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.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
Episodes to download
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Eva Peron: Argentina’s Evita
Fri 14 Feb 2025
Eva Peron - or Evita - was an icon in 1940s Argentina, famous for her populist rhetoric
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Paul Keating's Redfern speech
Thu 13 Feb 2025
In 1992, Australia's Prime Minister addressed atrocities inflicted upon Indigenous people
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Mary Fisher's 'A Whisper of Aids' speech
Wed 12 Feb 2025
Mary Fisher set out to fight the prejudice faced by those with HIV and Aids
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Eisenhower's farewell address
Tue 11 Feb 2025
In 1961, the US President ended his time in the White House with a famous speech
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La Pasionaria: Heroine of the Spanish civil war
Mon 10 Feb 2025
Dolores Ibárruri was dubbed La Pasionaria for her fiery speeches in the Spanish civil war
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Heathers: The making of a cult classic
Fri 7 Feb 2025
In 1989, dark comedy Heathers was released and changed the teen movie genre
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The first global case of coral bleaching
Thu 6 Feb 2025
In 1998 a strange phenomenon turned the world’s most colourful coral reefs deathly white
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Cuban blindness
Wed 5 Feb 2025
In the early 1990s, around 50,000 Cubans were struck down with sight loss
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Jacques Derrida: ‘Rock star’ philosopher
Mon 3 Feb 2025
In 1966, the Frenchman upended philosophy with his theory of "deconstruction"
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English TV lessons in China go primetime
Fri 31 Jan 2025
An estimated 500 million people in China watched English lessons on television in 1981
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1968 New York City teachers' strike
Thu 30 Jan 2025
In 1968, more than 50,000 teachers went on strike in New York City, in the USA
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Lithuania's 'wolf children'
Wed 29 Jan 2025
In the aftermath of World War Two, children fled East Prussia in order to survive
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The Baltic chain protest
Tue 28 Jan 2025
On 23 August 1989, approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain
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The Milltown Cemetery attack
Mon 27 Jan 2025
In 1988, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, three people were killed at a funeral
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The launch of Windows 95
Fri 24 Jan 2025
In 1995 Microsoft released a new operating system after a $300 million marketing campaign
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Replacing the Panchen Lama
Thu 23 Jan 2025
On 29 November 1995, China exerted its influence over Tibetan Buddhism's leadership
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The murder of Maurizio Gucci
Wed 22 Jan 2025
On 27 March 1995, the former head of the fashion house was shot dead in Milan, Italy
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Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Tue 21 Jan 2025
In 1995, the doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro
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Hunting the Unabomber
Mon 20 Jan 2025
In September 1995, US newspapers controversially published a terrorist's manifesto.
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Drum: Africa’s revolutionary magazine
Fri 17 Jan 2025
The first African lifestyle magazine Drum, was first printed in 1951
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'I wrote Schindler's List'
Thu 16 Jan 2025
Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase
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Kobe earthquake
Wed 15 Jan 2025
On 17 January 1995, an earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, in Japan
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Confronting Betty Ford’s addiction
Tue 14 Jan 2025
In 1978, former first lady Betty Ford sought help for addiction
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Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal
Mon 13 Jan 2025
In 1933, President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to drag the US out of depression
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The Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks
Fri 10 Jan 2025
In 2015, ship spotter Yörük Işık saw Russian military trucks on a ship going to Syria
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The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg
Thu 9 Jan 2025
The Swedish diplomat saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two
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The invention of the hotel key card
Wed 8 Jan 2025
In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card
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Charlie Hebdo attack
Tue 7 Jan 2025
On 7 January 2015, 12 people were shot dead at a satirical magazine in France
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