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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

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    The Moors Murders

    Fri 9 Oct 2015

    In 1965, Britain was shocked by a series of child murders in Manchester

  • Pakistan Earthquake 2005

    Thu 8 Oct 2015

    On 8 October 2005 a massive earthquake hit Pakistani-administered Kashmir

  • The Assassination of Anwar Sadat

    Wed 7 Oct 2015

    President Anwar Sadat of Egypt's widow, Jehan, remembers the day he was assassinated

  • Austrian Wine Scandal

    Tue 6 Oct 2015

    In 1985 government scientists discovered anti-freeze in bottles of Austrian wine.

  • Barbary Pirates and the White Slave Trade

    Mon 5 Oct 2015

    The story of an English boy captured by pirates and enslaved in North Africa in 1716

  • The Death of Rock Hudson

    Fri 2 Oct 2015

    Angie Dickinson remembers the Hollywood star who died after contracting Aids

  • Danish Cartoons

    Thu 1 Oct 2015

    In 2005 a Danish newspaper published 12 images of the Prophet Muhammad

  • Buena Vista Social Club

    Wed 30 Sep 2015

    Barbarito Torres speaks about playing on the ground-breaking album of Cuban music

  • The Birth of Karaoke

    Tue 29 Sep 2015

    Daisuke Inoue was playing in a band in Kobe Japan when he invented the Karaoke machine

  • Kabul Musicians' Quarter

    Mon 28 Sep 2015

    The home of Afghanistan's traditional musicians was destroyed in 1992.

  • The Plastic People of the Universe

    Fri 25 Sep 2015

    The psychedelic Czech rock band which became a symbol of resistance to communist rule.

  • Jacques Brel

    Thu 24 Sep 2015

    In 1966 the singer-songwriter announced on stage that he was going to stop performing

  • DJ Kool Herc and the Birth of Hip Hop

    Tue 22 Sep 2015

    In the autumn of 1973 a Bronx DJ held a ground-breaking party.

  • The Origins of Ska Music

    Mon 21 Sep 2015

    Jamaica is best known for Reggae music, but before Reggae, came Ska.

  • The Leningrad Symphony

    Fri 18 Sep 2015

    In 1942 starving musicians in besieged Leningrad performed Shostakovich's Symphony

  • The First Glastonbury Festival

    Thu 17 Sep 2015

    We hear from farmer Michael Eavis, who began the music festival in 1970

  • Musicians of the Iranian Revolution

    Wed 16 Sep 2015

    In 1978, Iran's top musicians took a stand against the Monarchy

  • Miriam Makeba

    Tue 15 Sep 2015

    The story of the great South African singer who spent 30 years in exile

  • Willie Nelson's Farm Aid

    Mon 14 Sep 2015

    Country music legend Willie Nelson holds the first benefit concert for American farmers

  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

    Fri 11 Sep 2015

    How the Pakistani Qawali singer became an international music sensation..

  • The Monkees

    Thu 10 Sep 2015

    The Monkees were the world's first 'manufactured' boy band - created especially for TV.

  • Umm Kulthum

    Wed 9 Sep 2015

    Millions of Egyptians mourned the death of the legendary singer in 1975

  • Noel Coward Plays Vegas

    Tue 8 Sep 2015

    The English singer, actor and playwright was invited to do a show in Las Vegas

  • The King of Highlife

    Mon 7 Sep 2015

    E.T Mensah's Highlife music took Africa by storm in the 1950s

  • The Heyday of Somali Music

    Thu 3 Sep 2015

    The remarkable story of Maryam Mursal, one of the superstars of 1970s Somali music .

  • Russia's First DJ

    Wed 2 Sep 2015

    Russia's first radio DJ, Seva Novgorodsev, went on air at the height of the Cold War

  • The Auschwitz Cellist

    Tue 1 Sep 2015

    How the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch survived the Holocaust by playing music.

  • Hurricane Katrina

    Fri 28 Aug 2015

    In August 2005 a massive hurricane hit the city of New Orleans in the USA.

  • The Guinness Book of Records

    Thu 27 Aug 2015

    The first edition of one of the world's best-selling books was published in August 1955.

  • Latinos Protest Against Vietnam

    Wed 26 Aug 2015

    How a Mexican-American march against the Vietnam War descended into chaos in 1970.

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