Witness History Podcast
History as told by the people who were there.
Episodes to download
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The Iran-Contra Affair
Today
In 1986, Oliver North was accused of orchestrating the illegal sale of weapons to Iran
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The end of the US HIV travel ban
Friday
In 2010, a travel and immigration ban stopping people with HIV entering the US was lifted
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The deepest man-made hole in the world
Thursday
In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists in Russia managed to dig a 12,000-metre deep hole
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Thich Quang Duc: Buddhist monk who set himself on fire
Wednesday
In June 1963, Thich Quang Duc set himself alight in protest against the government
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Strictly Come Dancing
Last Monday
Television extravaganza Strictly Come Dancing debuted in 2004 in the UK
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Arrested for "immorality" in South Africa
Last Sunday
Dr Zureena Desai was arrested in South Africa for breaking the Immorality Act
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Creation of the UFC
Fri 22 Nov 2024
In 1993, a new sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship
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Lord of the Flies
Thu 21 Nov 2024
It鈥檚 70 years since William Golding鈥檚 acclaimed novel was published
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Handover of Macau
Wed 20 Nov 2024
In 1999, Macau was handed back to China after more than 400 years as a Portuguese colony
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The Siege of Yarmouk
Tue 19 Nov 2024
How the Syrian army turned one neighbourhood near Damascus into a bombed-out wasteland
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Iran's secret Christian 'house churches'
Mon 18 Nov 2024
Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi set up a network of 'house churches' in Iran
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German naturists
Fri 15 Nov 2024
The naturist movement began in Germany at the end of the 19th Century
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Luana Mansilla: Changing gender aged six
Thu 14 Nov 2024
In 2013, the gender of a six-year-old from Argentina was legally changed
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India's capsule coal mine rescue
Wed 13 Nov 2024
In November 1989, 65 miners were rescued from the Mahabir Coal Mine, in India
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How Greece got rid of their king
Tue 12 Nov 2024
In a 1974 referendum, the Greek people voted two to one in favour of becoming a republic
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The Pakistan mountain massacre
Mon 11 Nov 2024
In 2013, 11 people were killed by members of a militant group at Nanga Parbat base camp
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The invention of the 鈥楤aby鈥� computer
Fri 8 Nov 2024
In 1948, the first stored-program computer the 鈥楤aby鈥� was invented
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The woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto
Thu 7 Nov 2024
Polish aid worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in WW2
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The Shah of Iran's party
Wed 6 Nov 2024
In 1971, the Shah of Iran, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire
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In exile from Iran
Tue 5 Nov 2024
Former empress Farah Pahlavi and social scientist Rouhi Shafi speak about leaving Iran
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Iran hostage crisis
Mon 4 Nov 2024
In 1979, Barry Rosen was held hostage after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed
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Siegfried and Roy tiger attack
Fri 1 Nov 2024
In 2003, illusionist Roy Horn was attacked by a tiger live on stage.
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Brazil鈥檚 electronic voting
Thu 31 Oct 2024
In 1996, an electronic voting system in Brazil was used for the first time
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Jean Batten: New Zealand鈥檚 record breaking aviator
Tue 29 Oct 2024
Jean Batten was nicknamed the Queen of the Skies for her pioneering flights of the 1930s
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The creation of Greenwich Mean Time
Mon 28 Oct 2024
Experiments by John Flamsteed in the 17th Century led to the time zone being created
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My dad created Dungeons & Dragons
Fri 25 Oct 2024
In 1974, Gary Gygax created the fantasy roleplay game
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Bonga Kwenda: Music banned in Angola and Portugal
Thu 24 Oct 2024
Outspoken supporter of Angolan independence, Bonga Kwenda was forced into exile in 1972
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Ethiopia's 1984 famine
Wed 23 Oct 2024
In 1984, a news report on a famine in Ethiopia led to a global fundraising campaign
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I found the first dinosaur remains in Antarctica
Tue 22 Oct 2024
In 1986, Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero discovered a new kind of Ankylosaurus
