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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John Howard Griffin: Black Like Me
Wed 7 Nov 2012
Over 50 years ago a white journalist tried living as a black man in America's Deep South.
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The death of Leonid Brezhnev
Tue 6 Nov 2012
One of the longest-serving leaders of the Soviet Union died on the 10 of November 1982.
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The Crate Escape
Mon 5 Nov 2012
An incredible plot to kidnap, drug and repatriate Nigerian exile Umaru Dikko in 80s London
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Lebensborn Babies
Fri 2 Nov 2012
In the 1930s the Nazi party hatched a secret plan to breed an elite Aryan race.
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Vietnam Photographer
Thu 1 Nov 2012
The great British war photographer Don McCullin remembers the Vietnam war.
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Garbage, the City and Death by Fassbinder
Wed 31 Oct 2012
In 1985 a Frankfurt theatre attempted to stage a play by the controversial German writer.
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Russian Revolution
Tue 30 Oct 2012
It is 95 years since the October Revolution which led to the creation of the Soviet Union.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Showdown
Fri 26 Oct 2012
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev finally offered to withdraw nuclear missiles from Cuba
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The Iran-Iraq War
Thu 25 Oct 2012
In the autumn of 1980 one of the longest wars of the 20th Century began.
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The Wall Street Crash
Wed 24 Oct 2012
On 24 October 1929, the New York Stock Exchange began to plummet.
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The Moscow Theatre Siege
Tue 23 Oct 2012
It is 10 years since Chechen rebels took an entire theatre full of people hostage.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Missiles
Mon 22 Oct 2012
The gradual build up of weaponry - Soviet built ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads
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The Guggenheim Bilbao
Fri 19 Oct 2012
It's 15 years since an extraordinary building was opened in a Spanish industrial city.
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Colombia Peace Talks
Wed 17 Oct 2012
The last serious attempt to end Colombia's long civil war was more than a decade ago.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Photos
Mon 15 Oct 2012
CIA expert Dino Brugioni interpreted the ariel photographs of missiles in Cuba
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Modern art in Tehran
Fri 12 Oct 2012
It is 35 years since the opening of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
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Search for the Loch Ness Monster
Thu 11 Oct 2012
It is 25 years since the most in-depth and expensive survey of Loch Ness.
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Solzhenitsyn and the Nobel Prize
Wed 10 Oct 2012
How the Soviet dissident smuggled his writing to the outside world.
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Che in Congo
Tue 9 Oct 2012
In 1965 the Latin-American revolutionary went to fight with rebels in the Congo.
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The Achille Lauro Hijacking
Mon 8 Oct 2012
In 1985 a luxury cruise liner was held by Palestinian gunmen in the Red Sea.
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US Support for Nicaraguan Contras
Thu 4 Oct 2012
In October 1986 a CIA plane carrying arms to "contra" rebels was shot down in Nicaragua
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Black Hawk Down
Wed 3 Oct 2012
The battle in Mogadishu in 1993 which had a dramatic impact on US foreign policy.
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The Taliban take Kabul
Tue 2 Oct 2012
It is 16 years since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.
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German refugees in post-war Europe
Mon 1 Oct 2012
At the end of WW2, many ethnic Germans in Central Europe were forced to leave their homes.
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Sharon at the al-Aqsa compound
Fri 28 Sep 2012
In September 2000 the Israeli opposition leader visited the Al-Aqsa compound.
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IRA jail break
Thu 27 Sep 2012
In September 1983 a group of IRA prisoners escaped from jail in Northern Ireland.
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Ireland's Magdalene Laundries
Wed 26 Sep 2012
The story of a young girl who survived Ireland's notorious Catholic workhouses for women.
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West Side Story
Tue 25 Sep 2012
It is 55 years since a groundbreaking musical, West Side Story, opened on Broadway.
