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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Bee crisis: Colony Collapse Disorder
Thu 19 Dec 2019
Why the mysterious loss of honey bees in the US triggered a global panic.
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The Romanian revolution
Wed 18 Dec 2019
In December 1989 a wave of protests finally deposed communist dictator Nicolae Ceau葯escu
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Women and the Sabarimala temple
Tue 17 Dec 2019
How Indian women fought for the right to be allowed into a Hindu holy site
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Black GIs during World War Two
Mon 16 Dec 2019
How soldiers who had been relegated to support roles were asked to volunteer for combat
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The attack on India's parliament
Fri 13 Dec 2019
In December 2001 armed men attacked India's parliamentary compound in broad daylight
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The killing of Amadou Diallo
Thu 12 Dec 2019
When New York police shot a young immigrant 41 times, thousands took to the streets
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The IRA siege at Balcombe Street
Tue 10 Dec 2019
In December 1975, the IRA took a middle-aged couple hostage in Central London.
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The battle of the Louvre pyramid
Mon 9 Dec 2019
How Paris was eventually won round to the Louvre museum's great glass pyramid
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The Cuban writer who defied Fidel Castro
Fri 6 Dec 2019
In 1990 Reinaldo Arenas died of Aids in New York, leaving behind a powerful autobiography
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Jaslyk 鈥� Uzbekistan鈥檚 infamous prison
Thu 5 Dec 2019
A prison camp in the Uzbek desert became notorious for torture and human rights abuses.
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The British sculptor who won over the world
Wed 4 Dec 2019
Henry Moore revolutionised sculpture by creating immense works and setting them outside.
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Shackleton
Tue 3 Dec 2019
How a doomed Antarctic expedition in 1914 became a legendary story of survival
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The killing of Pablo Escobar
Mon 2 Dec 2019
The Colombian drug trafficker was shot dead by police on December 2nd 1993
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The first confirmed case of HIV in America
Fri 29 Nov 2019
Robert R was a teenager who died of an undiagnosed illness in Missouri in 1969
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Handing back Uluru
Thu 28 Nov 2019
In 1985 Australia's famous natural landmark Uluru was returned to aboriginal ownership
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From cakes to computers
Wed 27 Nov 2019
How the Lyons catering company pioneered LEO, the first electronic office system
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India's economic revolution
Tue 26 Nov 2019
In the 1990s India began to open up its state-controlled economy
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The man who gave his voice to Stephen Hawking
Mon 25 Nov 2019
American scientist Dennis Klatt pioneered synthesised speech using his own voice.
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Exploring Arabia's Empty Quarter
Fri 22 Nov 2019
How Wilfred Thesiger travelled in one of the world's harshest environments in the 1940s.
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The man who got Delhi on track
Thu 21 Nov 2019
India's capital city built a Metro to tackle its traffic and air pollution problems
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I saw the soldiers who killed El Salvador's priests
Wed 20 Nov 2019
Lucia Cerna was the only witness to a murder that shocked El Salvador in November 1989
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The 'Woman in Gold'
Tue 19 Nov 2019
How one of Klimt's most famous paintings was returned to the family who'd owned it
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The first Tasers
Mon 18 Nov 2019
Why Los Angeles police began using a new weapon in the early 1980s.
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The first Indian to win Miss World
Fri 15 Nov 2019
Reita Faria was the first Indian to win the Miss World beauty competition in 1966
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The Love Canal disaster
Thu 14 Nov 2019
How the Love Canal neigbourhood in the US came to symbolise the dangers of toxic waste
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The demolition of the Babri Masjid
Wed 13 Nov 2019
How Hindu extremists demolished a mosque in India prompting months of communal violence
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Cap Anamur: A rescue that led to jail
Tue 12 Nov 2019
Why a captain was arrested after saving shipwrecked Africans in the Mediterranean in 2004
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Memories of Wilfred Owen
Mon 11 Nov 2019
The British war poet's younger brother Harold Owen spoke to the 蜜芽传媒 in the 1960s
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The concert that rocked the Berlin Wall
Fri 8 Nov 2019
The 1987 rock concert that led to the first shouts in East Berlin of 'the wall must go'
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The Bhagalpur blindings
Thu 7 Nov 2019
How Indian police tortured petty criminals, blinding them permanently
