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 Harder They Come
Thu 6 Oct 2022
Jimmy Cliff spoke about the film that brought reggae music to the world in 1972
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The fall of Slobodan Milosevic
Wed 5 Oct 2022
How the Yugoslavian president was forced from office in October 2000
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The release of Gilad Shalit
Tue 4 Oct 2022
Israeli solider Gilad Shalit was freed after being held hostage for more than five years
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The funk and soul club that changed Manchester
Mon 3 Oct 2022
Manchester’s first racially inclusive nightclub
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Dassler brothers’ rift
Fri 30 Sep 2022
Brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler would go on to create global firms Adidas and Puma.
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The raising of the Mary Rose
Thu 29 Sep 2022
King Henry VIII's warship, The Mary Rose, was raised from the seabed in October 1982
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Castrating Pablo Escobar's hippos
Wed 28 Sep 2022
Pablo Escobar's pet hippos were found roaming Colombian waterways in 2007
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Festival of Light
Fri 23 Sep 2022
The Nationwide Festival of Light held by Christians protested against societal changes
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Iran-Iraq War begins
Thu 22 Sep 2022
On 22 September 1980 the Iran-Iraq war began, one of the bloodiest in recent history
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The first Pope to visit Africa
Wed 21 Sep 2022
Popes rarely left the Vatican City in the 1960s, but in 1969, Pope Paul VI visited Uganda
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Ancient fossils give new insight
Tue 20 Sep 2022
A student discovered fossils in 1967 helping our understanding of the world's evolution
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World War Two child evacuees in Britain
Tue 20 Sep 2022
The thousands of children moved out of UK cities away from the risk of German bombs
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The last days of Queen Victoria
Fri 16 Sep 2022
Witness History looks back on Queen Victoria's last days in 1901
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When the Queen opened Buckingham Palace
Thu 15 Sep 2022
Queen Elizabeth II first opened her home to the paying public on 7 August 1993
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The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Mon 12 Sep 2022
Two Maids of Honour at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II recall their memories
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The Candelaria child massacre
Thu 8 Sep 2022
The murder of eight homeless children outside the Candelaria church in Rio De Janeiro
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The murder that shocked Brazil
Tue 6 Sep 2022
In 2002 investigative journalist, Tim Lopes, was brutally killed by a Brazilian drug gang
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Doomed hero of Brazilian democracy
Mon 5 Sep 2022
The death of Brazil's president-elect Tancredo Neves.
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Mikhail Gorbachev: Release of Irina Ratushinskaya
Fri 2 Sep 2022
The imprisonment and release of dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya
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Mikhail Gorbachev: Perestroika
Thu 1 Sep 2022
Reform in the Soviet Union, known as Perestroika, was launched in 1987
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Princess Diana dances with John Travolta
Wed 31 Aug 2022
Princess Diana dances at the White House with the star of Saturday Night Fever
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The 'Last Indian'
Tue 30 Aug 2022
The story of a Native American called Ishi who spent decades in hiding
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Marikana Massacre
Mon 29 Aug 2022
On 16 August 2012, police shot dead 34 striking miners at a platinum mine in South Africa
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India's onion election
Fri 26 Aug 2022
In 1980 Indira Gandhi came into power in India, it became known as the "onion election"
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The 'Nixon Shock' and the end of the Gold Standard
Thu 25 Aug 2022
In 1971, the US president, Richard Nixon, abandoned the gold standard.