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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'I told the world Pope Benedict XVI was resigning'
Fri 10 Feb 2023
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
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The Pope and Jews
Thu 9 Feb 2023
In April 1986, Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to a Rome synagogue
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Pope John Paul I’s sudden death
Wed 8 Feb 2023
Cardinal Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I in 1978. He died 33 days later
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Reforming the Catholic Church with Vatican II
Tue 7 Feb 2023
In 1959, Pope John XXIII announced a council of all the world's bishops and cardinals
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How a Pope is chosen
Mon 6 Feb 2023
After the death of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI
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The first black music station in Europe
Fri 3 Feb 2023
In 1981, Leroy Anderson launched Europe’s first dedicated black music station
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The assassination of Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye
Thu 2 Feb 2023
In 1993, Burundi’s first democratically elected President was murdered
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Columbia space shuttle disaster
Wed 1 Feb 2023
The US space shuttle Columbia broke up on its way back to Earth on 1 February 2003
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Czechoslovakia's 'Velvet Divorce'
Tue 31 Jan 2023
Two former Prime Ministers describe how they split Czechoslovakia in two in 1993
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Palestine Post bombing
Mon 30 Jan 2023
Mordechai Chertoff was the editor on the Palestine Post when it was bombed in 1948
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Invention of the MP3
Fri 27 Jan 2023
It took Karlheinz Brandenburg and his team more than a decade to perfect MP3 technology
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Albert Pierrepoint: Britain's executioner
Thu 26 Jan 2023
Using archive recordings, Alex Last tells the story of Britain's most famous hangman
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Smolensk air disaster
Wed 25 Jan 2023
In 2010, a plane carrying the Polish president, crashed and killed everyone on board
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Japanese death row guard
Tue 24 Jan 2023
Yoshikuni Noguchi was a prison guard in Japan and witnessed the hanging of a prisoner
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When Britain tried to censor the Troubles in Northern Ireland
Mon 23 Jan 2023
Paul McLoone recalls the time he was the voice of Martin McGuinness
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Swine flu vaccine and narcolepsy
Fri 20 Jan 2023
In 2009 a vaccine designed to stop swine flu appeared to trigger a sleep disorder
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France's nuclear tests in Algeria
Thu 19 Jan 2023
Between 1960 and 1966, France carried out 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara
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Kosovo’s house schools
Wed 18 Jan 2023
In the 1990s a generation of Albanians got their education crammed into private homes
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Europe's horse meat scandal
Tue 17 Jan 2023
In 2013, horse meat was discovered in beef products across Europe
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Miracle on the Hudson
Mon 16 Jan 2023
On 15 January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River in New York
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World’s first tidal power station
Fri 13 Jan 2023
French President Charles De Gaulle opened the power station in 1966.
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Galápagos Islands’ sea cucumber dispute
Thu 12 Jan 2023
A demand for sea cucumbers set off a confrontation between fishermen and conservationists
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Paul Robeson and the transatlantic phone line
Wed 11 Jan 2023
In 1957, Paul Robeson used a new undersea phone line to perform a transatlantic concert.
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Dutch North Sea flood
Tue 10 Jan 2023
In 1953, a storm combined with high tides breached sea defences in the Netherlands
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Plastics in oceans
Mon 9 Jan 2023
In 1971 Edward Carpenter discovered plastic floating about in the Atlantic Ocean
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Pussy Riot’s cathedral protest
Fri 6 Jan 2023
In 2012, a punk protest took place in one of Moscow's main cathedrals
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The man Pinochet wanted dead
Thu 5 Jan 2023
In 1973, Miguel Enriquez led resistance against the dictatorship in Chile
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When America banned silicone breast implants
Wed 4 Jan 2023
In 1992, the US Government suspended all procedures involving silicone breast implants
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Arctic African
Tue 3 Jan 2023
Tété-Michel Kpomassie, ran away from his village in Togo and went to live in Greenland.
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One team in Tallinn
Mon 2 Jan 2023
In 1996, Scotland played in a football match where the opposition hadn't turned up