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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The 1948 French Miners' Strike
Fri 25 Nov 2016
How coal miners in France went from post-war heroes to pariahs
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The Silk Letters Movement
Thu 24 Nov 2016
In 1916 the authorities in India uncovered plans to overthrow British rule
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Saving Orphaned African Elephants
Wed 23 Nov 2016
How a Kenyan woman, Dame Daphne Sheldrick, first raised orphaned baby African elephants
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Plane spotters arrested in Greece
Tue 22 Nov 2016
In Nov 2001 a group of British tourists was arrested in Greece and charged with spying.
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The Musical Cabaret
Mon 21 Nov 2016
Director Hal Prince remembers the hit musical opening on Broadway in November 1966
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Smuggling Endangered Birds
Fri 18 Nov 2016
In Nov 1996 leading ornithologist Tony Silva was convicted of smuggling endangered birds.
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The Madagascar Palace Fire
Thu 17 Nov 2016
In 1995 one of Madagascar's most historic sites was destroyed by fire
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East Timor Massacre
Wed 16 Nov 2016
In November 1991 Indonesian troops opened fire on independence activists in Dili.
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The Burning of the Satanic Verses
Tue 15 Nov 2016
The publication of Salman Rushdie's book outraged many Muslims around the world
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The James Bond Theme Tune
Mon 14 Nov 2016
In 1962 Monty Norman wrote the music for the first James Bond film, Dr No.
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Kurdish Singer Ahmet Kaya
Fri 11 Nov 2016
The widow of the famous folk singer recalls the night that changed her husband's life.
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Rolling Stone Magazine
Thu 10 Nov 2016
Writer and musician Michael Lydon recalls the birth of an iconic magazine.
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The First Loebner Prize
Tue 8 Nov 2016
On 8 November 1991, a competition which judged artificial intelligence was held.
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The Pitcairn Sex Abuse Trial
Mon 7 Nov 2016
In 2004 a child sex abuse trial on a remote island in the Pacific shocked the world.
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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.
