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
-
![]()
How organic farming started
Thu 18 Apr 2019
Worries about the industrialisation of farming post-WW2 led some farmers to go organic.
-
![]()
Auto-destructive art
Wed 17 Apr 2019
Gustav Metzger and the birth of the radical new art form in the 1960s
-
![]()
The first play on Broadway written by a black woman
Tue 16 Apr 2019
'A Raisin in the Sun' by Lorraine Hansberry had an almost exclusively black cast too.
-
![]()
Dennis Tito - the first space tourist
Mon 15 Apr 2019
In April 2001 an American multi-millionaire paid Russia to send him into space
-
![]()
Chinese restaurant syndrome
Fri 12 Apr 2019
In the 1960's American diners began to worry that Chinese food was making them ill.
-
![]()
The rise of Hindu nationalism
Thu 11 Apr 2019
The consolidation of the BJP as one of the major powers in Indian politics.
-
![]()
The man who invented wingsuits
Wed 10 Apr 2019
The wingsuit is the ultimate in extreme sports clothing, for BASE jumpers and skydivers
-
![]()
The Amritsar Massacre of 1919
Tue 9 Apr 2019
In April 1919 British Indian troops opened fire on protestors in the city of Amritsar
-
![]()
The man who made Marilyn Monroe dance
Mon 8 Apr 2019
Choreographer Jack Cole had a huge influence on musical theatre and Hollywood films
-
![]()
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Fri 5 Apr 2019
Maya Angelou's iconic memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969
-
![]()
Abolishing the army
Thu 4 Apr 2019
Costa Rica dissolved its Armed Forces after a brief civil war in 1948
-
![]()
The warship lost for more than 300 years
Wed 3 Apr 2019
The discovery of a 17th century Swedish warship, the Vasa, in near perfect condition
-
![]()
EMDR: the eye-movement therapy
Tue 2 Apr 2019
A therapy which seems to work for post-traumatic stress was developed in the late 1980s
-
![]()
Patty Hearst the rebel heiress
Mon 1 Apr 2019
In April 1974 the heiress announced she supported her kidnappers' beliefs
-
![]()
Mindfulness for the masses
Fri 29 Mar 2019
Scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered a meditative approach to treat pain and depression.
-
![]()
The secret Nazi past of Kurt Waldheim
Thu 28 Mar 2019
How former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim's secret Nazi past was exposed
-
![]()
-
![]()
Drama in the British parliament
Tue 26 Mar 2019
Prime Minister Jim Callaghan's desperate attempts to survive a no-confidence vote in 1979
-
![]()
The first home pregnancy test
Mon 25 Mar 2019
A female designer working for a pharmaceutical company came up with the idea in the 1960s
-
![]()
The rise of Viktor Orban
Fri 22 Mar 2019
Viktor Orban, now the populist Hungarian Prime Minister led a democratic movement in 1988
-
![]()
Autism and the MMR vaccine
Thu 21 Mar 2019
How a British doctor misled the world by linking the MMR vaccine with autism.
-
![]()
The discovery of the Aztec Moon Goddess
Wed 20 Mar 2019
How an accidental discovery in Mexico led to the uncovering of the Aztecs´ Great Temple.
-
![]()
The first democratic elections in the USSR
Tue 19 Mar 2019
Soviet citizens voted in democratic elections for the first time in March 1989.
-
![]()
The millionaire Nazi war criminal
Mon 18 Mar 2019
How the Dutch art collector Pieter Menten was exposed as a war criminal in the 1970s
-
![]()
How Little America was built in Afghanistan
Fri 15 Mar 2019
In the 1950s, US engineers were sent to Afghanistan to build a dam.
-
![]()
Slaughterhouse-Five
Thu 14 Mar 2019
In March 1969, American author Kurt Vonnegut published his cult anti-war novel.
-
![]()
China's breakthrough malaria cure
Wed 13 Mar 2019
Chinese scientists used ancient traditional medicine to find a cure for malaria.
-
![]()
Lenin and the deadly mushrooms
Tue 12 Mar 2019
A spoof TV show persuaded some Russians that Lenin took too many hallucinogenic mushrooms
-
![]()
The fall of Singapore
Mon 11 Mar 2019
Life under Japanese occupation in Singapore during World War Two.
-
![]()
Britain's first female black headteacher
Fri 8 Mar 2019
Yvonne Conolly was appointed head of Ringcross Primary school in North London in 1969
