Witness History

A podcast by BBC World Service

Categories:

Society & Culture History

1422 Episodes

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

    Published: 8/11/2023

  2. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal

    Published: 8/10/2023

  3. Sarajevo’s haven of peace

    Published: 8/9/2023

  4. The Great Train Robbery

    Published: 8/8/2023

  5. Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties

    Published: 8/7/2023

  6. Dinosaur in court

    Published: 8/4/2023

  7. Treehouse on the Berlin Wall

    Published: 8/3/2023

  8. Birth of a new language

    Published: 8/2/2023

  9. First dinosaur eggs identified in India

    Published: 8/1/2023

  10. José Mujica: Prison break to president

    Published: 7/31/2023

  11. Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway

    Published: 7/28/2023

  12. The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie

    Published: 7/27/2023

  13. The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

    Published: 7/26/2023

  14. Brain: The first personal computer virus

    Published: 7/25/2023

  15. Escaping the Nazis in Greece

    Published: 7/24/2023

  16. The US singer who became the Soviet Union’s Red Elvis

    Published: 7/21/2023

  17. The birth of Barbie

    Published: 7/20/2023

  18. Japan surrenders in China

    Published: 7/19/2023

  19. The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia

    Published: 7/18/2023

  20. Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’

    Published: 7/17/2023

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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.