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)

The fight to stop skin lightening in India

In 2013, Emami, an Indian beauty and wellness company, put out an advert for their skin lightening product 'Fair and Handsome'.It features billionaire blockbuster actor Shah Rukh Khan telling a young ...

21 Okt 20249min

Eight years trapped on the Suez Canal in Egypt

After the Six Day War in June 1967, the Suez Canal in Egypt was closed.It meant 14 ships from eight different countries, including the United States, Bulgaria and France, were trapped in an area calle...

18 Okt 202410min

Dyke and Dryden: Cosmetic kings

In 1969, a new sound began to dominate the airwaves in the UK, reggae.This was terrible news for two Jamaican men, Len Dyke and Dudley Dryden who were making their money selling 'slices of home' recor...

17 Okt 20249min

Fleeing Afghanistan alone as a child

In 1999, Waheed Arian left his family in Afghanistan to seek refuge in the UK. He was just 15.He was escaping violence, poverty and the threat of being recruited as a child soldier. He tells Vicky Far...

16 Okt 20249min

The Rose Revolution in Georgia

In November 2003, the people of Georgia ousted veteran president Eduard Shevardnadze. Protestors stormed the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi, holding flowers in their hands.It would become ...

15 Okt 202410min

The Sunflower Movement

Between 18 March and 10 April 2014, more than 500,000 people in Taipei, Taiwan, protested against a new trade deal with China.It was one of the largest social movements in Taiwanese history.Rachel Nay...

14 Okt 20249min

'Robocops’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo

After the death of her brother, engineer Thérèse Izay Kirongozi got to work handmaking huge robots to direct traffic and save lives. In 2013 they were installed on the streets of Kinshasa, in the Demo...

11 Okt 202410min

How the QR code was invented

In 1994, bar codes were in widespread use in businesses around the world, but the Japanese car component company, Denso Wave, wanted something quicker.So they asked one of their engineers, Masahiro Ha...

10 Okt 202410min