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.
Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.
When you subscribe to Witness History, you’ll be taken inside turning points in world affairs, from West Africa’s fight back against Boko Haram in 2015, to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations.
You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
You’ll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden’s Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles’ George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy’s show to a sudden end.
And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.
If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.
Episodes to download
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Welsh Dam Attack
Thu 21 Feb 2013
In 1963 Welsh nationalists took up arms against the construction of a controversial dam
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People Power in the Philippines
Wed 20 Feb 2013
How four days of huge protests brought down Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
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The Lost Egyptian Tomb
Mon 18 Feb 2013
In 1995, archaeologists in Egypt's Valley of the Kings made a remarkable discovery
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Human Shields in Iraq
Fri 15 Feb 2013
The British bus driver who took peace campaigners to Iraq ahead of the 2003 invasion
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The fall of Singapore
Thu 14 Feb 2013
In February 1942 Britain's stronghold in South East Asia fell to the Japanese.
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The Algerian Massacres
Wed 13 Feb 2013
In the 1990s, the Algerian military was locked in a brutal struggle with radical Islamists
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The Murder of James Bulger
Tue 12 Feb 2013
The killing of a toddler in Liverpool 20 years ago that shocked Britain
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The Last Days of Sylvia Plath
Mon 11 Feb 2013
It is fifty years since the suicide of American poet Sylvia Plath
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Shergar - the kidnapping
Fri 8 Feb 2013
It is 30 years since the Derby winner was abducted from a stud farm in Ireland.
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Marcel Proust
Thu 7 Feb 2013
The great French writer remembered by one of his friends and by his faithful maid.
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"Ghana Must Go"
Tue 5 Feb 2013
Thirty years ago, Nigeria expelled up to 2 million African migrants. Most were Ghanaian
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Hugo Chavez and the failed coup
Mon 4 Feb 2013
In February 1992 a group of Venezuelan army officers staged a coup, among them Hugo Chavez
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The battle of Stalingrad
Fri 1 Feb 2013
It is 70 years since German troops lost their battle to take the Soviet industrial city.
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Peter the Great in London
Wed 30 Jan 2013
How the young Tsar's visit to 17th Century England inspired him to modernise Russia
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The building of the Eiffel tower
Tue 29 Jan 2013
Work on the Eiffel Tower started in 1887 but many Parisians were opposed it
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Lagos Armoury Explosion
Mon 28 Jan 2013
Survivors relive the tragedy of the arms dump explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, 2002
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Jimi Hendrix
Fri 25 Jan 2013
The legendary guitarist's English girlfriend remembers his early days in 60s London.
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Hitler's will
Thu 24 Jan 2013
In January 1946 a young British woman was given Hitler's will to translate.
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The Capture of USS Pueblo
Wed 23 Jan 2013
American spy ship USS Pueblo was captured by North Korean forces forty-five years ago
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The Hunger Winter
Tue 22 Jan 2013
How millions of Dutch faced starvation at the end of World War Two
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The death of Bassel al Assad
Mon 21 Jan 2013
It is 19 years since the heir to the Syrian presidency died in a car crash.
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The Arrest of Klaus Barbie
Fri 18 Jan 2013
Thirty years ago, the former Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, was arrested in Bolivia.
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Black Stars of Ghana
Thu 17 Jan 2013
Striker Osei Kofi on how the Ghanaian football team dominated Africa in the 1960s.
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Roe v Wade
Wed 16 Jan 2013
In 1973 the landmark decision was made in the US Supreme Court which made abortion legal
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The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Mon 14 Jan 2013
The US government's experiment on a group of African-American men without their knowledge
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The Boxing Day tsunami and Aceh
Fri 11 Jan 2013
When the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 hit Indonesia, over 130,000 people died.
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Festival in the Desert
Thu 10 Jan 2013
In 2001 a festival held in the Sahara desert launched Tuareg music on the world scene
