Ming Smith makes history at MoMA

In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars.Working under cover of darkness, the street artist created Dismaland - a 'bemusement park' offering a satirical twist on mainstream resorts.The temporary exhibition featured a fire-ravaged castle, a riot police van sinking into a lake, and Cinderella’s upturned pumpkin carriage.Open for just five weeks, Dismaland sold thousands of tickets daily and injected an estimated £20 million into the local economy.Kurtis Young speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about his summer job as a steward at Dismaland.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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: A mermaid sculpture in front of the fairy castle. Credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

9 Dec 202510min

In December 1975, four members of one of the IRA’s deadliest units were chased by police through the streets of London before hiding out in a small flat owned by a middle-aged couple called John and Sheila Matthews. The resulting six-day siege was covered live on television and radio, and gripped Britain. It ended when Metropolitan Police negotiators persuaded the gunmen to leave the flat peacefully. In 2019, Simon Watts spoke to Steven Moysey who saw the siege unfold.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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Police in action on Balcombe Street during the siege. Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

8 Dec 20259min

In 2011, Lagos Fashion Week debuted, putting Nigerian style on the map. Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of designers internationally.It has grown into a major fashion event and won the 2025 Earthshot Prize for sustainability.In 2023, Omoyemi Akerele spoke to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the first show. 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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Founder of the Lagos Fashion and Design Week Omoyemi Akerele. Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP)

5 Dec 202510min

In 1967, Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka tried to stop the country’s Biafra war, in which Nigeria’s Igbo people responded to violence by seceding from the rest of the country. They proclaimed a new Republic of Biafra.When the fighting began, Soyinka was building a reputation as a poet and playwright abroad. However, in a last-ditch attempt to avert civil war, he set off on a secret mission behind the front line to meet the Biafran leader, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. When he left Biafra, he was imprisoned by the federal government without trial for more than two years.Soyinka drew on his prison experience in his writing over the following years, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 - the first African to win the award. He looks back on those events with Ben Henderson. 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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Wole Soyinka in 1969. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

4 Dec 202510min

When the south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra, civil war broke out in May 1967. More than a million people died before the fighting stopped. In 2021, Patricia Ngozi Ebigwe, now better known as TV and music star Patti Boulaye, spoke to Paul Waters about escaping the conflict. 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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Government troops during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, 1969. Credit: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

3 Dec 202510min

It's 25 years since the opening of the New Afrika Shrine, an open-air entertainment centre in Nigeria. A hub for Afrobeat music and culture, it's dedicated to the legacy of Fela Kuti who pioneered the genre.Omoyeni Anikulapo-Kuti, also known as Yeni Kuti, is Fela’s eldest daughter. She speaks to Surya Elango about building the New Afrika Shrine.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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Fela Kuti performing. Credit: Frans Schellekens/Redferns)

2 Dec 202511min

In 2015, West African countries fought against the jihadist militant group Boko Haram which controlled large areas of northeastern Nigeria. The group, whose name means 'western education is forbidden', had killed thousands and displaced millions in the years preceding 2015. They made worldwide headlines in 2014 when they kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school. Tim O’Callaghan speaks to retired Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, who was director of public relations for the Nigerian army in 2015. 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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.(Photo: Nigerian soldiers hold a Boko Haram flag after liberating an area from their control in 2015. Credit: Reuters)

1 Dec 202511min

Following the Beatles final concert tour, George Harrison travelled to India in 1967 to learn sitar under the renowned musician Ravi Shankar.Fleeing Beatlemania he travelled in disguise to Mumbai and then to Srinagar in Kashmir.Listening to BBC archive and using excerpts from a Martin Scorsese documentary, we hear one of the world's most famous guitarists challenge himself to learn a new instrument.The moment influenced George’s spirituality, his burgeoning solo musical career, as well as the Beatles. It also propelled Ravi Shankar further into the limelight.The musicians remained lifelong friends. Ravi says they last saw each other on 28 November 2001, the day before George died.Produced and presented by Surya Elango.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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.This programme has been updated since the original broadcast, with concert dates and song writing credits corrected.(Photo: George Harrison and Ravi Shankar in 1975. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

28 Nov 202510min