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)

When Cuban spy Ana Montes was caught

In 2001, the American Ana Montes, who was working for the United States Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested for espionage.Although the FBI knew that there was a spy they didn't know who it was. T...

17 Mai 202410min

Baghdad heavy metal

In the late 1990s, a heavy metal band called Acrassicauda formed in Iraq, when the country was under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Over the next decade, the pioneering band found themselves on a...

16 Mai 20249min

How nuclear testing changed politics in French Polynesia

It's 20 years since elections in French Polynesia in 2004, where the independence movement stunned the France-aligned government of the day, propelling pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru to the pres...

15 Mai 20249min

The creation of the state of Israel

On 14 May 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.Tears and applause met the declaration, witnessed by 200 dignitaries, but fighting intensified in the days that followed.In 2010, Arieh Handler and Z...

14 Mai 20249min

The ‘Catastrophe’ for Palestinians

In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes in the Middle East. The period after World War Two in the region was tense, at times violent and politically complex....

13 Mai 20249min

Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal

In 1992, a photograph of Princess Diana alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal became one of the most famous photos in the world. Anwar Hussein was a photographer who documented the lives of the ...

10 Mai 20249min

How a billion Indians got a digital ID

In 2009, the Indian government embarked on an ambitious task to register all of the country's billion-plus citizens with a unique digital ID. Aadhaar - which means foundation in many Indian languages ...

9 Mai 20249min

The pioneering eye surgery that led to Lasik

In 1963, Dr Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner performed the first surgery on a human eye aimed at correcting short-sightedness. The ophthalmologist had been developing his technique for years, believing th...

8 Mai 20249min