick Sidibé: Mali’s star photographer
Wed 14 Jun 2023
Malick Sidibé photographed life in Mali after its independence from France in 1960.
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A Great Day in Harlem: The story behind the iconic jazz photo
Tue 13 Jun 2023
In 1958, aspiring photographer Art Kane captured 57 jazz legends in one immortal image
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Lee Miller in Hitler's bath
Mon 12 Jun 2023
In 1945 the war correspondent Lee Miller was photographed in Adolf Hitler's bath
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1955 Le Mans disaster
Fri 9 Jun 2023
In June 1955, more than 80 people were killed and 100 injured at the Le Mans 24-hour race
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Last communist march before Hitler
Thu 8 Jun 2023
On 25 January 1933 the last legal communist march was held in Berlin
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Facial reconstruction: From mummy to murder
Tue 6 Jun 2023
In 1975, Richard Neave invented a method to rebuild the face of an Egyptian mummy
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Inuit children taken from families
Mon 5 Jun 2023
In 1960s, the Canadian government took academically gifted Inuit children from the homes
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The first Indian woman to conquer Everest
Fri 2 Jun 2023
In May 1984, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to stand on top of the world
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Tragedy on Everest
Thu 1 Jun 2023
Michael Groom is one of the survivors of a tragic climbing expedition to Mount Everest
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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