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 birth of Reddit
Wed 9 Sep 2020
In 2005 two young graduates created one of the internet's most popular websites.
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Haiti's cholera outbreak
Tue 8 Sep 2020
Haiti was cholera-free until UN peacekeepers brought it to the Caribbean country in 2010
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The Dawson's Field hijacking
Mon 7 Sep 2020
Barbara Mensch recalls how she was hijacked and held in Jordan in 1970
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Care in the Community
Fri 4 Sep 2020
In the 1990s Britain closed down many of its long-stay hospitals and asylums
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The Cape Town bombings
Thu 3 Sep 2020
In the late 1990s there were more than 150 bomb attacks in the South African city
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The birth of the Sony Walkman
Wed 2 Sep 2020
The portable tape player that brought music-on-the-move to millions was launched in 1979
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Flying through a volcano
Tue 1 Sep 2020
How a British Airways jumbo jet flew through a volcanic ash cloud and survived
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Inventing James Bond
Mon 31 Aug 2020
How author and former intelligence officer Ian Fleming created the British super-spy
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Who has the right to vote in America?
Fri 28 Aug 2020
The decision that quashed a key part of an electoral law designed to protect black voters
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St Kilda
Thu 27 Aug 2020
The remote Scottish islands whose last inhabitants were evacuated in August 1930
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Occupy Wall Street
Wed 26 Aug 2020
How former policeman Ray Lewis joined the anti-inequality demonstrations in New York
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America's first woman combat pilot
Tue 25 Aug 2020
How Jeannie Leavitt became the first woman to fly a US Air Force fighter plane in 1993.
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Margaret Ekpo - Nigeria's feminist pioneer
Mon 24 Aug 2020
The trades union activist and politician who fought for Nigerian independence.
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The siege at Ruby Ridge
Fri 21 Aug 2020
An 11-day standoff between a fugitive and the US government ended with three people dead.
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The Guatemalan syphilis scandal
Thu 20 Aug 2020
How American doctors carried out secretive STD experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s
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The first modern asthma inhaler
Wed 19 Aug 2020
Millions of people’s lives have been saved and improved by the metered dose inhaler.
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The lost King of England
Tue 18 Aug 2020
How archaeologists discovered the lost grave of King Richard III under a car park
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Surviving Saddam
Mon 17 Aug 2020
The memories of a young Iraqi woman who grew up in the dictator's inner social circle
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The invention of the modern ventilator
Fri 14 Aug 2020
How a polio epidemic in Denmark in 1952 led to the invention of the modern ventilator
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Scoring a victory for women's rights in Turkey
Thu 13 Aug 2020
How Turkish campaigners forced a radical change in the law on crimes against women
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Beirut's Hotel War
Wed 12 Aug 2020
How the Lebanese Civil War came to Beirut's luxury hotel district in 1975.
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Bremen’s Elephant Statue
Tue 11 Aug 2020
How the German city addressed its colonial past by rededicating a famous monument
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Radar and World War Two
Mon 10 Aug 2020
How British women operated secret radar technology during World War Two
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The American who put women's rights in the Japanese constitution
Fri 7 Aug 2020
How Beate Sirota Gordon got wording on gender equality into Japan's post-war constitution
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The atomic bombs dropped on Japan
Thu 6 Aug 2020
Atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945
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The battle of Midway
Wed 5 Aug 2020
How a huge naval battle between aircraft carriers changed the war in the Pacific
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The internment of Japanese Americans
Tue 4 Aug 2020
During World War Two thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to prison camps
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The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Mon 3 Aug 2020
A first-hand account of the surprise strike on a US naval base in December 1941.
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The death of Heinrich Himmler
Fri 31 Jul 2020
The leading Nazi was caught by British troops shortly after WW2 had ended in Europe
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Benidorm and the birth of package tourism
Thu 30 Jul 2020
The story of the mayor who created one of the world's biggest holiday resorts.
