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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When US police dropped explosives on a Philadelphia home
Wed 3 Mar 2021
How 11 people died when explosives were dropped on a house by a police helicopter
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The world's deepest dive 11km down
Mon 1 Mar 2021
Don Walsh was the first to go to the very bottom of the deepest part of the ocean in 1960
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The WW2 airman from Sierra Leone
Thu 25 Feb 2021
Johnny Smythe was one of very few West Africans to fly with Britain's airforce during WW2
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The fall of Kwame Nkrumah
Wed 24 Feb 2021
How one of Africa's most famous independence leaders was overthrown in 1966
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Ireland's bank bailout
Tue 23 Feb 2021
In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis Ireland had to borrow billions
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Free breakfasts with the Black Panthers
Thu 18 Feb 2021
How the revolutionary black rights organisation started serving breakfast to children
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The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks
Wed 17 Feb 2021
The story of a woman who played a largely unsung role in countless medical breakthroughs
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Britain's forgotten slave owners: Part two
Tue 16 Feb 2021
The story of Britain's forgotten slave owners and the people they enslaved
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Britain's forgotten slave owners: Part one
Mon 15 Feb 2021
How researchers in London uncovered the story of Britain's forgotten slave owners
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How US 'smart bombs' hit an Iraqi air raid shelter in the first Gulf War
Fri 12 Feb 2021
More than 400 civilians died when US bombs hit the Amiriya air raid shelter in Baghdad
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A Ghanaian nurse's story
Thu 11 Feb 2021
Nurses from outside the UK form a vital part of the country's medical workforce
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The paper that helped the homeless
Wed 10 Feb 2021
The 'Street News' paper was sold by homeless people in New York at a profit to earn money
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Francis Bacon in the archives
Tue 9 Feb 2021
The painter Francis Bacon was known for his disturbing images and bohemian lifestyle
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General Robert E Lee: US Civil War rebel
Fri 5 Feb 2021
Lee was charged with treason, so why did Congress reinstate his citizenship in 1975?
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Drugs in the Vietnam War
Thu 4 Feb 2021
How a heroin epidemic among US troops in Vietnam caused panic in the military
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The Burma uprising of 1988
Wed 3 Feb 2021
People took to the streets of Burma, or Myanmar, to protest against military rule in 1988
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The Moscow State Circus
Tue 2 Feb 2021
The biggest circus in Soviet Russia opened in Moscow in April 1971.
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The first Eurostar from England to France
Mon 1 Feb 2021
The driver of the first train to take passengers from London to Paris remembers
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The anthem of the Arab Spring
Fri 29 Jan 2021
How a singer in Tunisia helped inspire young protestors all over the Middle East in 2011
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Libya's Arab uprising
Thu 28 Jan 2021
In 2011 protests soon turned into an armed revolt seeking to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi.
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Yemen's 2011 uprising
Wed 27 Jan 2021
Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt young Yemenis took to the streets in January 2011
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Syria in the Arab Spring
Tue 26 Jan 2021
The moment that hundreds of thousands of Syrians demanded change in 2011.
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Egypt's Facebook Girl
Mon 25 Jan 2021
How social media was used to organise against Egypt's government before the Arab Spring
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Fighting for justice for India's Sikhs
Fri 22 Jan 2021
Anti-Sikh violence flared in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984
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Kenya's pioneering publisher
Thu 21 Jan 2021
Dr Henry Chakava made it his life's mission to publish in African languages.
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The Turner Diaries - America's manual of hatred
Wed 20 Jan 2021
The white supremacist novel by William Pierce which has been blamed for inciting violence