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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Why Asians came to Uganda
Mon 1 Aug 2022
In the early 20th century many South Asians migrated to Uganda in search of a better life
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The Leaflet Bomber
Fri 29 Jul 2022
In 1971 communist Bob Newland goes on a secret mission to South Africa to fight Apartheid
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The Tangshan Earthquake
Thu 28 Jul 2022
A deadly earthquake hit the city of Tangshan killing hundreds of thousands of people.
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Inventing nicotine patches
Wed 27 Jul 2022
Nicotine patches became available in the 1990s but their origins go back to the 1980s.
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The Surkov leaks
Tue 26 Jul 2022
In 2016, Ukrainian hackers leaked the emails of Vladimir Putin's aide, Vladislav Surkov.
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Ukraine's Revolution on Granite
Mon 25 Jul 2022
In 1990, a hunger strike led by Ukrainian students brought down the Soviet regime in Kyiv
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Nigerian sitcom Papa Ajasco
Fri 22 Jul 2022
In 1996, Wale Adenuga’s sitcom Papa Ajasco first hit Nigerian TV screens.
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The Soviet James Bond
Thu 21 Jul 2022
The most successful TV spy series in the USSR went on air in 1973.
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Who shot JR?
Wed 20 Jul 2022
The world's reaction to leading man JR, being shot in the American TV series, Dallas.
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Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Indian Cookery’
Tue 19 Jul 2022
A ground breaking Indian cookery programme broadcast on the BBC launched 40 years ago.
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The school for telenovela stars
Mon 18 Jul 2022
In 1987, in Mexico City, a TV station opened a school to train telenovela actors.
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Fighting for the pill in Japan
Fri 15 Jul 2022
The contraceptive pill was approved for use in the US in 1960, but in Japan it was 1999.
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The man who invented the Pill
Thu 14 Jul 2022
In 1951, Dr Carl Djerassi created the Pill's active ingredient from Mexican wild yams.
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When Tunisia led on women's rights
Wed 13 Jul 2022
Tunisia became the first country in the Muslim world to legalise divorce and abortion.
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Poland's strict abortion law
Tue 12 Jul 2022
In 1993 abortion laws were tightened up in Poland after the fall of Communism
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How abortion was legalised in Great Britain
Mon 11 Jul 2022
The campaign to allow abortion in Great Britain which resulted in a new law in 1967.
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The US’s first gay election candidate
Fri 8 Jul 2022
In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States.
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How the smear test was invented
Thu 7 Jul 2022
The discovery by Dr George Papanicolaou in 1928 which led to the smear test
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Escaping Nigeria’s Civil War
Wed 6 Jul 2022
One child's story of getting caught up in the Nigerian Civil War
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Japanese university student riots
Tue 5 Jul 2022
In 1968 and early 1969 Japanese students fought pitched battles with riot police
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The Higgs Boson: A scientific discovery that explains how the universe works
Mon 4 Jul 2022
The discovery of the Higgs Boson by scientists at CERN using the Large Hadron Collider
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Hong Kong: Abandoned children
Fri 1 Jul 2022
The Chinese babies left on the streets of 1960s Hong Kong in the hope they'd be adopted
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Hong Kong - Kowloon Walled City
Thu 30 Jun 2022
The end of a unique way of life in one of the most densely populated places in the world.
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Hong Kong: The 5-19 football riot in China
Wed 29 Jun 2022
The 5-19 football riot after Hong Kong won their World Cup qualifying match over China.
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Hong Kong: Democracy campaigner
Tue 28 Jun 2022
In 1997 Britain handed Hong Kong back to China but Emily Lau campaigned for democracy
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Hong Kong: The handover
Mon 27 Jun 2022
Chris Patten remembers the day Hong Kong was handed back to China from Britain
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The UK's first official gay Pride March
Fri 24 Jun 2022
The UK’s first official gay Pride march took place 50 years ago – on 1st July 1972.
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Egypt's first democratic presidential election
Thu 23 Jun 2022
In June 2012, Mohamed Morsi was elected in Egypt's first free presidential election.
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The killing of Vincent Chin
Wed 22 Jun 2022
In 1982 a Chinese-American man was murdered with a baseball bat by white men in Detroit
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Robot Surgeon
Tue 21 Jun 2022
In 1985 the first robot-assisted medical surgery took place in Vancouver, Canada
