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.

Den här podcasten är hämtad från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Den kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(2000)

Harold Riley’s 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela

Harold Riley was the only artist in the world granted a sitting to capture Nelson Mandela on canvas. The unique portrait was unveiled in 2005 and raised over $1m for South African children's charities...

27 Mars 202510min

The suspicious death of Rear Admiral Durović

As Yugoslavia began to break down, the Balkans conflict began - a series of brutal wars characterised by disputes over territory, identity, and ethnic divisions. In 1991, the Croatian War of Independe...

26 Mars 20259min

Goodluck Jonathan’s phone call that changed Nigeria

In 2015 Goodluck Jonathan became the first Nigerian president to concede election defeat. It allowed the transfer of power to the opposition party in Africa's biggest democracy - a country that had hi...

25 Mars 202510min

The Germanwings plane crash

When General David Galtier hovered above the French Alps in a helicopter on 24 March 2015 he could not see the 60-tonne plane he was looking for. Instead he saw thousands and thousands of little piece...

24 Mars 202510min

The visionary behind the European Space Agency

In October 2012, the founding father of the European Space Agency was honoured when a spacecraft named after him was sent to the international space station. Within the probe – called the Edoardo Amal...

21 Mars 202510min

The historic handshake in space

In July 1975, former competitors the Soviet Union and the United States both launched rockets into the sky within hours of each other, as part of a joint project. They wanted two spacecraft, from two ...

20 Mars 202510min

In event of moon disaster: 'The speech that never was'

“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.”These are the opening lines of the 'In Event of Moon Disaster' speech, written in 1969 ...

19 Mars 202511min

First spacewalk

On 18 March 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to spacewalk.He spent around 10 minutes floating above the Earth, tethered to the spaceship by a 5-metre “umbilical cord”.Recalling th...

18 Mars 202510min