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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.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Marcel Duchamp and His Fountain

    Thu 20 Oct 2016

    The story of the great French conceptualist artist Marcel Duchamp and his art

  • The Mau Mau Rebellion

    Wed 19 Oct 2016

    During the 1950s in Kenya, rebels known as the Mau Mau were fighting against British rule

  • Father Charles Coughlin - America's First Radio Priest

    Tue 18 Oct 2016

    How a controversial Catholic priest had millions of listeners in the 1930s.

  • Bugging the US Embassy in Moscow

    Mon 17 Oct 2016

    The row over hi-tech spying in America's new diplomatic building in the USSR

  • The Hoover Free Flights Promotion

    Fri 14 Oct 2016

    How an advertising campaign for vacuum cleaners went badly wrong.

  • The Last Day of Lebanon's Civil War

    Thu 13 Oct 2016

    In October 1990, Syrian jets ousted their main opponent in Lebanon ending the civil war

  • Chile Votes Against Pinochet

    Wed 12 Oct 2016

    In 1988 Chileans voted to end the brutal 15-year military rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

  • The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

    Tue 11 Oct 2016

    In 1918, more than fifty million people died in a global flu pandemic.

  • Irina Ratushinskaya

    Mon 10 Oct 2016

    The dissident poet was released from a labour camp on the eve of a US-Soviet summit

  • Good Vibrations

    Fri 7 Oct 2016

    In October 1966, the Beach Boys released their "pocket symphony" Good Vibrations.

  • Exposing Child Abuse in the Catholic Church

    Thu 6 Oct 2016

    In 1994, a TV programme in Northern Ireland lifted the lid on clerical child sex abuse.

  • Thai University Massacre

    Wed 5 Oct 2016

    On October 6th 1976 Thai security forces opened fire on student demonstrators in Bangkok.

  • The Poisoned Painkiller

    Tue 4 Oct 2016

    In October 1982 seven people in the US died after taking painkillers laced with cyanide.

  • The Founding of Mensa

    Mon 3 Oct 2016

    In 1946, a chance encounter between two men launched the high IQ club, Mensa

  • Sir Stanley Spencer

    Fri 30 Sep 2016

    He was one of Britain's most admired 20th century painters. His daughters remember him.

  • The Mayak Nuclear Disaster

    Thu 29 Sep 2016

    On September 29th 1957 there was a major nuclear accident in the Soviet Union.

  • The Attica Prison Rebellion

    Wed 28 Sep 2016

    In 1971 inmates rioted and seized control of the US jail, taking guards hostage

  • South Africa's 1985 State of Emergency

    Tue 27 Sep 2016

    In the dying years of Apartheid, the white government was desperate to keep control.

  • Outback Internment

    Mon 26 Sep 2016

    During WWII, Britain deported some civilians classed as 'enemy aliens' to Australia.

  • The Curious Story of Mary Toft

    Fri 23 Sep 2016

    In September 1726, a woman called Mary Toft claimed she was giving birth to rabbits.

  • The First Legal 'Physician-Assisted Suicide'

    Thu 22 Sep 2016

    On September 22nd 1996 an Australian doctor helped a cancer sufferer to die.

  • Domestic Violence in Brazil

    Wed 21 Sep 2016

    In 2006 Brazil passed the ground-breaking "Maria da Penha" law to tackle domestic abuse.

  • Voting Against the War on Terror

    Tue 20 Sep 2016

    Only one Congresswoman voted against the 'war on terror'. Her name was Barbara Lee.

  • The West Australian Gold Rush

    Mon 19 Sep 2016

    In September 1892 gold was discovered in Western Australia

  • The Capture of Abimael Guzman

    Fri 16 Sep 2016

    In September 1992 security forces in Peru arrested the leader of the Shining Path rebels.

  • The First Tanks

    Thu 15 Sep 2016

    Tanks were first used in warfare on 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme

  • Anthrax Attacks

    Wed 14 Sep 2016

    Shortly after the 9/11 attacks in the USA someone started posting Anthrax to politicians

  • The Great Fire of Smyrna

    Tue 13 Sep 2016

    In 1922 a huge fire destroyed the ancient city of Smyrna on the Aegean, thousands died

  • The Lascaux Caves

    Mon 12 Sep 2016

    In September 1940 a group of French schoolboys found a network of ancient cave paintings.

  • Estonia's Bootleg Vodka Poisoning

    Fri 9 Sep 2016

    In September 2001, 68 people died after an outbreak of alcohol poisoning in Estonia.

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