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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The man who invented wingsuits
Wed 10 Apr 2019
The wingsuit is the ultimate in extreme sports clothing, for BASE jumpers and skydivers
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The Amritsar Massacre of 1919
Tue 9 Apr 2019
In April 1919 British Indian troops opened fire on protestors in the city of Amritsar
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The man who made Marilyn Monroe dance
Mon 8 Apr 2019
Choreographer Jack Cole had a huge influence on musical theatre and Hollywood films
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Fri 5 Apr 2019
Maya Angelou's iconic memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969
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Abolishing the army
Thu 4 Apr 2019
Costa Rica dissolved its Armed Forces after a brief civil war in 1948
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The warship lost for more than 300 years
Wed 3 Apr 2019
The discovery of a 17th century Swedish warship, the Vasa, in near perfect condition
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EMDR: the eye-movement therapy
Tue 2 Apr 2019
A therapy which seems to work for post-traumatic stress was developed in the late 1980s
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Patty Hearst the rebel heiress
Mon 1 Apr 2019
In April 1974 the heiress announced she supported her kidnappers' beliefs
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Mindfulness for the masses
Fri 29 Mar 2019
Scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered a meditative approach to treat pain and depression.
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The secret Nazi past of Kurt Waldheim
Thu 28 Mar 2019
How former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim's secret Nazi past was exposed
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Drama in the British parliament
Tue 26 Mar 2019
Prime Minister Jim Callaghan's desperate attempts to survive a no-confidence vote in 1979
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The first home pregnancy test
Mon 25 Mar 2019
A female designer working for a pharmaceutical company came up with the idea in the 1960s
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The rise of Viktor Orban
Fri 22 Mar 2019
Viktor Orban, now the populist Hungarian Prime Minister led a democratic movement in 1988
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Autism and the MMR vaccine
Thu 21 Mar 2019
How a British doctor misled the world by linking the MMR vaccine with autism.
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The discovery of the Aztec Moon Goddess
Wed 20 Mar 2019
How an accidental discovery in Mexico led to the uncovering of the Aztecs´ Great Temple.
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The first democratic elections in the USSR
Tue 19 Mar 2019
Soviet citizens voted in democratic elections for the first time in March 1989.
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The millionaire Nazi war criminal
Mon 18 Mar 2019
How the Dutch art collector Pieter Menten was exposed as a war criminal in the 1970s
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How Little America was built in Afghanistan
Fri 15 Mar 2019
In the 1950s, US engineers were sent to Afghanistan to build a dam.
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Slaughterhouse-Five
Thu 14 Mar 2019
In March 1969, American author Kurt Vonnegut published his cult anti-war novel.
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China's breakthrough malaria cure
Wed 13 Mar 2019
Chinese scientists used ancient traditional medicine to find a cure for malaria.
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Lenin and the deadly mushrooms
Tue 12 Mar 2019
A spoof TV show persuaded some Russians that Lenin took too many hallucinogenic mushrooms
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The fall of Singapore
Mon 11 Mar 2019
Life under Japanese occupation in Singapore during World War Two.
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Britain's first female black headteacher
Fri 8 Mar 2019
Yvonne Conolly was appointed head of Ringcross Primary school in North London in 1969
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The woman who asked Britain to return the Parthenon marbles
Thu 7 Mar 2019
Melina Mercouri asked Britain to return the Parthenon marbles removed by Lord Elgin.
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Speaking out against my abuser: Daniel Ortega
Wed 6 Mar 2019
How Nicaragua's president was accused of sexual abuse by his step-daughter
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The creation of the Barbie doll
Tue 5 Mar 2019
Hear from the woman who created the most famous doll in the world.
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Britain's first Muslim woman in government
Mon 4 Mar 2019
Sayeeda Warsi was appointed to the coalition government's Cabinet in May 2010
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Happy Beer Day!
Fri 1 Mar 2019
On March 1st 1989 Icelanders were allowed to buy beer for the first time in decades
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Asama Sanso: Japanese hostage crisis
Thu 28 Feb 2019
Armed left-wing extremists fought off Japanese police in the mountains in February 1972