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 murder of Maurizio Gucci
Wed 22 Jan 2025
On 27 March 1995, the former head of the fashion house was shot dead in Milan, Italy
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Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Tue 21 Jan 2025
In 1995, the doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro
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Hunting the Unabomber
Mon 20 Jan 2025
In September 1995, US newspapers controversially published a terrorist's manifesto.
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Drum: Africa’s revolutionary magazine
Fri 17 Jan 2025
The first African lifestyle magazine Drum, was first printed in 1951
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'I wrote Schindler's List'
Thu 16 Jan 2025
Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase
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Kobe earthquake
Wed 15 Jan 2025
On 17 January 1995, an earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, in Japan
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Confronting Betty Ford’s addiction
Tue 14 Jan 2025
In 1978, former first lady Betty Ford sought help for addiction
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Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal
Mon 13 Jan 2025
In 1933, President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to drag the US out of depression
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The Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks
Fri 10 Jan 2025
In 2015, ship spotter Yörük Işık saw Russian military trucks on a ship going to Syria
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The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg
Thu 9 Jan 2025
The Swedish diplomat saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two
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The invention of the hotel key card
Wed 8 Jan 2025
In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card
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Charlie Hebdo attack
Tue 7 Jan 2025
On 7 January 2015, 12 people were shot dead at a satirical magazine in France
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Creating Alexa
Fri 3 Jan 2025
In 2000, two Polish students started creating a smart speaker which sounded human
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Klaus Fuchs: Oppenheimer’s atomic spy
Thu 2 Jan 2025
In 1950, Klaus Fuchs admitted passing top secret nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union
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Robert Ripley and the ‘Believe It or Not’ empire
New Year's Day 2025
During the Great Depression, cartoonist Robert Ripley made millions from freaky facts
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Indian Ocean tsunami - Aceh
Tue 31 Dec 2024
In 2004, a deadly tsunami swept away entire communities around the Indian Ocean
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Indian Ocean tsunami - Tamil Nadu
Mon 30 Dec 2024
On 26 December 2004, communities around the Indian Ocean were swept away by a tsunami
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Dinner for One: How an English comedy became a German tradition
Fri 27 Dec 2024
The sitcom Dinner for One, recorded in 1963, has become a German New Year's Eve tradition
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'Kimchi war'
Boxing Day 2024
In the 1990s, a diplomatic dispute broke out between Japan and South Korea over kimchi
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Chef to five presidents
Christmas Day 2024
Cristeta Comerford was the first woman and person of colour to the White House's top chef
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'I created MasterChef'
Mon 23 Dec 2024
In 1990, the cookery programme MasterChef launched on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ TV
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Australian republic referendum
Fri 20 Dec 2024
On 6 November 1999, voters in Australia were asked if they wanted to become a republic
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Poland's bleak Christmas
Thu 19 Dec 2024
In 1981, the communist government of Poland declared martial law to suppress civil unrest
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Ceefax: the start of interactive television
Wed 18 Dec 2024
In 1974, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ launched the world's first teletext service
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Surviving Andes plane crash
Tue 17 Dec 2024
In 1972, 16 people survived for two months in the Andes mountains after a plane crash
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Peshawar school massacre
Mon 16 Dec 2024
In 2014, one of Pakistan’s worst terror attacks took place at Peshawar Army School
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The birth of reggaeton
Fri 13 Dec 2024
In the 1980s, Leonardo Renato Aulder pioneered a movement in Panama with his friends
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The handover of the Panama Canal
Thu 12 Dec 2024
In 1999 the Panama Canal was handed over from US to Panamanian rule.