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.
Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.
When you subscribe to Witness History, you’ll be taken inside turning points in world affairs, from West Africa’s fight back against Boko Haram in 2015, to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations.
You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
You’ll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden’s Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles’ George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy’s show to a sudden end.
And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.
If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.
Episodes to download
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Abducted by Joseph Kony
Thu 25 Jul 2013
The woman forced to bear the children of the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army
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Alcoholics Anonymous
Wed 24 Jul 2013
In the summer of 1935 Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio
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Black July
Tue 23 Jul 2013
In 1983 violence erupted between the Sinhala majority and the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka
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The Lillehammer Hit
Mon 22 Jul 2013
In July 1973 a Moroccan waiter was shot dead by an Israeli hit-squad in Norway
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Escape from the KGB
Fri 19 Jul 2013
How Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky escaped from under the noses of the KGB in 1985
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The Birth of Second Life
Thu 18 Jul 2013
It is ten years since the launch of Philip Rosedale's online virtual world Second Life
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Freeze
Wed 17 Jul 2013
In 1988 a group of students put on an exhibition called Freeze. It changed British art.
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The Hong Kong Handover
Tue 16 Jul 2013
Former Governor General, Chris Patten, remembers the day the territory returned to China.
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Women's Baseball in WWII
Mon 15 Jul 2013
In 1943, the first and only professional women's baseball league was launched in the US
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Disco Demolition Night
Fri 12 Jul 2013
How a disgruntled Chicago DJ hosted an anti-disco event which turned into a riot in 1979
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Skylab Falls to Earth
Thu 11 Jul 2013
The day when fragments of the US space station Skylab hit an Australian town in 1979
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The Death of Thich Quang Duc
Wed 10 Jul 2013
In June 1963, a Buddhist monk set himself on fire in central Saigon
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Iran Student Protest
Tue 9 Jul 2013
The Iranian student who became an unwitting symbol of the anti-government protests in 1999
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The Death of Jean Moulin
Mon 8 Jul 2013
The day the leader of the French Resistance was killed by German forces on July 08, 1943
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Yasser Arafat Arrives in Gaza
Fri 5 Jul 2013
When the Palestinian leader was allowed to return from exile to the Gaza strip in 1994
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Ludwig Wittgenstein
Thu 4 Jul 2013
How the publication of Philosophical Investigations in 1953 revolutionised philosophy
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Penguin Rescue
Wed 3 Jul 2013
The mission to save thousands of African penguins from an oil spill in July, 2000
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Chilean Students Set on Fire
Tue 2 Jul 2013
In July 1986 two students were set on fire by Chilean government soldiers
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The Battle of Gettysburg
Mon 1 Jul 2013
It is 150 years since the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the American Civil War
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Iraq's Sectarian Violence
Fri 28 Jun 2013
The recent surge in violence in Iraq has echoes of the sectarian conflict in 2006-07
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JFK in Ireland
Thu 27 Jun 2013
Novelist Colm Toibin recalls US President John F Kennedy's visit to Ireland in June 1963
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Smoking and Lung Cancer
Wed 26 Jun 2013
It took until the 1950s for researchers to connect smoking with lung cancer
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War Requiem by Benjamin Britten
Tue 25 Jun 2013
It is regarded as one of the most important pieces in 20th Century English music.
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Ultrasound
Mon 24 Jun 2013
It's 55 years since a picture of a foetus inside the womb was first published.
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The first woman in space
Fri 21 Jun 2013
In June 1963 Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit.
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Murder in Managua
Thu 20 Jun 2013
In June 1979 an American TV reporter was shot dead by government forces in Nicaragua
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Rocky Horror Show
Wed 19 Jun 2013
It is 40 years since the opening of a comedy musical which would become a cult phenomenon
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The Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Tue 18 Jun 2013
It is 60 years since the American couple were executed for spying
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Gay Marriage
Mon 17 Jun 2013
The first gay marriage in America took place more than 40 years ago in Minnesota.
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The Pentagon Papers
Fri 14 Jun 2013
In 1971 one man leaked thousands of pages of secret US government documents to the press.
