Witness History Podcast
History as told by the people who were there.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
Orelh茫o: Brazil's iconic egg-shaped telephone booth
Fri 14 Jun 2024
In 1971, a Chinese architect called Chu Ming Silveira created Orelh茫o
-
![]()
Kielland disaster
Thu 13 Jun 2024
In 1980, 123 men died when a platform capsized in Norway's biggest industrial disaster
-
![]()
The Irish shopworkers strike against apartheid
Wed 12 Jun 2024
In 1984, 11 Dunnes store workers walked out after refusing to handle South African goods
-
![]()
Boko Haram massacre in Gwoza
Tue 11 Jun 2024
In 2014, Boko Haram drove into Gwoza in Nigeria and began an assault that killed hundreds
-
![]()
Nato bombs Serbian state television headquarters
Mon 10 Jun 2024
It's 25 years since Nato bombed the Serbian television headquarters in Belgrade
-
![]()
The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at George Bush
Fri 7 Jun 2024
Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at the President of the United States.
-
![]()
Saving lives on D-Day
Thu 6 Jun 2024
Charles Norman Shay was honoured for saving men from drowning on Omaha Beach on D-Day
-
![]()
The woman whose weather report changed the date of D-Day
Wed 5 Jun 2024
Maureen Flavin鈥檚 weather report forecast a storm and changed the course of WW2 history
-
![]()
Tetris: The birth of an all-time favourite
Tue 4 Jun 2024
The game was created by a Russian and marketed by an American during the Cold War
-
![]()
鈥楶anda diplomacy鈥�: China gifts pandas to Taiwan
Mon 3 Jun 2024
Giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, were sent to Taiwan from China as a gift in 2008
-
![]()
The commercial that changed advertising: 1984
Fri 31 May 2024
Forty years ago, a revolutionary advert played at America鈥檚 Super Bowl
-
![]()
The Flint water crisis
Thu 30 May 2024
In 2014, a city in Michigan was exposed to dangerous levels of lead in its water supply
-
![]()
The first Aboriginal MP
Wed 29 May 2024
In August 1971, the first Aboriginal MP took his place in the Australian Senate.
-
![]()
The first ever quintuplets
Tue 28 May 2024
Ninety years ago, five girls were born and exhibited to the world
-
![]()
Carlos Lamarca: From army captain to Brazil's 'most wanted'
Mon 27 May 2024
Hero or traitor? Carlos Lamarca deserted the Brazilian army to fight the military regime
-
![]()
How Air Jordans were created
Fri 24 May 2024
The story of how Nike signed basketballer Michael Jordan and launched Air Jordans
-
![]()
Imelda Marcos's famous shoe collection
Thu 23 May 2024
In 2001, more than 700 pairs of Imelda Marcos鈥� shoes became museum exhibits in Marikina
-
![]()
Adi Dassler's sports shoe obsession
Wed 22 May 2024
How an argument between the Dassler brothers led to the creation of Adidas and Puma
-
![]()
How a Brazilian flip-flop took over the world
Tue 21 May 2024
Havaianas has become one of the country's most successful and best-known exports
-
![]()
Bata: Pioneering shoemakers
Mon 20 May 2024
A Czech company called Bata pioneered assembly line shoemaking
-
![]()
When Cuban spy Ana Montes was caught
Fri 17 May 2024
The story of Cuban spy Ana Montes who was arrested in 2001
-
![]()
Baghdad heavy metal
Thu 16 May 2024
The story of heavy metal in Iraq during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein
-
![]()
How nuclear testing changed politics in French Polynesia
Wed 15 May 2024
In 2004, protests against nuclear testing saw a change in how French Polynesia was ruled
-
![]()
-
![]()
The 鈥楥atastrophe鈥� for Palestinians
Mon 13 May 2024
In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes
-
![]()
Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal
Fri 10 May 2024
The story of a princess, an Indian palace and a photograph which gained worldwide fame
-
![]()
How a billion Indians got a digital ID
Thu 9 May 2024
The 2009 attempt to give all Indian citizens a unique digital ID
-
![]()
The pioneering eye surgery that led to Lasik
Wed 8 May 2024
In 1963, Dr Jose Barraquer Moner performed the first eye surgery to fix short-sightedness.
-
![]()
East Germany's coffee from Vietnam
Tue 7 May 2024
A thirst for caffeine led to an unusual global collaboration in the 1980s
-
![]()
Friends: The making of a smash hit
Mon 6 May 2024
Behind the scenes on one of the biggest TV comedies of all time
