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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The end of Stalinist rule in Albania

    In 1990 Albania’s communist government agreed to allow independent political parties.

  2. The "Wild Lily" protests in Taiwan

    In 1990, Taiwan’s students took to the streets in their thousands to demand democracy.

  3. The secret history of Monopoly

    The true story of one of the world's most popular board games, Monopoly.

  4. Lego

    One of the world's most popular toys was invented in a small Danish town in 1958.

  5. Tetris

    In 1984 one of the most popular computer games ever was invented in Moscow.

  6. Grand Theft Auto: How the Scottish game outraged on release

    The controversial action-adventure gaming series developed in Scotland in the 1990s.

  7. Pong and the birth of computer games

    The pioneering table tennis simulator which started the video games industry.

  8. The home of Santa Claus

    How Rovaniemi, a small town in Lapland, became the centre of Christmas tourism.

  9. Bahrain's 2011 protests

    In 2011 thousands of protestors occupied Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain’s capital.

  10. The right to drive in Saudi Arabia

    The Saudi women who used social media to campaign against being banned from the roads.

  11. Rudolf Nureyev defects

    In 1961 the great ballet dancer stunned the world by defecting from the Soviet Union.

  12. Tanzania's first elected albino MP

    How Salum Barwany overcame discrimination and fear to make history in Africa

  13. Bangladesh wins independence

    An inside account of the moment Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971.

  14. On the front line in Bangladesh

    A Pakistani soldier's account of fighting in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971.

  15. Rape as a weapon in Bangladesh

    How Bengali women suffered appalling sexual violence during the war of independence.

  16. The birth of Bangladesh

    How Pakistan's first elections sparked civil war and the creation of a new country

  17. The Bengali language movement

    How a march in defence of Bengali galvanised demands for an independent Bangladesh.

  18. The explosion heard by millions

    In 2005 people across southern England woke up when a huge fuel depot exploded.

  19. The Aldi kidnap

    The abduction of Theo Albrecht, co-founder of the discount supermarket chain ALDI.

  20. Spies or plane-spotters?

    Why a group of British aircraft enthusiasts were arrested for spying in Greece in 2001.

  21. The V2 rocket

    How the Nazis secretly developed the first modern ballistic missile

  22. Fighting 'virginity tests' in the Indonesian police

    How an Indonesian policewoman campaigned to ban intrusive examinations of female recruits

  23. Derek Jarman

    The British experimental film-maker who spoke out about Aids in the 1980s.

  24. South Africa and Aids drugs

    How activists fought successfully for cheaper Aids treatment in South Africa.

  25. AZT: The breakthrough treatment for Aids

    How the first successful Aids drug was developed and approved in record time in 1987

  26. The early days of HIV/Aids

    The experience of a Ugandan-born woman diagnosed with HIV in the early days of the virus.

  27. The Aids 'patient zero' myth

    How Gaetan Dugas was mistakenly identified as the 'patient zero' of the Aids epidemic.

  28. The assassination of the Mirabal sisters

    Three sisters, all political activists, were murdered in 1960 in the Dominican Republic

  29. Estonia’s internet ‘Tiger Leap’

    Estonia started connecting all schools to the internet in 1996 ahead of other countries

  30. The doctor who helped her mother to die

    How a Dutch doctor’s euthanasia dilemma changed the world.

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