Witness History
BBC World Service
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 19, 2023 • 9min
France's nuclear tests in Algeria
In this discussion, Abdelkrim Touhami, who experienced the French nuclear tests in Algeria as a teenager, shares his harrowing memories and the profound impact on his community. He reflects on the fear and misinformation surrounding the tests, as well as the devastating legacy of radioactive contamination and health issues that plague survivors. The conversation also delves into calls for accountability from France, highlighting the struggles of victims seeking recognition and support for their suffering. A powerful narrative of resilience and the quest for justice.
Jan 18, 2023 • 9min
Kosovo’s house schools
In 1990s Kosovo, a generation of Albanians received their education crammed into thousands of private homes. When Slobodan Milosevic’s Serb nationalist regime forcibly evicted them from schools and universities, Kosovan Albanians responded with improvised house schools in their apartments, attics and cellars. The spontaneous reaction to their ethnic exclusion quickly evolved into a nationwide education system that would endure for the best part of a decade. Linda Gusia, a pupil in the house schools, and university professor Drita Halimi speak to Jack Butcher. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Photo: A Kosovan house school. Credit: Shyqeri Obërtinca)
Jan 17, 2023 • 9min
Europe's horse meat scandal
In 2013, horse meat was discovered in Irish beef burgers. The scandal snowballed and within six weeks horse meat was found in beef products in more than a dozen European countries. The story revealed how complex and unregulated Europe’s meat industry was, making it a target for fraudsters. Ben Henderson speaks to Alan Reilly, former Chief Executive of the Irish Food Safety Authority, who uncovered the scandal.(Photo: Meat inspection in a French supermarket. Credit: Sebastien Bozon via Getty Images)
Jan 16, 2023 • 9min
Miracle on the Hudson
On 15 January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River in New York, after geese struck both its engines shortly after take off.All 155 people on board survived.Rachel Naylor speaks to Dave Sanderson, the last passenger to be rescued.(Photo: Passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 await rescue. Credit: AP)
Jan 13, 2023 • 9min
World’s first tidal power station
The world’s first tidal power station is on the estuary of the River Rance in France. It was opened in 1966 by President Charles de Gaulle and has been capturing the natural power of the oceans’ tides and turning it into electricity ever since. Alex Collins hears how the project to build it was a cause for national pride and how the facility is now a tourist attraction, as he speaks to Brittany historian Marc Bonnel.(Photo: La Rance tidal power station. Credit: Getty Images)
Jan 12, 2023 • 9min
Galápagos Islands’ sea cucumber dispute
A boom in demand for sea cucumbers in Asia in the 1990s set off a confrontation between fishermen and conservationists in the waters off the Galápagos Islands, where the protein-rich ocean creature was found in abundance. The high price being paid for the sea cucumbers led to a gold rush on the South American archipelago, a chain of 21 islands home to many unique species. In 2020, Mike Lanchin spoke to a Galapagos fisherman Marcos Escaraby and conservationist Alan Tye, who found themselves on opposite sides of the dispute.(Picture: Sea cucumber. Credit: Getty Images)
Jan 11, 2023 • 9min
Paul Robeson and the transatlantic phone line
In September 1956, a telephone cable called TAT-1 was laid under the Atlantic Ocean, making high-quality transatlantic phone calls possible for the first time.Eight months later in May 1957, 1,000 people squeezed into St Pancras Town Hall in London to listen to a transatlantic concert.The person performing, Paul Robeson, was a globally renowned singer, but he’d been banned from travelling outside the USA. So, he made use of the new transatlantic telephone line to perform to his fans in the UK.Ben Henderson speaks to John Liffen, who curated an exhibition on TAT-1 and the concert at the Science Museum in London.(Photo: Engineers build repeaters used in TAT-1. Credit: Russell Knight/BIPs via Getty Images)
Jan 10, 2023 • 9min
Dutch North Sea flood
In 1953, a winter storm combined with high tides breached sea defences in the Netherlands, more than 1,800 people drowned.Ria Geluk, remembers the once-in-a-lifetime flood.In this programme first broadcast in 2011, Ria tells Trish Flanaghan what happened when water overwhelmed the farm she lived on.(Photo: A man walking a flooded street. Credit: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images. )
Jan 9, 2023 • 9min
Plastics in oceans
In 1971, marine biologist Edward Carpenter made a shocking discovery finding small bits of plastics floating thousands of miles of the east coast of America in the Atlantic Ocean. More than 50 years later he tells the story of how he had to fight hard to get the scientific world to take notice of his discovery. He also tells Alex Collins about when plastics in oceans went viral.(Photo: Plastic floating in water. Credit: Getty Images)
Jan 6, 2023 • 9min
Pussy Riot’s cathedral protest
In February 2012, Diana Burkot and other members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot protested inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour against the church and its support for Russian president Vladimir Putin. Some members were arrested and put on a trial which made the news inside Russia and around the world. Diana kept her participation in the protest secret and avoided going to prison. She shares her memories with Alex Collins.(Photo: Diana Burkot on stage. Credit: Getty Images)
