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.

Denne podkasten er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(2000)

Creation of the UFC

In 1993, a new combat sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship – UFC.It pitted all forms of mixed martial arts against each other with little to no rules and all conta...

22 Nov 202410min

Lord of the Flies

It’s 70 years since William Golding’s acclaimed novel was published. Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a desert island, and how they survive without adults. I...

21 Nov 20249min

Handover of Macau

In 1999, the small territory of Macau was handed back to China after centuries of Portuguese rule.Lawyer and comedian Miguel Senna Fernandes was a member of the Macau Legislative Council and involved ...

20 Nov 202410min

The Siege of Yarmouk

During the early years of Syria’s brutal civil war, one neighbourhood close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, bore the brunt of the government’s viciousness. During 2013-14, some 18,000 residents of Ya...

19 Nov 202410min

Iran's secret Christian 'house churches'

After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, some Christians faced persecution. Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi and her husband, Saeed Abedini, set up a network of secret 'house churches' across the...

18 Nov 20248min

German naturists

Since the 19th Century, Germans have been bathing nude at the beach. The naturist movement, known as the FKK, was banned under the Nazis.People also faced official disapproval during the early years o...

15 Nov 20249min

Luana Mansilla: Changing gender aged six

In 2013, a six-year-old from Argentina became one of the youngest people in the world to legally have their gender changed on official documents through self-declaration. It followed the introduction ...

14 Nov 202410min

India's capsule coal mine rescue

In November 1989, mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill saved 65 miners from the Mahabir Coal Mine, in India.The miners, who had been trapped for three days after a flood, were winched out one by one usi...

13 Nov 202410min