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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Soviet fashionista
Thu 15 Dec 2022
Slava Zaitsev was the first designer to design high fashion pieces in the Soviet Union
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Returning to District Six
Wed 14 Dec 2022
Zahra Nordien returned to District Six decades after being expelled during apartheid
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The Nazi occupation of Jersey
Tue 13 Dec 2022
A woman who risked her life to hide a Russian prisoner during World War Two
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Creating Teletubbies
Fri 9 Dec 2022
The story of the inspiration behind one of the most popular kids TV shows of all time
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'The Dismissal' of Gough Whitlam
Thu 8 Dec 2022
In 1975, the Prime Minister was sacked in Australia's biggest constitutional crisis
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The Killing of Jean Charles de Menezes
Wed 7 Dec 2022
An unarmed Brazilian man is shot dead by anti-terrorism police in Stockwell, south London.
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Demolishing the Babri Masjid
Tue 6 Dec 2022
Hindu extremists demolished a mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya
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Quebec’s 1995 referendum
Mon 5 Dec 2022
In 1995, the people of Quebec voted on whether to become independent from Canada
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Miss World protest
Fri 2 Dec 2022
In 1970, feminists stormed the stage at the Miss World pageant in London
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The woman who smuggled HIV into Bulgaria in her handbag
Thu 1 Dec 2022
Virologist Professor Radka Argirova was the first to test people for HIV in Bulgaria
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The islands Japan and Russia can’t agree on
Wed 30 Nov 2022
In 1947, thousands of Japanese people were taken from their island homes by Soviet troops
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CrossFit: The fitness phenomenon that changed the industry
Tue 29 Nov 2022
In 2000, an American personal trainer invented CrossFit
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Mombasa terror attacks
Mon 28 Nov 2022
Journalist Kelly Hartog describes the moment terrorists targeted Israeli tourists in Kenya
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How cat's eyes were invented
Fri 25 Nov 2022
In 1934, Percy Shaw invented cat's eyes, the reflective studs in the road
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The corruption and sodomy trials of Anwar Ibrahim
Thu 24 Nov 2022
In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim was arrested and then jailed a year later
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When Sweden’s roads went right
Wed 23 Nov 2022
In 1967, Swedish traffic swapped to driving on the right-hand side of the road
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First women’s minister in Iran
Tue 22 Nov 2022
Iran’s first ever minister for women’s affairs was appointed in 1975
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The invention of the seat belt
Mon 21 Nov 2022
In 1958, Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars
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Qatar's first female published author
Fri 18 Nov 2022
Kaltham Jaber's anthology of short stories was published in 1978
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First Emirati female teacher
Thu 17 Nov 2022
A young woman who became the first female teacher in the United Arab Emirates
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Inventing robot camel jockeys
Wed 16 Nov 2022
In 2003, a Qatari engineer came up with the idea for a robot jockey in camel racing
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Burj Khalifa: Designing the world’s tallest building
Tue 15 Nov 2022
The tallest building in the world opened in 2010
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Formation of the United Arab Emirates
Mon 14 Nov 2022
A new country, the United Arab Emirates, was formed in 1971.
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The child evacuees of World War Two
Fri 11 Nov 2022
The thousands of children moved out of UK cities away from the risk of German bombs
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Māori protests stops South African rugby tour
Thu 10 Nov 2022
Māori anti-racism activists disrupt the South African rugby tour of New Zealand in 1981
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The assassination of Pim Fortuyn
Wed 9 Nov 2022
It has been 20 years since the controversial Dutch politician was murdered
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First rape crisis centres in the US
Tue 8 Nov 2022
Activist Sue Lenaerts helped start up one of the first rape crisis centres in the US
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Polynesian Panthers
Mon 7 Nov 2022
Polynesians in 1970s New Zealand fight back against dawn raids by the police
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Umuganda: Rwanda's community work scheme
Fri 4 Nov 2022
In 1975, President Habyarimana introduced Umuganda, compulsory, weekly community work