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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War Photographer, Dickey Chapelle
Fri 4 Nov 2016
Photographer Dickey Chapelle was the first woman war reporter to be killed in Vietnam
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Octavio Paz
Thu 3 Nov 2016
In October 1990 the Mexican poet and essayist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution
Wed 2 Nov 2016
A former communist Red Guard recalls his role in China's Cultural Revolution.
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A Black GI in China
Tue 1 Nov 2016
How an African American soldier captured in the Korean war, decided to settle in China
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Harry Houdini
Mon 31 Oct 2016
How a performance in London made the reputation of the world's greatest escape artist
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The Abduction of Mehdi Ben Barka
Fri 28 Oct 2016
In 1965 French agents helped kidnap and disappear the Moroccan dissident in Paris
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The Big Bang
Thu 27 Oct 2016
In 1986 London's Stock Exchange underwent one of the biggest shake-ups in its history.
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The Hungarian Uprising
Wed 26 Oct 2016
In October 1956 Hungarians took to the streets of Budapest to protest at Soviet rule.
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Shell Shock
Tue 25 Oct 2016
Veterans talk about their experience of 'shell shock' in recordings from the BBC archive
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Marvel Comics and 'The Fantastic Four'
Mon 24 Oct 2016
In 1961 a new generation of comic-book super heroes was launched in the US
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The Aberfan Disaster
Fri 21 Oct 2016
On 21st October 1966, tragedy struck a village in Wales when a landslide crushed a school
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Marcel Duchamp and His Fountain
Thu 20 Oct 2016
The story of the great French conceptualist artist Marcel Duchamp and his art
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The Mau Mau Rebellion
Wed 19 Oct 2016
During the 1950s in Kenya, rebels known as the Mau Mau were fighting against British rule
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Father Charles Coughlin - America's First Radio Priest
Tue 18 Oct 2016
How a controversial Catholic priest had millions of listeners in the 1930s.
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Bugging the US Embassy in Moscow
Mon 17 Oct 2016
The row over hi-tech spying in America's new diplomatic building in the USSR
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The Hoover Free Flights Promotion
Fri 14 Oct 2016
How an advertising campaign for vacuum cleaners went badly wrong.
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The Last Day of Lebanon's Civil War
Thu 13 Oct 2016
In October 1990, Syrian jets ousted their main opponent in Lebanon ending the civil war
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Chile Votes Against Pinochet
Wed 12 Oct 2016
In 1988 Chileans voted to end the brutal 15-year military rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
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The Spanish Influenza Pandemic
Tue 11 Oct 2016
In 1918, more than fifty million people died in a global flu pandemic.
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Irina Ratushinskaya
Mon 10 Oct 2016
The dissident poet was released from a labour camp on the eve of a US-Soviet summit
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Good Vibrations
Fri 7 Oct 2016
In October 1966, the Beach Boys released their "pocket symphony" Good Vibrations.
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Exposing Child Abuse in the Catholic Church
Thu 6 Oct 2016
In 1994, a TV programme in Northern Ireland lifted the lid on clerical child sex abuse.
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Thai University Massacre
Wed 5 Oct 2016
On October 6th 1976 Thai security forces opened fire on student demonstrators in Bangkok.
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The Poisoned Painkiller
Tue 4 Oct 2016
In October 1982 seven people in the US died after taking painkillers laced with cyanide.
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Sir Stanley Spencer
Fri 30 Sep 2016
He was one of Britain's most admired 20th century painters. His daughters remember him.
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The Mayak Nuclear Disaster
Thu 29 Sep 2016
On September 29th 1957 there was a major nuclear accident in the Soviet Union.
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The Attica Prison Rebellion
Wed 28 Sep 2016
In 1971 inmates rioted and seized control of the US jail, taking guards hostage
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South Africa's 1985 State of Emergency
Tue 27 Sep 2016
In the dying years of Apartheid, the white government was desperate to keep control.
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Outback Internment
Mon 26 Sep 2016
During WWII, Britain deported some civilians classed as 'enemy aliens' to Australia.
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The Curious Story of Mary Toft
Fri 23 Sep 2016
In September 1726, a woman called Mary Toft claimed she was giving birth to rabbits.
