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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Vietnam Photographer
Thu 1 Nov 2012
The great British war photographer Don McCullin remembers the Vietnam war.
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Garbage, the City and Death by Fassbinder
Wed 31 Oct 2012
In 1985 a Frankfurt theatre attempted to stage a play by the controversial German writer.
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Russian Revolution
Tue 30 Oct 2012
It is 95 years since the October Revolution which led to the creation of the Soviet Union.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Showdown
Fri 26 Oct 2012
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev finally offered to withdraw nuclear missiles from Cuba
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The Iran-Iraq War
Thu 25 Oct 2012
In the autumn of 1980 one of the longest wars of the 20th Century began.
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The Wall Street Crash
Wed 24 Oct 2012
On 24 October 1929, the New York Stock Exchange began to plummet.
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The Moscow Theatre Siege
Tue 23 Oct 2012
It is 10 years since Chechen rebels took an entire theatre full of people hostage.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Missiles
Mon 22 Oct 2012
The gradual build up of weaponry - Soviet built ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads
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The Guggenheim Bilbao
Fri 19 Oct 2012
It's 15 years since an extraordinary building was opened in a Spanish industrial city.
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Colombia Peace Talks
Wed 17 Oct 2012
The last serious attempt to end Colombia's long civil war was more than a decade ago.
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Cuban Missile Crisis: The Photos
Mon 15 Oct 2012
CIA expert Dino Brugioni interpreted the ariel photographs of missiles in Cuba
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Modern art in Tehran
Fri 12 Oct 2012
It is 35 years since the opening of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
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Search for the Loch Ness Monster
Thu 11 Oct 2012
It is 25 years since the most in-depth and expensive survey of Loch Ness.
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Solzhenitsyn and the Nobel Prize
Wed 10 Oct 2012
How the Soviet dissident smuggled his writing to the outside world.
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Che in Congo
Tue 9 Oct 2012
In 1965 the Latin-American revolutionary went to fight with rebels in the Congo.
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The Achille Lauro Hijacking
Mon 8 Oct 2012
In 1985 a luxury cruise liner was held by Palestinian gunmen in the Red Sea.
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US Support for Nicaraguan Contras
Thu 4 Oct 2012
In October 1986 a CIA plane carrying arms to "contra" rebels was shot down in Nicaragua
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Black Hawk Down
Wed 3 Oct 2012
The battle in Mogadishu in 1993 which had a dramatic impact on US foreign policy.
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The Taliban take Kabul
Tue 2 Oct 2012
It is 16 years since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.
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German refugees in post-war Europe
Mon 1 Oct 2012
At the end of WW2, many ethnic Germans in Central Europe were forced to leave their homes.
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Sharon at the al-Aqsa compound
Fri 28 Sep 2012
In September 2000 the Israeli opposition leader visited the Al-Aqsa compound.
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IRA jail break
Thu 27 Sep 2012
In September 1983 a group of IRA prisoners escaped from jail in Northern Ireland.
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Ireland's Magdalene Laundries
Wed 26 Sep 2012
The story of a young girl who survived Ireland's notorious Catholic workhouses for women.
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West Side Story
Tue 25 Sep 2012
It is 55 years since a groundbreaking musical, West Side Story, opened on Broadway.
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The Hobbit
Fri 21 Sep 2012
How an Oxford academic came up with a story that charmed children for generations.
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Blasphemy in Pakistan
Thu 20 Sep 2012
In 1998 a Roman Catholic Bishop killed himself in protest at Pakistan's blasphemy laws.
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Mules and the Mujahideen
Wed 19 Sep 2012
Twenty-five years ago, a shipment of mules was sent from the USA to Afghanistan.
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Ethiopia's Korean War Hero
Tue 18 Sep 2012
The Ethiopian soldier who became a hero in the Korean War
