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 麻豆社 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鈥檒l be taken inside turning points in world affairs, from West Africa鈥檚 fight back against Boko Haram in 2015, to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba 鈥渢haw鈥� and the surprise announcement of restored relations.
You鈥檒l 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鈥檒l explore culture and ideas too: Sweden鈥檚 Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles鈥� George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy鈥檚 show to a sudden end.
And if you鈥檙e curious about inventions, we鈥檒l tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.
If you鈥檙e 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 鈥� all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of 麻豆社 World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.
Episodes to download
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Harold Riley鈥檚 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela
Thu 27 Mar 2025
A specially commissioned portrait of Nelson Mandela by Harold Riley was unveiled in 2005
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The suspicious death of Rear Admiral Durovi膰
Wed 26 Mar 2025
In 1991, a Yugoslav People鈥檚 Army commander died in mysterious circumstances
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Goodluck Jonathan鈥檚 phone call that changed Nigeria
Tue 25 Mar 2025
President Goodluck Jonathan's call to Muhammadu Buhari to concede election defeat in 2015
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The Germanwings plane crash
Mon 24 Mar 2025
General David Galtier who led the search operation recalls the 2015 crash
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The visionary behind the European Space Agency
Fri 21 Mar 2025
In October 2012, a visionary letter about the European Space Agency was sent into space
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The historic handshake in space
Thu 20 Mar 2025
In July 1975, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts met in space and shook hands
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In event of moon disaster: 'The speech that never was'
Wed 19 Mar 2025
Richard Nixon's contingency speech in case the moon landing astronauts never made it home
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First spacewalk
Tue 18 Mar 2025
On 18 March 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to spacewalk
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The rocket that revived Brazil鈥檚 space programme
Mon 17 Mar 2025
On 23 October 2004, Brazil launched its first rocket following a devastating accident
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Bardo Museum attack in Tunisia
Fri 14 Mar 2025
In March 2015, 22 people were killed when two gunmen stormed the building
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The Gambia鈥檚 鈥楺ueen of Recycling鈥�
Thu 13 Mar 2025
In 1997, a Gambian woman started an environmental initiative
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The Capitol Crawl
Wed 12 Mar 2025
On 12 March 1990, hundreds of wheelchair users crawled up the steps of the US Capitol
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King Kong: South Africa's first all-black musical
Tue 11 Mar 2025
South Africa鈥檚 first musical with an all-black cast opened to critical acclaim in 1959
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The invention of GPS
Mon 10 Mar 2025
The Global Positioning System, also known as GPS, was created in the late 1970s
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How bloodshed in Selma led to the US Voting Rights Act 1965
Fri 7 Mar 2025
In 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was brought in to end racial discrimination
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The Great Toyota War
Thu 6 Mar 2025
In 1987, rugged pickup trucks provided a turning point in the decades-long war in Chad
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The US invasion of Panama
Wed 5 Mar 2025
In 1989, more than 20,000 US soldiers descended on the tiny Central American country
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The invention of the shopping trolley
Tue 4 Mar 2025
In 1937, American supermarket owner Sylvan Goldman wanted his customers to spend more.
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The Calais 'Jungle' migrant camp
Mon 3 Mar 2025
In 2015, thousands of migrants lived in a squalid camp in France known as the "Jungle"
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Africa鈥檚 stolen Metis children
Fri 28 Feb 2025
In 1953, Marie-Jos茅 Loshi was forcibly taken from her family because of her skin colour
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Surviving Chile's tsunami
Thu 27 Feb 2025
In 2010, an earthquake struck the coast of Chile triggering a tsunami
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Denmark鈥檚 Inuit children experiment
Wed 26 Feb 2025
In 1951, 22 Inuit children from Greenland were sent to live with families in Denmark
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The Nellie massacre
Tue 25 Feb 2025
In 1983, an estimated 3,000 people were massacred in Assam, India
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Discovering the structure of haemoglobin
Mon 24 Feb 2025
Dr Max Perutz made one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century
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Assassination of Malcolm X
Fri 21 Feb 2025
In 1965, the controversial black leader, Malcolm X, was assassinated in New York
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Murder at the Berlin Wall
Thu 20 Feb 2025
In March 1974, Polish man Czes艂aw Kukuczka was shot by a Stasi officer at the Berlin Wall
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Bolivia鈥檚 first indigenous president
Wed 19 Feb 2025
The election of Evo Morales in 2005 was a historic first for the South American country
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Bo: The death of a language
Tue 18 Feb 2025
In 2010, one of the oldest languages died after the death of its last remaining speaker
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The world's longest kiss
Mon 17 Feb 2025
In 2013, a Thai couple locked lips for 58 hours and 35 minutes in a world record attempt
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Eva Peron: Argentina鈥檚 Evita
Fri 14 Feb 2025
Eva Peron - or Evita - was an icon in 1940s Argentina, famous for her populist rhetoric