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 鈥� Argentina鈥檚 Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 鈥榯ear down this wall鈥� speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler鈥檚 List; and Jacques Derrida, France鈥檚 鈥榬ock star鈥� 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鈥檚 oldest languages.
Episodes to download
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Indonesia's forest fires
Wed 10 Aug 2022
Forest fires in Indonesia caused huge damage and a dense smog across South East Asia
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Sweden鈥檚 pronoun battle
Tue 9 Aug 2022
How campaigners fought to get 鈥榟en鈥� included in Swedish dictionaries.
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The resignation of President Nixon
Mon 8 Aug 2022
On 8 August 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign
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The return of Asians to Uganda
Fri 5 Aug 2022
When Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, he asked exiled Asians to return to Uganda.
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The city shaped by Ugandan Asians
Thu 4 Aug 2022
Some 10,000 Asians made Leicester their home after being expelled from Uganda in 1972.
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The exodus of Asians from Uganda
Wed 3 Aug 2022
In 1972, dictator Idi Amin announced that all Asians had just 90 days to leave Uganda.
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When Asians were forced to leave Kenya
Tue 2 Aug 2022
Many Asians migrated to Kenya in the early 20th century but were later forced to leave
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Why Asians came to Uganda
Mon 1 Aug 2022
In the early 20th century many South Asians migrated to Uganda in search of a better life
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The Leaflet Bomber
Fri 29 Jul 2022
In 1971 communist Bob Newland goes on a secret mission to South Africa to fight Apartheid
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The Tangshan Earthquake
Thu 28 Jul 2022
A deadly earthquake hit the city of Tangshan killing hundreds of thousands of people.
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Inventing nicotine patches
Wed 27 Jul 2022
Nicotine patches became available in the 1990s but their origins go back to the 1980s.
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The Surkov leaks
Tue 26 Jul 2022
In 2016, Ukrainian hackers leaked the emails of Vladimir Putin's aide, Vladislav Surkov.
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Ukraine's Revolution on Granite
Mon 25 Jul 2022
In 1990, a hunger strike led by Ukrainian students brought down the Soviet regime in Kyiv
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Nigerian sitcom Papa Ajasco
Fri 22 Jul 2022
In 1996, Wale Adenuga鈥檚 sitcom Papa Ajasco first hit Nigerian TV screens.
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The Soviet James Bond
Thu 21 Jul 2022
The most successful TV spy series in the USSR went on air in 1973.
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Who shot JR?
Wed 20 Jul 2022
The world's reaction to leading man JR, being shot in the American TV series, Dallas.
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Madhur Jaffrey鈥檚 鈥業ndian Cookery鈥�
Tue 19 Jul 2022
A ground breaking Indian cookery programme broadcast on the 蜜芽传媒 launched 40 years ago.
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The school for telenovela stars
Mon 18 Jul 2022
In 1987, in Mexico City, a TV station opened a school to train telenovela actors.
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Fighting for the pill in Japan
Fri 15 Jul 2022
The contraceptive pill was approved for use in the US in 1960, but in Japan it was 1999.
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The man who invented the Pill
Thu 14 Jul 2022
In 1951, Dr Carl Djerassi created the Pill's active ingredient from Mexican wild yams.
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When Tunisia led on women's rights
Wed 13 Jul 2022
Tunisia became the first country in the Muslim world to legalise divorce and abortion.
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Poland's strict abortion law
Tue 12 Jul 2022
In 1993 abortion laws were tightened up in Poland after the fall of Communism
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How abortion was legalised in Great Britain
Mon 11 Jul 2022
The campaign to allow abortion in Great Britain which resulted in a new law in 1967.
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The US鈥檚 first gay election candidate
Fri 8 Jul 2022
In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States.
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How the smear test was invented
Thu 7 Jul 2022
The discovery by Dr George Papanicolaou in 1928 which led to the smear test
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Escaping Nigeria鈥檚 Civil War
Wed 6 Jul 2022
One child's story of getting caught up in the Nigerian Civil War
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Japanese university student riots
Tue 5 Jul 2022
In 1968 and early 1969 Japanese students fought pitched battles with riot police
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The Higgs Boson: A scientific discovery that explains how the universe works
Mon 4 Jul 2022
The discovery of the Higgs Boson by scientists at CERN using the Large Hadron Collider
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Hong Kong: Abandoned children
Fri 1 Jul 2022
The Chinese babies left on the streets of 1960s Hong Kong in the hope they'd be adopted
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Hong Kong - Kowloon Walled City
Thu 30 Jun 2022
The end of a unique way of life in one of the most densely populated places in the world.
