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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Funeral of Winston Churchill
Mon 24 Jan 2011
Sir Winston Churchill, the British wartime leader, died on 24 January, 1965
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Execution of Louis XVI
Fri 21 Jan 2011
On 21 January 1793 the French king, Louis XVI was executed in Paris
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Ben Ali Comes to Power in Tunisia
Thu 20 Jan 2011
The story of how Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali came to power in Tunisia
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Palomares nuclear accident
Wed 19 Jan 2011
How a B-52 bomber crashed on the Spanish coast while carrying four nuclear weapons.
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Crossing Antarctica
Tue 18 Jan 2011
In January 1997 Borge Ousland became the first person to cross the Antarctic alone
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Kindertransport - Oliver's story
Mon 17 Jan 2011
The story of a boy who escaped Nazi Germany on a kindertransport train heading for Britain
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Football wages
Fri 14 Jan 2011
We take you back to 1961 when the cap on football wages was abolished in England
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Wikipedia - 10 years on
Thu 13 Jan 2011
It is 10 years since the Wikipedia online encyclopedia was launched
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Cryonic freezing
Wed 12 Jan 2011
In 1967 a group of enthusiasts first tried to cryonically freeze a human being.
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Crossing the Rubicon
Tue 11 Jan 2011
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river 2,000 years ago he changed history
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Bojinka Airline Plot
Mon 10 Jan 2011
The Manila-based plot to blow up a dozen airliners over the Pacific Ocean
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Clinton impeachment
Fri 7 Jan 2011
On January 7 1999 the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the US Senate
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Sudan's civil war
Thu 6 Jan 2011
In 1983 a civil war broke out in Sudan which would last for more than 20 years.
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Afghanistan's Secret Schools for Girls
Wed 5 Jan 2011
How Afghan women resisted the Taliban's efforts to prohibit education for girls
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LBJ State of the Union Address
Tue 4 Jan 2011
US President Lyndon B Johnson's 1965 speech proposed healthcare for the poor and elderly
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Alaska statehood
Mon 3 Jan 2011
On January 3 1959 Alaska finally became a fully fledged member state of the USA.
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Chiapas Uprising
Fri 31 Dec 2010
On January 1 1994 indigenous people in southern Mexico began their rebellion.
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Hamlet
Thu 30 Dec 2010
Hamlet - by William Shakespeare - is still popular four centuries after it was written.
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The Great Escape
Tue 28 Dec 2010
One of the Great Escapees from a German prisoner of war camp speaks out
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Jamaica Slave Rebellion
Mon 27 Dec 2010
The rebellion was brutally crushed, but it had a significant impact
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Christmas Truce
Christmas Eve 2010
When British and German troops sang carols, exchanged gifts and played football together
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Andrei Sakharov
Thu 23 Dec 2010
On 23 December, 1986 the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov was allowed to return to Moscow
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Georgia in crisis
Wed 22 Dec 2010
Christmas 1991 was a very difficult time for the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
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Lockerbie
Tue 21 Dec 2010
On December 21 1988 a US passenger plane blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
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US invasion of Panama
Mon 20 Dec 2010
It is 21 years since the US invaded the tiny Central American state of Panama.
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Washington Snipers
Fri 17 Dec 2010
It is 7 years since one of the Washington snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo, was convicted of murder
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Operation Desert Fox
Thu 16 Dec 2010
On 16 December 1998 the US and Britain began a four day bombardment of Iraq.
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Siege of Grozny
Wed 15 Dec 2010
In December 1994 Russian forces invaded Chechnya and laid siege to the capital Grozny.
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Capture of Saddam Hussein
Tue 14 Dec 2010
It was on this day in 2003 that Saddam Hussein was finally captured by US forces
