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)

The rocket that revived Brazil’s space programme

In 2003, 21 people died when a space rocket exploded at Brazil’s Alcantara Launch Centre, three days before its planned flight. It was the country’s third – and most serious - rocket failure in six ...

17 Mars 20259min

Bardo Museum attack in Tunisia

On 18 March 2015, 22 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Hamadi Ben Abdesslem, a tour guide who led tourists to safety, tells An...

14 Mars 202510min

The Gambia’s ‘Queen of Recycling’

In 1997, Isatou Ceesay, who lives in The Gambia had an idea to make bags and purses out of old discarded plastic.Her idea to help the environment started with a group of five women and has grown to be...

13 Mars 202510min

The Capitol Crawl

By the beginning of 1990, the United States Congress stalled on passing the Americans with Disabilities Act, a piece of legislation aimed at prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities...

12 Mars 202510min

King Kong: South Africa's first all-black musical

In 1959, Todd Matshikiza composed the score for King Kong, it was South Africa’s first musical with an all-black cast and it opened to critical acclaim. About the rise and fall of the heavyweight boxe...

11 Mars 202510min

The invention of GPS

There are few inventions that we rely on as much as the Global Positioning System, also known as GPS. But, when it was created in the late 1970s, nobody wanted it.Prof Brad Parkinson and his team at t...

10 Mars 20259min

How bloodshed in Selma led to the US Voting Rights Act 1965

In March 1965, hundreds of peaceful civil rights protesters in Selma were brutally beaten by Alabama state troops.They had been marching to demonstrate against the denial of voting rights to Black Ame...

7 Mars 20259min

The Great Toyota War

In 1987, a decades-long war in Chad reached a dramatic turning point in what would come to be known as the Great Toyota War. Named after the rugged pick-up trucks that transformed modern desert warfar...

6 Mars 202510min