Drill, baby, drill!
Witness History2 Jul 2025

Drill, baby, drill!

Judging by how often US President Donald Trump has repeated the slogan “Drill, baby, drill”, you might think he coined it. But the phrase actually dates back to 2008.

It was at the Republican National Convention that former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele first used it, arguing the United States needed to become energy independent.

The slogan, the result of what Michael describes as a late-night epiphany, quickly entered the mainstream of American politics - adopted by a range of politicians in the years that followed. He shares his memories of that moment with Marco Silva.

This programme contains archive from: C-SPAN, PBS Newshour, Fox News, and CNN.

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.

(Photo: Michael Steele. Credit: Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

The Falklands War - an Argentine account

The Falklands War - an Argentine account

In our second programme on the Falklands War, Witness History hears from an Argentine soldier who fought in the conflict. Miguel Savage recalls the atrocious weather conditions faced by Argentine cons...

5 Apr 20229min

Escaping a Maoist cult

Escaping a Maoist cult

In 2013, three women escaped from a cult that had been based in an ordinary house in Brixton, South London, since the 1970s. The cult was led by Aravindan Balakrishnan, a former student at the London ...

1 Apr 20229min

Selling Van Gogh's Sunflowers

Selling Van Gogh's Sunflowers

Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" was sold at auction at Christie's in London in March 1987 for 39.9 million dollars - then a world record and more than double the previous top price paid for an artwork...

31 Mar 20228min

Afghanistan's women's newspaper

Afghanistan's women's newspaper

Aina-E-Zan, the first women's newspaper in Afghanistan, was launched in 2002. Edited by Shukria Barazkai, the newspaper covered women's rights issues in depth, as well as criticizing the warlords who ...

30 Mar 20229min

Banksy’s first street art mural

Banksy’s first street art mural

World-renowned street artist Banksy started spray-painting the walls of his home city of Bristol in the 1990s. It is widely believed that his first large mural was a piece called Mild, Mild West paint...

29 Mar 20228min

The 'Snow Revolution' against Vladimir Putin

The 'Snow Revolution' against Vladimir Putin

Starting in late 2011, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets to try to stop what they saw as a power grab by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The demonstrators wanted to stop what they con...

28 Mar 20229min

Soviet holidays in Crimea

Soviet holidays in Crimea

Artek, on the shores of the Black Sea in Crimea, was the Soviet Union's most popular holiday camp. Thousands of children visited every year. Maria Kim Espeland went there in the 1980s. She spoke to Lu...

25 Mar 20229min

Ukraine's Babi Yar massacre

Ukraine's Babi Yar massacre

During World War Two, Ukraine was occupied by Nazi Germany and on 29th September 1941, the organised massacre of Ukrainian Jews began. In the capital Kyiv, most of the victims were taken to a ravine o...

24 Mar 20229min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
grenselos
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
fladseth
synnve-og-vanessa
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
alt-fortalt
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
den-politiske-situasjonen