Witness History

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.

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Jaksot(2000)

The Aswan High Dam

In the early 1960s, Unesco appealed for scientists to go to Egypt to save antiquities that were threatened by the construction of one of the largest dams in the world, the Aswan High Dam on the River ...

18 Syys 202511min

Egypt criminalises sexual harassment

In 2014, Egypt’s outgoing president, Adly Mansour, issued a decree which categorised sexual harassment as a crime punishable by a minimum six-month jail term and a fine of 3,000 Egyptian pounds which ...

17 Syys 202510min

Reforming Egypt’s divorce laws

In 1979, Egypt’s former first lady Jehan Sadat helped lead a campaign to grant women new rights to divorce their husbands and retain custody of their children. Married to President Anwar Sadat, she wa...

16 Syys 202510min

Mohamed Morsi: Egypt's first democratically elected president

In June 2012, Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first democratically elected president.In 2022, Ben Henderson spoke to Rabab El-Mahdi, chief strategist to one of Morsi...

15 Syys 202510min

How the Philippines saved Jews during World War Two

In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced in Nazi Germany.In 1938, seven-year-old Lotte Hershfield and her family left their home in Breslau, which was part of Germany and is now known as ...

12 Syys 202510min

9/11: The generosity of Gander

On 11 September, 2001, a small Canadian town called Gander became a haven for thousands of airline passengers and crew stranded after the 9/11 terror attacks.The attacks on the World Trade Center had ...

10 Syys 202510min

The story behind The Peter Principle book

In 1969, a satirical book, The Peter Principle, suggested promotion led to incompetence.It was written by a Canadian Professor of Education, Dr Laurence J Peter and playwright Raymond Hull. The book w...

10 Syys 202510min

The Enabling Act

On 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed in Germany, handing Adolf Hitler unchecked power. It became the legal foundation of his dictatorship.But in that moment, one voice spoke in defiance.Otto ...

9 Syys 202510min