Main content

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.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Vietnam-China Border War 1979

    Thu 17 Mar 2016

    Former communist allies China and Vietnam fought a short but bloody war in 1979.

  • Mad Cow Disease and CJD

    Wed 16 Mar 2016

    How a disease affecting cattle was transferred to the human population in Britain.

  • The Kasztner Affair

    Tue 15 Mar 2016

    In March 1957, an Israeli political scandal ended in an assassination.

  • Radiocarbon Dating of the Turin Shroud

    Mon 14 Mar 2016

    In 1988 scientists performed a carbon dating test on the Shroud of Turin.

  • The Original Revolutionary Feminist

    Fri 11 Mar 2016

    Alexandra Kollontai was the leading Marxist feminist in Communist Russia.

  • The Release of the Birmingham Six

    Thu 10 Mar 2016

    In March 1991, six men were freed ending one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice

  • Tenerife Air Disaster

    Wed 9 Mar 2016

    In March 1977 the worst accident in the history of civil aviation took place in Tenerife.

  • Spinsters' Rights

    Tue 8 Mar 2016

    Millions of women were left single after the men they would have married died in WW1.

  • Poisoned in Kosovo

    Mon 7 Mar 2016

    How Roma Gypsies, who fled ethnic violence in 1999, were settled in a camp on toxic land

  • Condemned as a Spy in the USSR

    Fri 4 Mar 2016

    Flora Leipman, a British Jew, falsely condemned as a spy, was sent to a labour camp

  • Marie Stopes: Birth Control Pioneer

    Thu 3 Mar 2016

    In March 1921, Marie Stopes opened Britain's first birth control clinic in London

  • The Polaroid Instant Camera

    Tue 1 Mar 2016

    In February 1947 Edwin Land unveiled his new invention, the first ever instant camera.

  • The Siege of Sarajevo

    Mon 29 Feb 2016

    Twenty years ago the siege of Sarajevo ended, the longest siege in modern history

  • The Foxcatcher Story

    Fri 26 Feb 2016

    In 1996 an American multi-millionaire murdered one of the wrestlers he was sponsoring

  • The Caracazo Protests

    Thu 25 Feb 2016

    In February 1989 new austerity measures sparked days of violent protests in Venezuela

  • Philippines People Power Revolution

    Wed 24 Feb 2016

    In 1986, Filipinos took to the streets to overthrow the regime of Ferdinand Marcos

  • The Back to Africa Movement

    Tue 23 Feb 2016

    In the late 1800s thousands of African-Americans tried to emigrate to escape violence

  • The Death of Jonas Savimbi

    Mon 22 Feb 2016

    In February 2002 the controversial Angolan rebel leader was killed by government forces

  • The UK鈥檚 Foot-and-Mouth Epidemic

    Fri 19 Feb 2016

    In 2001 an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease devastated the British farming industry

  • The Battle of Verdun

    Thu 18 Feb 2016

    In 1916, French and German armies began one of the most devastating battles of WW1

  • Christian Dior's New Look

    Wed 17 Feb 2016

    In February 1947, French designer Christian Dior transformed post-war fashion.

  • The Attempt to Kill Khaled Meshaal

    Tue 16 Feb 2016

    In 1997 Israeli secret agents tried to assassinate a Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal.

  • Seven Years In Tibet

    Mon 15 Feb 2016

    The Austrian mountaineer who lived in the forbidden land of Tibet in the 1940s and 50s.

  • Black Sabbath

    Fri 12 Feb 2016

    On Friday 13 February 1970, heavy metal band Black Sabbath released their first album

  • Britain's Secret Code-Breakers

    Thu 11 Feb 2016

    Witness talks to one of Britain's secret army of World War Two code-breakers

  • Pakistan's Women Only Police Station

    Wed 10 Feb 2016

    In 1994 Pakistan opened the country's first all-female police station

  • The Arab Spring and Syria

    Tue 9 Feb 2016

    The story of the first protests against the Assad regime in 2011

  • The Last of the Red Hot Mamas

    Mon 8 Feb 2016

    The larger than life vaudeville star - Sophie Tucker - died on February 9th 1966.

  • Prozac

    Fri 5 Feb 2016

    In the spring of 1988 a new kind of anti-depressant went on the market.

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    Wed 3 Feb 2016

    In 1938, the first animated feature film was released, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

  2. 1
  3. …
  4. 79
  5. 80
  6. 81
  7. 82
  8. 83
  9. …
  10. 126

This podcast belongs to