Witness History

A podcast by BBC World Service

Categories:

History

1259 Episodes

  1. Bi Kidude: Zanzibar's 'golden grandmother of music'

    Published: 9/5/2023

  2. Arctic 30: Russian arrest of Greenpeace campaigners

    Published: 9/4/2023

  3. Leaving China to study after the Cultural Revolution

    Published: 9/1/2023

  4. Saving Guadalupe from goats

    Published: 8/31/2023

  5. Egypt's Rabaa massacre

    Published: 8/30/2023

  6. North and South Korean leaders meet for the first time in decades

    Published: 8/29/2023

  7. The Bristol bus boycott

    Published: 8/28/2023

  8. Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot

    Published: 8/25/2023

  9. Celtic Tiger: Ireland's 'ghost estates'

    Published: 8/24/2023

  10. The first Rose of Tralee

    Published: 8/23/2023

  11. How electricity came to rural Ireland

    Published: 8/22/2023

  12. Easter Rising in Ireland

    Published: 8/21/2023

  13. The Wizard of Oz: The stolen ruby slippers

    Published: 8/18/2023

  14. Judy Garland: The final shows

    Published: 8/17/2023

  15. Returning Benin Bronzes

    Published: 8/16/2023

  16. Iran: How the prime minister was overthrown in 1953

    Published: 8/15/2023

  17. The boy who discovered a new species of human ancestor

    Published: 8/14/2023

  18. Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene

    Published: 8/11/2023

  19. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal

    Published: 8/10/2023

  20. Sarajevo’s haven of peace

    Published: 8/9/2023

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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.