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鈥� life and Omar Sharif鈥檚 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鈥� 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 Mississippi Burning Case
Mon 4 Aug 2014
On 4 Aug 1964 the bodies of three murdered civil rights workers were found in Mississippi
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The Warsaw Uprising
Fri 1 Aug 2014
On 1 August 1944, resistance fighters in the Polish capital rose up against German forces
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Martha Stewart in Jail
Thu 31 Jul 2014
A fellow prisoner recalls how the American TV celebrity survived five months behind bars
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Christian: The Lion From London
Wed 30 Jul 2014
In 1969 two young Australians bought a lion cub in Harrods and raised it in London
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The World's First Jet Airliner
Tue 29 Jul 2014
In July 1949, the British-built de Havilland Comet took off for the first time
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The Outbreak of World War One
Mon 28 Jul 2014
Eyewitness accounts from the archives of the start of war in the summer of 1914
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Purple Rain
Fri 25 Jul 2014
It's 30 years since the release of the film Purple Rain, starring musician Prince
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The First Palestinian Intifada
Thu 24 Jul 2014
In 1987, the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, started in Gaza
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The Last Days of British Rule in India
Wed 23 Jul 2014
In summer 1947 India declared independence after hundreds of years of British rule.
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The Killing of Miguel Angel Blanco
Tue 22 Jul 2014
In 1997 a young Spanish politician was murdered by the Basque separatist group ETA
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Attack on Argentina's Jews
Mon 21 Jul 2014
In 1994 a bomb exploded in Argentina killing 85 people at a Jewish centre
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The Plot to Kill Hitler
Fri 18 Jul 2014
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to kill Adolf Hitler on 20 July, 1944
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The Fall of General Somoza
Wed 16 Jul 2014
In July 1979 left-wing rebels toppled the last member of the Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua.
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The Chappaquiddick Incident
Tue 15 Jul 2014
In July 1969, Edward Kennedy was involved in a car accident in which a young woman died
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The Death of Frida Kahlo
Mon 14 Jul 2014
On 13 July 1954, the celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, died at the age of 47
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Pablo Neruda
Fri 11 Jul 2014
The great Latin American poet was born in a remote town in southern Chile in July 1904
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The Srebrenica Massacre
Thu 10 Jul 2014
Bosnian Serb troops murdered thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys in July 1995
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The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
Wed 9 Jul 2014
On 9 July 1985 the Greenpeace campaign ship was bombed by French secret agents
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The Death of Kim Il Sung
Tue 8 Jul 2014
It is 20 years since the death of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung
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The Storming of the Red Mosque
Mon 7 Jul 2014
When militants took over a mosque in Islamabad, troops were sent in to end the siege
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Iraq's Awakening Movement
Fri 4 Jul 2014
Sunni tribal militia turned on Al Qaeda in Iraq and began working with US forces In 2006
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Artek - the Soviet Holiday Camp
Thu 3 Jul 2014
Every year, thousands of Soviet children visited the holiday camp Artek by the Black Sea
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Oklahoma: The Musical
Wed 2 Jul 2014
In World War Two an optimistic musical about American rural life became a hit on Broadway
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Abuse at Abu Ghraib: the Iraqi view
Tue 1 Jul 2014
Two Iraqi, Abu Ghraib detainees recall their experiences inside the American-run prison
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Britain's Serial Murderers
Mon 30 Jun 2014
In 1994 Fred and Rosemary West were charged with a series of gruesome murders in England.
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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Fri 27 Jun 2014
The heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire was killed in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914
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The Start of Computer Dating
Thu 26 Jun 2014
In 1965 a pioneering computer dating scheme, Operation Match, launched in the USA.
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'Lidice Shall Die'
Wed 25 Jun 2014
The destruction of the village of Lidice in German-occupied Czechoslovakia in June 1942
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Albanian Illegal Immigrants
Tue 24 Jun 2014
In the summer of 1991 thousands of Albanians commandeered cargo ships to take them Italy
