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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Surviving Cambodia's 'Killing Fields'
Wed 3 Jul 2019
The Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, starting their four year genocidal rule.
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Germans kidnapped by Nicaragua's rebels
Tue 2 Jul 2019
Two German left-wing activists recall their ordeal as hostages of Nicaragua's Contras
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The US judge accused of sexual harassment
Mon 1 Jul 2019
How Supreme Court nominee Judge Clarence Thomas was publicly accused of sexual misconduct
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Defending a British serial murderer
Fri 28 Jun 2019
The lawyer of serial killer Rosemary West recalls the gruesome details of the case
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The Stonewall Riot
Wed 26 Jun 2019
How a protest outside New York's Stonewall Inn inspired the modern gay rights movement.
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Catch-22
Tue 25 Jun 2019
The story behind Joseph Heller's acclaimed, satirical anti-war novel which sold millions
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The fat acceptance movement
Mon 24 Jun 2019
The National Association to Aid Fat Americans, NAAFA, held its first meeting in June 1969
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The yoga teacher and the violinist
Fri 21 Jun 2019
How violinist Yehudi Menuhin and yoga teacher BKS Iyengar helped bring yoga to the West
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Sister Lotus - early Chinese online star
Thu 20 Jun 2019
Sister Lotus was an unlikely online celebrity because she was famous for being ordinary.
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The assassinaton of Medgar Evers
Wed 19 Jun 2019
The American civil rights activist and war hero who was murdered in 1963 in Mississippi.
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Carl Gustav Jung
Tue 18 Jun 2019
One of the most influential figures in psychoanalysis died in June 1961
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The death of Neda Soltan
Mon 17 Jun 2019
How a young woman became a symbol of anti-government protest in Iran
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The first gay marriage in the USA
Fri 14 Jun 2019
One gay couple in Minneapolis had a same-sex wedding back in the 1970's
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How America 'lost' China
Thu 13 Jun 2019
How an American war hero was sent to stop China becoming communist and failed.
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Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrap the Reichstag
Wed 12 Jun 2019
How a huge public art project entranced post-Cold War Berlin
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The first anti-psychotic drug
Tue 11 Jun 2019
How a 1950s drug helped revolutionise the treatment of mental illness
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The end of the war in Kosovo
Mon 10 Jun 2019
Hundreds of thousands of Kosovans fled when NATO began bombing former Yugoslavia in 1999
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The Gurkha soldiers fight for equality
Fri 7 Jun 2019
A Nepalese regiment of the British army won the right to settle in Britain in 2009.
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Broadcasting D-Day
Thu 6 Jun 2019
How the 蜜芽传媒 reported the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, 6 June 1944
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The Little Prince
Wed 5 Jun 2019
The mystery surrounding the death of the author of the world famous children's tale
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D-Day
Tue 4 Jun 2019
Eyewitness accounts of the Allied landings in Normandy during WW2 on 6 June 1944.
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Vikings in York
Mon 3 Jun 2019
Archaeologists uncovered perfectly preserved domestic Viking life in York in the 1970s
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Six Degrees - the first online social network
Fri 31 May 2019
Andrew Weinreich founded the first online social network in 1997.
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Behind the scenes on Sesame Street
Thu 30 May 2019
The inside story of one of the most popular children's TV shows ever made
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Tiananmen Square escape
Wed 29 May 2019
Dan Wang was the most wanted student leader after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
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Bokassa's massacre of the children
Tue 28 May 2019
How protests by young people led to Jean-B茅del Bokassa's fall from power in C.A.R
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The death of Jawaharlal Nehru
Mon 27 May 2019
The man who led India to independence died on May 27th 1964
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The Acid Survivors Foundation
Fri 24 May 2019
The Bangladesh charity dedicated to treating the survivors of acid attacks.
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How environmental campaign group Greenpeace was formed
Thu 23 May 2019
The story of how environmental campaign group Greenpeace was formed
