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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How South Africa banned skin-lightening creams
Fri 3 Jul 2020
In 1990, South Africa banned skin-lightening creams containing hydroquinone
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The lost Nazi-era art trove
Thu 2 Jul 2020
How a secret collection of art missing since Nazi rule was found in Germany in 2012
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Quarantined in a TB sanatorium
Wed 1 Jul 2020
The life of a nine-year-old girl quarantined in a TB sanatorium for 4 years in the 1950s
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The Rolling Stones drugs trial
Tue 30 Jun 2020
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards went on trial for drugs offences in June 1967
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Jana Andolan – Nepal’s people power movement
Mon 29 Jun 2020
A people’s movement brought an end to Nepal’s absolute monarchy in 1990.
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Russia’s bitter taste of capitalism
Fri 26 Jun 2020
Chaos and hardship hit Russia with the sudden market reforms of early 1992.
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The Chilean economy and its 'Chicago Boys'
Thu 25 Jun 2020
Thinkers trained in free-market economics in Chicago shaped Chile after its military coup
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Tanzania's socialist experiment
Wed 24 Jun 2020
In the 1960s Tanzania tried out a new form of socialism called Ujamaa
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South Korea's economic miracle
Tue 23 Jun 2020
How a poor, war-ravaged nation became a global economic powerhouse
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The New Deal
Mon 22 Jun 2020
How the USA used public spending projects to battle through the Great Depression
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The ‘Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes’ anti-racist exercise
Fri 19 Jun 2020
A teacher decided to separate pupils according to eye colour to teach them about racism.
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The friendship train
Thu 18 Jun 2020
The passenger train service between India and Bangladesh was resumed after 43 years.
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Sex trafficking and peacekeepers
Wed 17 Jun 2020
Whistle-blowers implicated UN peacekeepers in sex trafficking in Bosnia in the late 90s
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Beethoven's role in China's Cultural Revolution
Tue 16 Jun 2020
Chairman Mao banned all classical music in 1966, but some musicians defied the order.
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Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and the Five Stages of Grief
Mon 15 Jun 2020
The remarkable Swiss psychiatrist who changed the way we think about dying.
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Three Strikes Law
Fri 12 Jun 2020
One man's experience of the controversial US law that saw thousands locked up for life
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Rodney King and the LA riots
Thu 11 Jun 2020
People rioted in Los Angeles after police who had assaulted a black man were acquitted
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Black basketball pioneers - Texas Western
Wed 10 Jun 2020
How an all-black college team overturned racist assumptions about basketball in the USA
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The 16th Street church bombing
Tue 9 Jun 2020
Four young black girls were killed in a racist attack on a church in Alabama in 1963
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The portable defibrillator
Fri 5 Jun 2020
How Northern Irish doctor Frank Pantridge revolutionised heart-attack treatment.
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The origin of the WHO
Thu 4 Jun 2020
How the cold war helped shape the creation of the WHO and what role China played.
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How Christo wrapped the Reichstag
Wed 3 Jun 2020
The artist who delighted post-Cold War Berlin by wrapping its greatest monument
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The Zanzibar Revolution
Tue 2 Jun 2020
Just one month after gaining independence there was an uprising in Zanzibar in 1964.
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The start of eco-tourism
Mon 1 Jun 2020
How Costa Rica's Monteverde cloud forest reserve became a major tourist site
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Ann Lowe - African American fashion designer
Fri 29 May 2020
Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress but for years few people knew her name
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Winston Churchill's doctor
Thu 28 May 2020
Winston Churchill's personal doctor published his memories of the British leader in 1966
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The Gwangju massacre
Wed 27 May 2020
The South Korean army crushed a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju on 27 May 1980
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The book that changed the way we eat
Mon 25 May 2020
The book that highlighted the health and environmental benefits of a plant based diet
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Britain's World War Two crime wave
Fri 22 May 2020
How criminals from looters to con artists thrived in London during the Blitz.