Main content

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.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    The Pope in Syria - 2001

    Thu 12 May 2016

    In May 2001 Pope John Paul the Second made a historic visit to Syria

  • Kim Philby: The Third Man

    Wed 11 May 2016

    In May 1988, the death was announced in Moscow of the English spy Kim Philby.

  • Escape from the South Atlantic

    Tue 10 May 2016

    In the spring of 1982 Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falkland Islands.

  • The Imaginary War Heroes

    Mon 9 May 2016

    During World War Two, Soviet propaganda promoted a heroic feat that never happened.

  • Hitler's Nuclear Programme

    Fri 6 May 2016

    Nazi Germany had a nuclear programme, which could have given Hitler an atomic bomb

  • The Belfast Blitz

    Thu 5 May 2016

    In 1941, Belfast in Northern Ireland was devastated by German bombing

  • Ernest Hemingway in Cuba

    Wed 4 May 2016

    Alberto Ramos remembers his time working for the great American novelist in Cuba.

  • U2 Spy Plane

    Tue 3 May 2016

    In May 1960 Gary Powers was taken captive by the Soviets when his spy plane was shot down

  • The Salem Witches

    Mon 2 May 2016

    In 1692 nineteen men and women were convicted of witchcraft and executed in America.

  • The Creation of the Mini

    Fri 29 Apr 2016

    In 1959 the British Motoring Corporation unveiled a very small new family car - the Mini

  • The McCarthy Era

    Thu 28 Apr 2016

    In spring 1950, an American academic was wrongly named as the main Soviet agent in the US

  • The Funeral of Charles Darwin

    Wed 27 Apr 2016

    The great English naturalist Charles Darwin is buried at Westminster Abbey in April 1882

  • Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

    Tue 26 Apr 2016

    In April 1986 a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine

  • Yves Saint Laurent and Morocco

    Mon 25 Apr 2016

    In 1966 the great French fashion designer went to Morocco for the first time

  • Shakespeare's Jubilee

    Fri 22 Apr 2016

    How actor David Garrick organised the first national celebration of Shakespeare in 1769

  • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

    Thu 21 Apr 2016

    An industrial disaster in New York in 1911 led to huge social reforms.

  • Fighting for Castro at the Bay of Pigs

    Wed 20 Apr 2016

    A member of Cuba's communist militia recalls battling US-backed invaders in April 1961

  • The Harrier in the Falklands War

    Tue 19 Apr 2016

    A Harrier pilot remembers the air battle over the Falklands in 1982

  • Haile Selassie In Jamaica

    Mon 18 Apr 2016

    On 21 April 1966 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia arrived in Jamaica

  • The Spanish Republic

    Fri 15 Apr 2016

    How writers and artists campaigned to bring culture to every corner of 1930s Spain

  • Executed for Being Too Capitalist

    Thu 14 Apr 2016

    In 1961, in Soviet Central Asia, 21 managers were executed for using capitalist methods.

  • The Amritsar Massacre of 1919

    Wed 13 Apr 2016

    On 13 April 1919, the British Indian Army fired on an unarmed crowd, killing hundreds

  • The First Starbucks

    Tue 12 Apr 2016

    In 1971 the first Starbucks coffee shop opened in Seattle.

  • Angela Merkel

    Mon 11 Apr 2016

    On April 10 2000, Angela Merkel became the first woman to lead a German political party.

  • A Japanese Royal Wedding

    Fri 8 Apr 2016

    In a change to tradition Japan's Crown Prince Akihito married a non-royal, in April 1959.

  • The Ogaden War

    Thu 7 Apr 2016

    In 1977 Somalia invaded Ethiopia in an attempt to take control of disputed territory.

  • Mallory on Everest

    Wed 6 Apr 2016

    In 1999 the body of legendary British mountaineer, George Mallory, was found on Everest.

  • Romania's Orphans

    Tue 5 Apr 2016

    In 1989 news began to emerge of terrible conditions in Romania's orphanages.

  • The Execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

    Mon 4 Apr 2016

    On April 4th 1979 Pakistan's first democratically elected Prime Minister was hanged.

  • The Yodogo Hijacking

    Fri 1 Apr 2016

    In March 1970, Japanese left-wing extremists hijacked a plane with samurai swords.

  2. 1
  3. …
  4. 85
  5. 86
  6. 87
  7. 88
  8. 89
  9. …
  10. 134

This podcast belongs to