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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Behind the scenes on Sesame Street
Thu 30 May 2019
The inside story of one of the most popular children's TV shows ever made
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Tiananmen Square escape
Wed 29 May 2019
Dan Wang was the most wanted student leader after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
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Bokassa's massacre of the children
Tue 28 May 2019
How protests by young people led to Jean-Bédel Bokassa's fall from power in C.A.R
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The death of Jawaharlal Nehru
Mon 27 May 2019
The man who led India to independence died on May 27th 1964
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The Acid Survivors Foundation
Fri 24 May 2019
The Bangladesh charity dedicated to treating the survivors of acid attacks.
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How environmental campaign group Greenpeace was formed
Thu 23 May 2019
The story of how environmental campaign group Greenpeace was formed
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Fighting Uganda's anti-gay laws
Wed 22 May 2019
When MPs tried to toughen the laws against homosexuality, LGBT activists took a stand.
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The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs
Tue 21 May 2019
The Chicxulub impact crater was discovered in 1978.
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Walking the Great Wall of China
Mon 20 May 2019
Three friends set off on an epic trek along the Great Wall of China in May 1984
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Hitler's stolen children
Fri 17 May 2019
During WW2 the Nazis abducted blonde blue-eyed children to build an Aryan master race
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China's One Child policy
Thu 16 May 2019
The Chinese Communist Party started ruthlessly enforcing birth control in the early 1980s
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The final days of Sri Lanka's civil war
Wed 15 May 2019
How the army finally crushed Tamil Tiger rebels after 25 years of bloody civil war
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Predicting the financial crash
Tue 14 May 2019
The economists who predicted the 2008 financial crash but whose warnings were ignored
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Strictly Come Dancing
Fri 10 May 2019
One of the most successful TV formats in the world started back in May 2004
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The war on drugs
Thu 9 May 2019
The first 'war on drugs' was launched by US President Richard Nixon in 1971.
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The siege of Dien Bien Phu
Tue 7 May 2019
The French surrender at the siege of Dien Bien Phu ended their colonial rule of Vietnam
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Jack Ma: The founder of Alibaba
Mon 6 May 2019
The Chinese billionaire set up his online shopping site in 1999
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The Malayan Emergency
Fri 3 May 2019
The struggle against a Communist insurgency in Malaya in the 1950s
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The sinking of the Belgrano
Thu 2 May 2019
The Argentine ship was sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands war
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The Arctic African
Wed 1 May 2019
Why a boy ran away from West Africa to live in the Arctic in the 1960s.
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Rupert Brooke
Tue 30 Apr 2019
The English poet whose death at the start of World War One was mourned by millions
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Ellen comes out
Mon 29 Apr 2019
Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on primetime American television in April 1997.
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The al-Yamamah arms deals
Fri 26 Apr 2019
A record series of arms sales by the UK to Saudi Arabia began in the 1980s
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Sri Lanka: A journalist's editorial from the grave
Thu 25 Apr 2019
The assassination of newspaper editor, Lasantha Wickramatunga, in 2009 shocked the world
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South Africa's first free elections
Wed 24 Apr 2019
After Apartheid all South Africans regardless of race finally won the right to vote.
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Britain's first vegans
Tue 23 Apr 2019
The Vegan Society was established in 1944 by British 'non-dairy vegetarians'
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Nato bombs Serbian TV
Mon 22 Apr 2019
A survivor from the April 1999 bombing in Belgrade that killed 16 people.
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The Columbine massacre
Fri 19 Apr 2019
13 people were killed and more than 20 injured in the school shooting on April 20th 1999