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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Iraq: Ten years on - The bombardment of Baghdad
Mon 18 Mar 2013
It is a decade since the US and its allies began their invasion of Iraq.
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Syrian uprising
Fri 15 Mar 2013
Two years ago Syria's conflict began with demonstrations in the southern city of Daraa.
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Giandomenico Picco - Hostage negotiator
Thu 14 Mar 2013
The UN envoy who tried to secure the release of Western hostages in Lebanon.
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Marie Stopes, Birth Control Pioneer
Wed 13 Mar 2013
In March 1921 Marie Stopes opened Britain's first birth control clinic in London.
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The Theft of Charlie Chaplin's Body
Tue 12 Mar 2013
In March 1978 thieves stole the body of Charlie Chaplin from a cemetery in Switzerland.
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The Tibetan uprising
Mon 11 Mar 2013
In 1959 the people of Tibet turned against Chinese occupying forces.
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Gay in the US military
Fri 8 Mar 2013
In 1975 a US airman announced he was gay, to test the military's attitude to homosexuals.
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Viagra
Thu 7 Mar 2013
Fifteen years ago a new "wonder" drug was approved for use in the United States.
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Skiing in the Swat Valley
Wed 6 Mar 2013
One man's mission to bring fun back to the battle-scarred Swat Valley in Pakistan.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan
Mon 4 Mar 2013
It is 25 years since violence broke out in the city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan.
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The Bethnal Green tube disaster
Fri 1 Mar 2013
It is 70 years since 173 people were crushed to death at an air-raid shelter in London
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Choosing a Pope
Thu 28 Feb 2013
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor tells the story of electing Pope Benedict in April 2005
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The standoff at Wounded Knee
Wed 27 Feb 2013
Forty years ago, American Indian activists staged a protest against the US authorities.
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The first World Trade Center attack
Tue 26 Feb 2013
How Islamic extremists tried to blow up the Twin Towers eight years before 9/11.
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The Theft of the Scream
Mon 25 Feb 2013
In 1994 Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream was stolen from a Norwegian art museum.
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The White Rose
Fri 22 Feb 2013
Seventy years ago, three German students were executed for protesting against Hitler.
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Welsh Dam Attack
Thu 21 Feb 2013
In 1963 Welsh nationalists took up arms against the construction of a controversial dam
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People Power in the Philippines
Wed 20 Feb 2013
How four days of huge protests brought down Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
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The Lost Egyptian Tomb
Mon 18 Feb 2013
In 1995, archaeologists in Egypt's Valley of the Kings made a remarkable discovery
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Human Shields in Iraq
Fri 15 Feb 2013
The British bus driver who took peace campaigners to Iraq ahead of the 2003 invasion
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The fall of Singapore
Thu 14 Feb 2013
In February 1942 Britain's stronghold in South East Asia fell to the Japanese.
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The Algerian Massacres
Wed 13 Feb 2013
In the 1990s, the Algerian military was locked in a brutal struggle with radical Islamists
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The Murder of James Bulger
Tue 12 Feb 2013
The killing of a toddler in Liverpool 20 years ago that shocked Britain
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The Last Days of Sylvia Plath
Mon 11 Feb 2013
It is fifty years since the suicide of American poet Sylvia Plath
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Shergar - the kidnapping
Fri 8 Feb 2013
It is 30 years since the Derby winner was abducted from a stud farm in Ireland.
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Marcel Proust
Thu 7 Feb 2013
The great French writer remembered by one of his friends and by his faithful maid.
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"Ghana Must Go"
Tue 5 Feb 2013
Thirty years ago, Nigeria expelled up to 2 million African migrants. Most were Ghanaian
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Hugo Chavez and the failed coup
Mon 4 Feb 2013
In February 1992 a group of Venezuelan army officers staged a coup, among them Hugo Chavez
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The battle of Stalingrad
Fri 1 Feb 2013
It is 70 years since German troops lost their battle to take the Soviet industrial city.
