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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Voyager: Around The World On One Tank of Fuel
Fri 29 Dec 2017
How two pilots became the first to fly non-stop around the world without refuelling
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The Climbers of Leningrad
Thu 28 Dec 2017
Mountaineers risked their lives to camouflage landmarks in the Russian city during WW2.
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"Spend, Spend, Spend" - The Miner's Wife Who Won Big
Wed 27 Dec 2017
How Viv Nicholson became a celebrity in Britain after winning the football pools in 1961.
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The First Kwanzaa
Boxing Day 2017
The African-American winter holiday was invented in Los Angeles in 1966.
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Trivial Pursuit
Christmas Day 2017
The game has become a holiday tradition with families around the world.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Fri 22 Dec 2017
Louise Hidalgo speaks to Gregory Peck's son Carey about the film of Harper Lee's novel.
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BR Ambedkar
Thu 21 Dec 2017
The Indian independence leader and campaigner for Dalit rights died in December 1956.
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The Exam That Changed China
Wed 20 Dec 2017
The return of university entrance exams showed the Cultural Revolution had really ended.
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The Development of WiFi
Tue 19 Dec 2017
Australian scientists were central to the development of wifi.
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Somalia's Islamic Courts Union
Mon 18 Dec 2017
How the Islamic movement brought a brief moment of peace to Mogadishu after years of war
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The Disappearance of Harold Holt
Fri 15 Dec 2017
The Australian Prime Minister went for a swim on December 17th 1967 - and never came back
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The Great London Smog
Thu 14 Dec 2017
Thousands died as a thick polluted fog engulfed London in 1952
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The Unsung Hero of Heart Surgery
Wed 13 Dec 2017
The African-American lab technician whose surgery helped save millions of babies..
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Hypnotising Saddam's Son
Mon 11 Dec 2017
How an American hypnotist went to Iraq to treat Uday, the eldest son of Saddam Hussein.
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Art in Revolutionary Russia
Fri 8 Dec 2017
Avant-garde art flourished in Russia after the 1917 revolution but was later suppressed
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The Discovery of Whale Song
Thu 7 Dec 2017
Whales were being hunted to extinction until a biologist realised they could sing.
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Finland Wins Independence From Russia
Wed 6 Dec 2017
In December 1917 Finland became an independent country for the first time.
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Britain's withdrawal from South Yemen
Tue 5 Dec 2017
In 1967 Britain's departure from Aden leads to the creation of an independent South Yemen
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Mount Rushmore
Mon 4 Dec 2017
Construction on one of America's most famous monuments started in 1927.
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Science City in Siberia
Fri 1 Dec 2017
Thousands of scientists moved to deepest Siberia to dedicate their lives to research.
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The Poisoning of Litvinenko
Thu 30 Nov 2017
Former colonel in the Russian secret service Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London.
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The Prestige Oil Disaster in Spain
Wed 29 Nov 2017
How thousands of volunteers cleaned up after a huge environmental disaster in 2002
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The Audacious Plot to Kill a Colonel
Tue 28 Nov 2017
How El Salvador's leftist rebels led a top army officer into a deadly trap
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The Case of Alger Hiss
Mon 27 Nov 2017
The conviction of diplomat Alger Hiss was one of America's most notorious spy cases
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The Exile of Wolf Biermann
Fri 24 Nov 2017
East Germany's most famous singer-songwriter was exiled to the West in November 1976.
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Toy Story - The First Digitally-Animated Feature Film
Thu 23 Nov 2017
It was a box-office hit and a revolution in the world of animated films.
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The Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
Wed 22 Nov 2017
The president of South Vietnam was overthrown and murdered in a coup in November 1963.
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The Man Who Prosecuted Charles Manson
Tue 21 Nov 2017
Charles Manson's followers murdered 9 people on his orders. But how to prove his guilt?
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The Siege of Mecca
Mon 20 Nov 2017
In 1979 Islamic militants took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam
