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鈥� life and Omar Sharif鈥檚 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鈥� 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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An Antarctic mystery
Mon 24 Feb 2020
Human remains were found on a remote island in Antarctica in 1985 but whose were they?
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Saddam Hussein's 'Supergun'
Thu 20 Feb 2020
Building the largest gun in the world for Saddam Hussein's Iraq
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Fighting oil pollution with art in Nigeria
Wed 19 Feb 2020
"Battle Bus" was a sculpture in memory of Nigerian environmentalist Ken Saro Wiwa
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How meditation changes your brain
Tue 18 Feb 2020
In 2002, a landmark study on Buddhist monks showed that meditation can alter the brain.
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The Pale Blue Dot
Mon 17 Feb 2020
How the Voyager space probe captured a famous image of Earth as it left the Solar System.
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The Rules: A dating handbook
Fri 14 Feb 2020
The best-selling dating handbook was published on Valentine's Day 1995
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The best-seller Fear of Flying
Thu 13 Feb 2020
Erica Jong's best-selling book about sex, creativity and love, published in 1973
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Diary of life in a favela
Wed 12 Feb 2020
A shocking account of the realities of the slums of S茫o Paulo
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The man who first published Harry Potter
Tue 11 Feb 2020
The man who spotted the potential of the boy wizard books in 1996
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The release of Nelson Mandela
Fri 7 Feb 2020
The day that South Africa's anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was freed
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The Native American casino boom in the US
Thu 6 Feb 2020
How a small Californian tribe won the right for Indian communities to host gambling.
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Witnessing the birth of a new language
Wed 5 Feb 2020
In the 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a completely new sign language
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Cixi: China's most powerful woman
Tue 4 Feb 2020
The Empress Dowager Cixi ruled for 47 years until her death in 1908.
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London's first black policeman
Mon 3 Feb 2020
Norwell Roberts endured years of racist abuse within the Metropolitan police
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The Treaty of Rome
Fri 31 Jan 2020
The document which formed the basis for what is now the European Union was signed in 1957
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The first self-made female millionaire
Thu 30 Jan 2020
Madam C. J. Walker was born to former slaves and created a black beauty business.
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The ancient oak tree that taught the world a lesson
Wed 29 Jan 2020
A tree in Kew Gardens survived the storm of 1987 and revolutionised gardening.
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Reforming India's rape laws
Tue 28 Jan 2020
The overhaul of India's rape laws followed the fatal gang rape of a student in Delhi.
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The Way Ahead group: Modernising the Royal Family
Mon 27 Jan 2020
The Way Ahead group was set up in the 1990s to make Britain鈥檚 monarchy more relevant
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The frozen zoo
Fri 24 Jan 2020
Since 1975, San Diego Zoo has been deep-freezing cell samples from rare species
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Silent Spring: A book that changed the world
Wed 22 Jan 2020
Silent Spring examined the effect of pesticides on the environment
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How the dodo died out
Tue 21 Jan 2020
A flightless bird, the dodo was extinct just decades after being discovered by Europeans
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The mystery of the disappearing frogs
Mon 20 Jan 2020
How scientists discovered that a deadly fungus was killing off amphibians.
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The killing of Osama Bin Laden
Fri 17 Jan 2020
The US tracked down the al-Qaeda leader to a city in northern Pakistan in 2011
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The story of George Stinney Jr
Thu 16 Jan 2020
How a 14-year-old boy became the youngest person executed in the USA in the 20th century
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The woman who negotiated peace with a rebel group
Wed 15 Jan 2020
The female negotiator who agreed a deal with Muslim rebels in the Philippines.
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Storming the Stasi HQ
Tue 14 Jan 2020
After the fall of the Berlin Wall East German citizens stormed the secret police HQ
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Britain's National Trust
Mon 13 Jan 2020
How some of the great stately homes of Britain were saved from demolition and decay
