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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Death in the Amazon

    In January 1956, members of an Amazonian tribe murdered five American missionaries.

  2. Bulgarian Nurses on Trial in Libya

    Valya Chervenyashka was accused of mass murder and tortured in a Libyan jail.

  3. The End of Apartheid

    Adriaan Vlok was in charge of the police in apartheid-era South Africa.

  4. The German American Bund

    In the 1930s, American Nazi sympathisers held rallies and summer camps across the US.

  5. Sexual Harassment in India

    Witness hears from the first woman to bring a case of sexual harassment to trial in India.

  6. The Lost Manuscript of Huckleberry Finn

    In 1990, the manuscript of Mark Twain's classic novel was found in an attic in Hollywood.

  7. Tilikum the Orca

    On this day in 1991 a killer whale called Tilikum drowned one of its trainers.

  8. The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic

    The former Serbian President went on trial for war crimes in 2002. Hear from his lawyers.

  9. The Silver Ring Thing

    In 1995 a US campaign started encouraging teenagers not to have sex before marriage

  10. Uganda's war on homosexuality

    In 2006, a Ugandan newspaper began printing the names of professionals believed to be gay

  11. Italy votes for divorce

    In May 1974, Italians defied the Catholic Church and voted overwhelmingly for divorce.

  12. The Birth of Speed Dating

    In 1998, a Los Angeles rabbi came up with a new way for single people to meet each other.

  13. The conman who married his victims

    When Giovanni Vigliotto went on trial he said he'd married more than 100 women

  14. Sanctuary Cities in the USA

    How American cities like San Francisco became safe havens for undocumented immigrants

  15. The True Story of Whisky Galore

    How a ship laden with bottles of whisky was wrecked off the Scottish Hebrides

  16. Kenya's Hit Record: Jambo Bwana

    The story of a 1980 Kenyan pop song which became an unlikely global hit.

  17. The Killer Whale that Killed

    In February 1991, the captive orca, Tilikum, drowned his trainer, Keltie Byrne in Canada.

  18. Rosalind Franklin DNA Pioneer

    The scientist produced an x-ray photograph in 1951 that helped show the structure of DNA

  19. 1995 Peru-Ecuador Border War

    A former Peruvian army officer recalls the last war between Latin American neighbours.

  20. The End of Apartheid

    In February 1990 the South African president announced the dismantling of apartheid

  21. Battle of Mogadishu: Black Hawk Down

    In 1993, US forces launched a disastrous raid against the Somali warlord, General Aideed

  22. Crossing Antarctica Alone

    Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland was the first person to cross Antarctica alone.

  23. Sexual Harassment in India

    The first time a case of sexual harassment came to court in India.

  24. Desert Island Discs at 75

    The story of the BBC's longest-running radio programme.

  25. The 'Aboriginal Tent Embassy'

    On 26 January 1972 four Aboriginal men began a protest about land rights in Australia

  26. Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

    Roald Dahl's book, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, was published in January 1964

  27. The Atocha Lawyers Massacre in Spain

    In early 1977 far-right gunmen killed five people at a law firm in Atocha Street, Madrid

  28. Microwave Ovens

    Microwave ovens for domestic kitchens first became widely available in 1967.

  29. Dungeons and Dragons

    The fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons launched in January 1974.

  30. Roots - The TV Series

    The epic mini-series about slavery in the USA hit TV screens in January 1977

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