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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    ‘Genius’ sci-fi writer Octavia E Butler

    In 1995, Octavia E Butler received a MacArthur “genius” award for science-fiction writing

  2. Making Turkish Star Wars

    In 1982, a classic of Turkish Copy Cinema, was released

  3. How the Star Wars toys were created

    In 1976, toymaker Jim Swearingen had to convince his boss to take a chance on a new film

  4. The hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73

    In 1986, Pan-American Airways Flight 73 was hijacked at Karachi Airport

  5. Hurricane Luis hits Antigua

    In September 1995, Hurricane Luis devastated the Caribbean island of Antigua

  6. Peace People: The Northern Ireland campaign group born from tragedy

    In 1977, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize

  7. Auschwitz: An SS officer’s photo album

    In 2007, an abandoned photo album revealed the chilling normality of life in Auschwitz

  8. Uruguay's water referendum

    In 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution.

  9. Defeating the screwworm

    In the 1950s, Edward Knipling's bold idea launched a historic campaign against screwworm

  10. 'I created the duck cake from Bluey'

    In 1980, an Australian birthday cake book was launched that would inspire generations

  11. Canada's controversial resettlement programme

    In 1954, thousands from isolated fishing communities were relocated to 'growth centres'

  12. The battle of Mandalay in WW2

    The story of a crucial battle in the Burma campaign in 1945

  13. Asha Bhosle: The world's most recorded artist

    Asha Bhosle became the world's most recorded artist in 2011

  14. The tortoise and the hippo

    In 2004, a baby hippo and a giant tortoise form an unlikely friendship

  15. Kenya's power-sharing deal

    In 2008, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga formed Kenya's first coalition government

  16. The last of the Mau Mau fighters

    In 1963 as Kenya gained independence, one of the last Mau Mau fighters laid down her arms

  17. Treetops: The day a princess became a queen

    In 1952, Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya

  18. Finding the den of the Tsavo man-eaters

    In 1997, scientists set out to find a cave believed to have sheltered man-eating lions

  19. The origins of the all-inclusive holiday

    How a holiday village in Majorca helped pioneer the all-inclusive holiday

  20. When Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ ended

    In 1987 Taiwan finally lifted martial law after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule

  21. Ashley Kriel: South Africa's anti-apartheid 'Che Guevara'

    In the 1980s Ashley Kriel emerged as a leader of the struggle against white minority rule

  22. The first carbon offset

    In 1988, an idea was born to plant trees to offset effects of a coal-fired power plant

  23. City of God: The film that reshaped global cinema

    City of God was filmed in 2001 using children from Rio De Janeiro’s favelas as actors

  24. The cellist who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau

    In 1943, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch survived Auschwitz after being recruited to an orchestra

  25. 'I organised the first Comic Con'

    In 1964 a group of teenage boys organised the first official comic convention in New York

  26. Sweden's summer shutdown

    In 1978, Swedish workers relished the chance to take long, paid vacations

  27. The making of Oasis’ Wonderwall

    In 1995, British band Oasis recorded one of their biggest hits

  28. The last execution by garrote: Salvador Puig Antich

    In 1974, a 25-year-old anarchist became the last person executed by garrote in Spain

  29. Creating Africa’s largest film festival

    In 1969, the first African film festival of Ouagadougou took place

  30. The first solar-powered flight around the world

    In 2016, two pilots attempted to fly around the globe without any fuel

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