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 woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto
Thu 7 Nov 2024
Polish aid worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in WW2
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The Shah of Iran's party
Wed 6 Nov 2024
In 1971, the Shah of Iran, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire
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In exile from Iran
Tue 5 Nov 2024
Former empress Farah Pahlavi and social scientist Rouhi Shafi speak about leaving Iran
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Iran hostage crisis
Mon 4 Nov 2024
In 1979, Barry Rosen was held hostage after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed
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Siegfried and Roy tiger attack
Fri 1 Nov 2024
In 2003, illusionist Roy Horn was attacked by a tiger live on stage.
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Brazil’s electronic voting
Thu 31 Oct 2024
In 1996, an electronic voting system in Brazil was used for the first time
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Jean Batten: New Zealand’s record breaking aviator
Tue 29 Oct 2024
Jean Batten was nicknamed the Queen of the Skies for her pioneering flights of the 1930s
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The creation of Greenwich Mean Time
Mon 28 Oct 2024
Experiments by John Flamsteed in the 17th Century led to the time zone being created
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My dad created Dungeons & Dragons
Thu 24 Oct 2024
In 1974, Gary Gygax created the fantasy roleplay game.
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Bonga Kwenda: Music banned in Angola and Portugal
Thu 24 Oct 2024
Outspoken supporter of Angolan independence, Bonga Kwenda was forced into exile in 1972
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Ethiopia's 1984 famine
Wed 23 Oct 2024
In 1984, a news report on a famine in Ethiopia led to a global fundraising campaign
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I found the first dinosaur remains in Antarctica
Tue 22 Oct 2024
In 1986, Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero discovered a new kind of Ankylosaurus
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The fight to stop skin lightening in India
Mon 21 Oct 2024
In 2013, Kavitha Emmanuel began campaigning to stop skin lightening in India
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Eight years trapped on the Suez Canal in Egypt
Fri 18 Oct 2024
After the Six Day War in 1967, 14 ships were stuck on the Great Bitter Lake
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Dyke and Dryden: Cosmetic kings
Thu 17 Oct 2024
In 1969, Dyke and Dryden started one the most successful black British businesses
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Fleeing Afghanistan alone as a child
Wed 16 Oct 2024
Dr Waheed Arian escaped poverty and war in Afghanistan to begin a new life in the UK
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The Rose Revolution in Georgia
Tue 15 Oct 2024
In 2003, demonstrators stormed the parliament building in Tbilisi, holding flowers
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The Sunflower Movement
Mon 14 Oct 2024
In 2014, more than 500,000 Taiwanese people protested against a new trade deal with China
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'Robocops’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Fri 11 Oct 2024
Handmade robots were installed in DRC's capital city Kinshasa to direct traffic
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How the QR code was invented
Thu 10 Oct 2024
In 1994 Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara designed a square of data, now known as a QR code
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The world's first general purpose electronic computer
Wed 9 Oct 2024
In 1946, one of the world’s first electronic computers was unveiled in the USA.
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WABOT-1: The first humanoid robot
Tue 8 Oct 2024
Scientists at Waseda University in Japan built the world's first humanoid robot in 1973
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Eliza: When chatbots started
Mon 7 Oct 2024
1966 saw the invention of Eliza, which is said to be the first chatbot
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The longest plane hijacking in Latin America
Fri 4 Oct 2024
In 1973, two men pretending to be Colombian guerrillas hijacked a plane for 60 hours
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The speech that inspired the Law of the Sea
Thu 3 Oct 2024
In November 1967, the Maltese diplomat, Arvid Pardo, gave a historic speech at the UN
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South Africa’s nuclear weapons
Wed 2 Oct 2024
In 1989, South Africa became the first country to make and then dismantle nuclear weapons
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Cambodia war crimes
Tue 1 Oct 2024
Kerry Hamill mistakenly sailed into Cambodian waters and was killed by the Khmer Rouge
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Kristallnacht: The night of broken glass
Mon 30 Sep 2024
In 1938, the Nazis launched a violent anti-Jewish attack, known as Kristallnacht
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The Estonia ferry disaster
Fri 27 Sep 2024
In 1994 the Estonia ferry sank off Finland in one of Europe's biggest shipping tragedies