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 Trabant
Thu 17 Jun 2021
The iconic East German car that dominated the roads of communist Central Europe
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The police rape interview that shocked Britain
Wed 16 Jun 2021
The documentary that changed the way British police treated women reporting rape.
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Mindfulness for the masses
Tue 15 Jun 2021
Scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered a meditative approach to treat pain and depression.
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The Confederate flag and America’s battle over race
Mon 14 Jun 2021
Why an activist removed the Confederate flag from South Carolina's state house grounds
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The Fall of Madrid
Fri 11 Jun 2021
How the Spanish capital fell to General Franco's forces in 1939, ending a civil war
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The elections that Hamas won
Thu 10 Jun 2021
Palestinians voted to elect a new government in 2006. The outcome surprised everyone.
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Benjamin Britten's War Requiem
Wed 9 Jun 2021
The emotional first performance at the newly-built Coventry Cathedral in 1962
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When Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor
Mon 7 Jun 2021
Israeli warplanes launched a surprise attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981
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How Switzerland defeated its heroin epidemic
Fri 4 Jun 2021
In the 1990s, the Swiss tried radical new policy ideas, including heroin on prescription
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Afghanistan's poppy problem
Thu 3 Jun 2021
Laila Haidari set up Kabul's first independent drug rehab centre in 2010
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When Peru mistook missionaries for drug traffickers
Wed 2 Jun 2021
The Peruvian Air Force shot down a light plane carrying American missionaries in 2001
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The killing of Pablo Escobar
Tue 1 Jun 2021
The Colombian drug lord was shot dead by police in December 1993
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The war on drugs
Mon 31 May 2021
President Richard Nixon was the first US President to try to wipe out illegal drug use
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The Tulsa Race Massacre
Fri 28 May 2021
In 1921, a white mob destroyed an affluent African-American neighbourhood.
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Rock concert for Chernobyl
Thu 27 May 2021
The first charity rock concert ever held in the USSR raised money for Chernobyl survivors
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Amilcar Cabral: An African liberation legend
Wed 26 May 2021
Amilcar Cabral led the armed struggle against Portuguese colonial rule in West Africa
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The first Arab woman pilot
Tue 25 May 2021
Egyptian Lotfia Elnadi made history when she gained her pilot licence in 1933
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The strike that shocked India
Mon 24 May 2021
The Indian railway workers’ strike of 1974 prompted mass arrests and a state of emergency
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Fighting forced marriage in war
Fri 21 May 2021
Why a court in Sierra Leone ruled that forced marriage was a crime against humanity.
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Saving the world's wetlands
Thu 20 May 2021
Iran hosted the first convention to save the world's wetlands in1971.
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Striking in South Korea in 1980
Tue 18 May 2021
Strikes and protests against South Korea's military government came to a head in May 1980
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When Ariel Sharon visited the Al-Aqsa compound
Mon 17 May 2021
The Israeli politician visited the compound containing one of Islam's holiest sites
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China's Democracy Wall
Fri 14 May 2021
How a brick wall in Beijing became a beacon for those calling for change
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The trial of South Africa’s 'Dr Death'
Thu 13 May 2021
The trial of a South African doctor accused of multiple murders under Apartheid.
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The Jewish exodus from Iraq
Wed 12 May 2021
How two thousand Jews fled persecution in the summer of 1971, helped by Iraqi Kurds
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Legalising contraception in Ireland
Tue 11 May 2021
Contraception wasn't easily accessible in traditionally Roman Catholic Ireland until 1985
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Why a British MP was filmed taking mescaline
Mon 10 May 2021
In 1955 Christopher Mayhew MP took the hallucinogenic drug mescaline for a TV experiment
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The Great Wine Fraud
Thu 6 May 2021
The story of wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan and the French winemaker who exposed him
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Ursula Le Guin
Wed 5 May 2021
The pioneer of feminist science fiction and creator of the Earthsea fantasy series