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 discovery that led to Covid vaccines
Tue 3 Dec 2024
In 2005, Dr Katalin Karikó published research that eventually won her the Nobel Prize
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Gloria Steinem: The start of Ms. Magazine
Mon 2 Dec 2024
In 1972, Gloria Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine in the United States
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The Iran-Contra Affair
Sun 1 Dec 2024
In 1986, Oliver North was accused of orchestrating the illegal sale of weapons to Iran
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The end of the US HIV travel ban
Fri 29 Nov 2024
In 2010, a travel and immigration ban stopping people with HIV entering the US was lifted
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The deepest man-made hole in the world
Thu 28 Nov 2024
In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists in Russia managed to dig a 12,000-metre deep hole
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Thich Quang Duc: Buddhist monk who set himself on fire
Wed 27 Nov 2024
In June 1963, Thich Quang Duc set himself alight in protest against the government
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Strictly Come Dancing
Mon 25 Nov 2024
Television extravaganza Strictly Come Dancing debuted in 2004 in the UK
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Arrested for 'immorality' in South Africa
Sun 24 Nov 2024
Dr Zureena Desai was arrested in South Africa for breaking the Immorality Act
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Creation of the UFC
Fri 22 Nov 2024
In 1993, a new sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship
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Lord of the Flies
Thu 21 Nov 2024
It’s 70 years since William Golding’s acclaimed novel was published
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Handover of Macau
Wed 20 Nov 2024
In 1999, Macau was handed back to China after more than 400 years as a Portuguese colony
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The Siege of Yarmouk
Tue 19 Nov 2024
How the Syrian army turned one neighbourhood near Damascus into a bombed-out wasteland
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Iran's secret Christian 'house churches'
Mon 18 Nov 2024
Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi set up a network of 'house churches' in Iran
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German naturists
Fri 15 Nov 2024
The naturist movement began in Germany at the end of the 19th Century
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Luana Mansilla: Changing gender aged six
Thu 14 Nov 2024
In 2013, the gender of a six-year-old from Argentina was legally changed
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India's capsule coal mine rescue
Wed 13 Nov 2024
In November 1989, 65 miners were rescued from the Mahabir Coal Mine, in India
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How Greece got rid of their king
Tue 12 Nov 2024
In a 1974 referendum, the Greek people voted two to one in favour of becoming a republic
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The Pakistan mountain massacre
Mon 11 Nov 2024
In 2013, 11 people were killed by members of a militant group at Nanga Parbat base camp
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The invention of the ‘Baby’ computer
Fri 8 Nov 2024
In 1948, the first stored-program computer the ‘Baby’ was invented
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The woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto
Thu 7 Nov 2024
Polish aid worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in WW2
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The Shah of Iran's party
Wed 6 Nov 2024
In 1971, the Shah of Iran, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire
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In exile from Iran
Tue 5 Nov 2024
Former empress Farah Pahlavi and social scientist Rouhi Shafi speak about leaving Iran
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Iran hostage crisis
Mon 4 Nov 2024
In 1979, Barry Rosen was held hostage after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed
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Siegfried and Roy tiger attack
Fri 1 Nov 2024
In 2003, illusionist Roy Horn was attacked by a tiger live on stage.
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Brazil’s electronic voting
Thu 31 Oct 2024
In 1996, an electronic voting system in Brazil was used for the first time
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Jean Batten: New Zealand’s record breaking aviator
Tue 29 Oct 2024
Jean Batten was nicknamed the Queen of the Skies for her pioneering flights of the 1930s
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The creation of Greenwich Mean Time
Mon 28 Oct 2024
Experiments by John Flamsteed in the 17th Century led to the time zone being created
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My dad created Dungeons & Dragons
Thu 24 Oct 2024
In 1974, Gary Gygax created the fantasy roleplay game.
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Bonga Kwenda: Music banned in Angola and Portugal
Thu 24 Oct 2024
Outspoken supporter of Angolan independence, Bonga Kwenda was forced into exile in 1972