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 'Oasis of Peace'
Wed 28 Mar 2018
The story of Wahat al-Salam, Neve Shalom where Jews and Arabs live side by side in peace.
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Sarajevo: Singing for Peace
Tue 27 Mar 2018
How a multi-faith choir brought together survivors of the Bosnian civil war.
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First Women on the London Stock Exchange
Mon 26 Mar 2018
The women who broke tradition shocking London's top-hatted stockbrokers.
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Who Killed Luis Colosio?
Fri 23 Mar 2018
The murder of a presidential candidate that shocked Mexico.
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Radiocarbon Dating of the Turin Shroud
Thu 22 Mar 2018
In 1988 scientists performed a carbon dating test on the Shroud of Turin.
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A Brief History of Time
Wed 21 Mar 2018
Physicist Stephen Hawking's best-seller, A Brief History of Time, was published in 1988
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Elvis in the US Army
Tue 20 Mar 2018
How the 'King' of Rock'n'Roll became a GI in 1958 and served during the Cold War
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The Skull Valley Sheep Kill
Mon 19 Mar 2018
Did a nerve agent kill 6,000 sheep close to a US military testing site in 1968?
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Latvia's Controversial Waffen-SS Fighters
Fri 16 Mar 2018
In 1998 Latvian Waffen-SS veterans marched to remember a battle against the Soviets.
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Tancredo Neves - Doomed Hero of Brazilian Democracy
Thu 15 Mar 2018
How the politician who led Brazil to democracy died before taking office as president.
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The Battle of the Airwaves in Latin America
Wed 14 Mar 2018
How the BBC began Spanish and Portuguese broadcasts to fight the Nazis in the Americas
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Surviving The My Lai Massacre
Tue 13 Mar 2018
One of the worse US military atrocities took place during the Vietnam war.
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The Moscow Show Trials
Mon 12 Mar 2018
An eyewitness account of Stalin's purge of top Soviet leaders during the Great Terror.
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Changing the Alphabet in Azerbaijan
Fri 9 Mar 2018
After independence Azerbaijan changed from Russian Cyrillic script to Latin letters.
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Marie Stopes: Birth Control Pioneer
Thu 8 Mar 2018
The first birth control clinic in Britain was opened in London in 1921 by Dr Marie Stopes
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The Life and Thought of Hannah Arendt
Wed 7 Mar 2018
The life and thought of the leading 20th-century political thinker, Hannah Arendt
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Deaf Rights Protest
Tue 6 Mar 2018
Students at the world's first deaf-only University demand a deaf college President.
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World War One: Russia at War
Fri 2 Mar 2018
How Russia's disastrous war on the Eastern Front became a catalyst for revolution
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China's Barefoot Doctors
Thu 1 Mar 2018
How China's barefoot doctor scheme revolutionised rural healthcare.
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M*A*S*H
Wed 28 Feb 2018
The last episode of the iconic TV series broadcasts to record audiences across the US.
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The Killing of Olof Palme
Tue 27 Feb 2018
The Swedish Prime Minister was shot dead on a Stockholm street on February 28th 1986.
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The Angel of the North
Mon 26 Feb 2018
The huge steel sculpture that has become an icon for the north-east of England.
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The Last Smallpox Outbreak
Fri 23 Feb 2018
In India in 1974 thousands of people died in the world's last major smallpox epidemic
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David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest
Thu 22 Feb 2018
One of the biggest novels of the late twentieth century was published in February 1996.
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The Boy in the Bubble
Wed 21 Feb 2018
David Vetter was born with a disease which meant he lived inside a plastic bubble
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Jimmy Swaggart's Fall From Grace
Tue 20 Feb 2018
How one of America's most successful televangelists was caught with a prostitute
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Ghana Must Go
Mon 19 Feb 2018
Over a million African migrants, most of them Ghanaian, had to leave Nigeria in 1983
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Vietnam War: The Battle for Hue
Fri 16 Feb 2018
Communist forces overran the key city in 1968 triggering one of the war's biggest battles
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The Furies Collective: Lesbian Separatists
Thu 15 Feb 2018
A group of US feminists set up a commune to live entirely without men in 1971.
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Leonardo's Lost Notebooks
Wed 14 Feb 2018
In 1967 two long-lost notebooks of the artist Leonardo da Vinci were discovered in Spain
