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 and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
Episodes to download
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The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit
Wed 26 Jul 2023
Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip
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Brain: A personal computer virus
Tue 25 Jul 2023
In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan
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Escaping the Nazis in Greece
Mon 24 Jul 2023
Yeti Mitrani and her family escaped deportation from Greece by the Nazis in 1943
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The US singer who became the Soviet Union’s Red Elvis
Fri 21 Jul 2023
In 1966, American Dean Reed was the first western rock star to tour the Soviet Union
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The birth of Barbie
Thu 20 Jul 2023
Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll which was first sold in 1959
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Japan surrenders in China
Wed 19 Jul 2023
The signing of the Japanese surrender documents at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1945.
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The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia
Tue 18 Jul 2023
More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991
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Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’
Mon 17 Jul 2023
How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment
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Creating the first emoji
Fri 14 Jul 2023
In 1999, Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita created a global phenomena - the first emoji
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When disposable nappies were invented
Thu 13 Jul 2023
The story of how disposable nappies were invented.
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Inventing Rubik’s Cube
Tue 11 Jul 2023
In 1974, a Hungarian architect, Ernő Rubik invented his bestselling puzzle
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Invention of the ballpoint pen
Mon 10 Jul 2023
In 1938 a Hungarian journalist László Bíró invented the ballpoint pen
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A right royal night out
Fri 7 Jul 2023
Princess Diana, Kenny Everett and Freddie Mercury went on a night out in London in 1988
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When tourism came to the Maldives
Thu 6 Jul 2023
In February 1972 the first group of tourists arrived in the Maldives
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The National Health Service begins
Wed 5 Jul 2023
The UK’s National Health Service started on 5 July 1948
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Longest-serving democratically elected communist government
Tue 4 Jul 2023
A democratically elected communist government came to power in eastern India in 1977
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The trial of John Demjanjuk
Mon 3 Jul 2023
In 1986, John Demjanjuk was accused of being ‘Ivan the Terrible’
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I made Lady Gaga's meat dress
Fri 30 Jun 2023
In 2010 Lady Gaga attended the MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made out of beef
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The 'graveyard' for communist statues
Thu 29 Jun 2023
Communist statues in Hungary's capital Budapest were moved to Memento Park in 1993
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Sampoong department store disaster
Wed 28 Jun 2023
On 29 June 1995 the Sampoong Department Store in South Korea collapsed killing 502 people
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First reports of Ebola
Tue 27 Jun 2023
Ebola's first documented outbreak emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976
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JFK’s Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech
Mon 26 Jun 2023
On 26 June 1963, United States President John F Kennedy gave a speech in Berlin
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The Empire Windrush arrives
Thu 22 Jun 2023
On 22 June 1948, the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in England
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Anti-gay police raid at Tasty nightclub
Wed 21 Jun 2023
On 7 August 1994, police raided Tasty, a gay nightclub in downtown Melbourne, Australia
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The Somali pilot ordered to bomb his own country
Tue 20 Jun 2023
Somali fighter pilot Ahmed Mohamed Hassan faced a terrible choice in 1988
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Uprising in East Germany
Mon 19 Jun 2023
On 16 June 1953 East German workers went on strike in protest at Soviet rule
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Ming Smith makes history at MoMA
Fri 16 Jun 2023
MoMA bought photos from an African-American woman for the first time in 1979.
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Sir Don McCullin’s photo of a US marine
Thu 15 Jun 2023
In 1968, British photographer travelled to Vietnam for his second ever war assignment
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Malick Sidibé: Mali’s star photographer
Wed 14 Jun 2023
Malick Sidibé photographed life in Mali after its independence from France in 1960.