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.
Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.
When you subscribe to Witness History, you’ll be taken inside turning points in world affairs, from West Africa’s fight back against Boko Haram in 2015, to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations.
You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
You’ll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden’s Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles’ George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy’s show to a sudden end.
And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.
If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
The Launch of Vogue Russia
Thu 29 Dec 2016
Aliona Doletskaya remembers starting post Soviet-Russia's biggest glossy fashion magazine
-
![]()
The Nuclear Legacy
Wed 28 Dec 2016
The story of how the world was made safe from the former Soviet Union's nuclear legacy
-
![]()
Georgia In Crisis
Tue 27 Dec 2016
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Georgia found itself on the verge of civil war.
-
![]()
The Break-Up of the Soviet Union
Boxing Day 2016
Hear from two of the key players who brought to an end over 70 years of communism
-
![]()
Apollo 8
Fri 23 Dec 2016
How the first mission around the Moon captured the world's imagination at Christmas 1968
-
![]()
Samuel Beckett
Thu 22 Dec 2016
The great Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett died on 22nd December 1989
-
![]()
Turkey-Greece Island Dispute
Wed 21 Dec 2016
How Greece and Turkey almost came to war over a tiny rocky island in the Aegean sea.
-
![]()
Derek Jarman
Tue 20 Dec 2016
The experimental film-maker made his first feature film 'Sebastiane' in 1976.
-
![]()
Death of an Anarchist
Mon 19 Dec 2016
Giuseppe Pinelli was an Italian anarchist who died in police custody - but why?
-
![]()
The First Latin American 'Telenovela'
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Brazil's Vida Alves starred in the first ever Latin American soap opera in December 1951.
-
![]()
Cot Death
Thu 15 Dec 2016
The 'Back to Sleep' campaign was launched in 1991 to prevent babies dying in their cots
-
![]()
The Hindu 'Milk Miracle'
Wed 14 Dec 2016
Millions of Hindus were gripped by reports of their God, Ganesha, 'drinking' milk.
-
![]()
Sara Ginaite Lithuanian Jewish Partisan
Tue 13 Dec 2016
A young Jewish woman escaped from the Kaunas Ghetto in Lithuania to fight the Nazis.
-
![]()
Yoyes - Woman leader of ETA
Mon 12 Dec 2016
The life and tragic death of the first woman leader of the Basque separatist group ETA.
-
![]()
Fighting for Rural Women in South Africa
Fri 9 Dec 2016
Sizani Ngubane set up the Rural Women's Movement in South Africa in the 1990s
-
![]()
Recreating Down Syndrome in Mice
Thu 8 Dec 2016
Scientist Elizabeth Fisher created a new strain of mouse to help understand Down Syndrome
-
![]()
Wangari Maathai Wins Nobel Prize
Wed 7 Dec 2016
In 2004, the Kenyan ecologist became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
-
![]()
Soviet Woman Bomber Pilot
Tue 6 Dec 2016
Yelena Malyutina was a Soviet female bomber pilot who fought in WW2.
-
![]()
Digging up the Truth
Mon 5 Dec 2016
Mercedes Doretti has spent her life uncovering mass graves around the world.
-
![]()
Bob Marley Survives Assassination Attempt
Fri 2 Dec 2016
In December 1976 gunmen tried to kill the legendary reggae singer at his home in Jamaica.
-
![]()
Colombia's 'Lost City'
Thu 1 Dec 2016
In 1976, archaeologists found the ruins of a huge indigenous settlement hidden in forest
-
![]()
India's City of the Future: Chandigarh
Wed 30 Nov 2016
World famous architect Le Corbusier built a city to revive Indian pride after Partition.
-
![]()
Car Safety and Ralph Nader
Tue 29 Nov 2016
In the early 1960s there were virtually no laws covering car safety in the USA.
-
![]()
The Assassination of the Mirabal Sisters
Mon 28 Nov 2016
3 sisters in the Dominican Republic were beaten to death on the orders of the dictator
-
![]()
The 1948 French Miners' Strike
Fri 25 Nov 2016
How coal miners in France went from post-war heroes to pariahs
-
![]()
The Silk Letters Movement
Thu 24 Nov 2016
In 1916 the authorities in India uncovered plans to overthrow British rule
-
![]()
Saving Orphaned African Elephants
Wed 23 Nov 2016
How a Kenyan woman, Dame Daphne Sheldrick, first raised orphaned baby African elephants
-
![]()
Plane spotters arrested in Greece
Tue 22 Nov 2016
In Nov 2001 a group of British tourists was arrested in Greece and charged with spying.
-
![]()
The Musical Cabaret
Mon 21 Nov 2016
Director Hal Prince remembers the hit musical opening on Broadway in November 1966
-
![]()
Smuggling Endangered Birds
Fri 18 Nov 2016
In Nov 1996 leading ornithologist Tony Silva was convicted of smuggling endangered birds.
