Witness
By BBC World Service
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Podcast Description
Witness - history as told by the people who were there. Five days a week we will be talking to people who lived through moments of history to bring you a personal perspective on world events.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 |
Witness: Attack on Lod airport | In May 1972 gunmen opened fire at an Israeli airport - 26 people died. This programme is a repeat. | 30 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
Witness: La Penca bombing | In May 1984 an attempt was made to assassinate a rebel leader in Nicaragua. | 29 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
Witness: The Dionne Quintuplets | How five baby girls became global superstars in the 1930s. | 28 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
Witness: Dutch School Siege | The ordeal of a nine-year-old child hostage | 25 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
Witness: The Hacienda nightclub | It's 30 years since the legendary Hacienda nightclub opened in Manchester. | 24 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
Witness: The murder of Giovanni Falcone | 20 years ago the Italian anti-mafia judge was assassinated in Palermo. | 23 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
Witness: Monkeys in Space | Monkeys were the first American astronauts | 22 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
Witness: Thirty five years of Star Wars | C3PO tells the story of the first blockbuster film. | 21 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
Witness: Mount St Helens erupts | On May 18th 1980 the huge volcano blew, hear from someone who saw it happen close up. | 18 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
Witness: South Asia nuclear standoff | In May 1998 the world watched as a nuclear arms race began in South Asia. | 17 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
Witness: The death of Anne Boleyn | The second wife of Henry VIII was executed in May 1536. | 16 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
Witness: The Anschluss | A Vienna resident remembers the day that Hitler marched into Austria. | 15 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
Witness: The Seven Up TV series | Almost 50 years ago a TV programme began filming a group of 7-year olds - they are still filming them today. | 14 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
Witness: The assassination of a Prime Minster | 200 years ago the British PM Spencer Perceval was shot dead in London. | 11 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
15 |
Witness: Paris 1968 | How student protests and workers' strikes threatened to bring down the government of France. | 10 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
Witness: Rudolph Hess on the couch | How a British psychiatrist was sent to examine Rudolph Hess in 1941, shortly after the deputy fuhrer flew from Nazi Germany to Scotland. | 9 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
Witness: Attack on Fela Kuti | In 1977 the Nigerian musician's compound in Lagos was attacked by soldiers. | 8 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
Witness: The trial of Charles Manson | He remains one of the most notorious mass killers in the USA. | 7 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
Witness: Britain's General Strike | In 1926 workers all over Britain went on strike in support of coal miners. | 4 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
20 |
Witness: Britain's only gay footballer commits suicide | The niece of Justin Fashanu, the only British gay professional footballer, speaks about the death of her favourite uncle in May 1998. | 3 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
21 |
Witness: Rodney King and the LA riots | Rodney King talks about the riots that followed his brutal beating by police. | 2 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
22 |
Witness: The capture of Alija Izetbegovic | In May 1992 the Bosnian President was seized by Serb soldiers at Sarajevo airport. | 1 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
23 |
Witness: The right to die | 10 years ago a paralysed woman known as Miss B was allowed to die after a controversial court case. | 30 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
24 |
Witness: Mass Trespass | 80 years ago hundreds of young hillwalkers held a demonstration on top of a mountain called Kinder Scout in the North of England. | 27 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
25 |
Witness: Studio 54 | It is exactly 35 years since one of the coolest nightclubs ever, opened in New York. | 26 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
26 |
Witness: Gallipoli | One New Zealand soldier remembers how he survived the Battle of Gallipoli during World War One. | 25 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
27 |
Witness: 75 years since the bombing of Guernica | In the aftermath of the attacks, thousands of Basque children were sent to Britain to escape the Spanish Civil War. (this programme is a repeat) | 24 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
28 |
Witness: The trial of Oscar Wilde | How a court case about homosexual love ruined the 19th century British playwright. | 23 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
29 |
Witness: Rivers of Blood | How a speech by the conservative politician, Enoch Powell, put race at the heart of British political debate in 1968 | 20 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
30 |
Witness: The birth of The Simpsons | Cartoonist Matt Groening remembers how he created The Simpsons 25 years ago. | 19 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
31 |
Witness: Auschwitz Train Escape | How the Belgian resistance helped a group of Jews escape from a train bound for Auschwitz in 1943. | 18 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
32 |
Witness: Japanese embassy hostage crisis | In 1997 left-wing rebels held diplomats hostage for more than 4 months in Lima. | 17 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
33 |
Witness: Dissidents Declared Mad | How political opponents of the Soviet Union were routinely accused of madness and locked up in mental institutions. | 16 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
34 |
Witness: The sinking of the Titanic | Hear some of the survivors of the disaster - from the BBC archive. | 13 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
35 |
Witness: The Washington Post scandal | In 1981 it was revealed that a young journalist had faked a Pulitzer Prize-winning story. | 12 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
36 |
Witness: The death of Primo Levi | The Italian-Jewish writer who survived Auschwitz. | 11 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
37 |
Witness: Castro in the USA | In April 1959, Fidel Castro visited the USA to try to win over critics of the Cuban revolution. | 10 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
38 |
Witness: Eichmann on Trial | In April 1961, Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal, went on trial in Israel. The hearings helped reveal the full details of the Holocaust. | 9 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
39 |
Witness: Good Friday Agreement | It's 14 years since the warring parties in Northern Ireland signed the historic Good Friday peace agreement. | 6 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
40 |
Witness: Sarajevo peace protest | In April 1992, thousands of Bosnians took part in a last attempt to stop their capital being sucked into war. | 5 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
41 |
Witness: Active Birth movement | In 1982, British mothers took to the streets to demand the right to give birth naturally. | 4 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
42 |
Witness: The Falklands War - Part Two | In the second Falklands programme, an Argentine soldier gives his account of fighting for the islands in the 1982 war. | 3 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
43 |
Witness: The Falklands War | It is 30 years since Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands. | 2 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
44 |
Witness: Lost Boys of Sudan | How an American asylum programme helped thousands of stranded children escape from the Sudanese civil war. | 30 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
45 |
Witness: Scott of the Antarctic | It is 100 years since the British explorer died returning from the South Pole. | 29 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
46 |
Witness: Manolo Blahnik | How a young designer became a legend in shoes. | 28 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
47 |
Witness: An apartheid era bombing | Even as the apartheid system in South Africa was falling away - its enemies were still being targetted. | 27 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
48 |
Witness: Pope John Paul II visits Cuba | It is 14 years since the last Papal visit to the communist island | 26 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
49 |
Witness: The US Peace Corps | The organisation that sent young American volunteers to work overseas. | 23 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
50 |
Witness: How a Little America was built in Afghanistan | In the 1950s the US sent engineers and their families to live in Helmand. | 22 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
51 |
Witness: Sarin gas in the Tokyo subway | In March 1995 an obscure Japanese cult released nerve gas in Tokyo. | 21 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
52 |
Witness: The bombardment of Baghdad | On March 20 2003, the US and its allies began their attack on Iraq. | 20 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
53 |
Witness: The Torrey Canyon disaster | 45 years ago it was the biggest oil spill the world had ever seen. | 19 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
54 |
Witness: The My Lai Massacre | In March 1968 US soldiers went on a killing spree in a village in Vietnam. | 16 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
55 |
Witness: Farzad Bazoft | The British journalist was accused of spying and executed in Iraq in 1990. | 15 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
56 |
Witness: The Romans in Britain | The play which caused a scandal over sex and nudity at the National Theatre. | 14 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
57 |
Witness: Myra Hess and the lunchtime concerts | Throughout World War II, the pianist organised concerts to raise morale in London. | 13 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
58 |
Witness: The Theremin | In 1929 a young Russian inventor took one of the first electronic musical instruments to the USA. | 12 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
59 |
Witness: Stalin's daughter | On March 9 1967, Svetlana, daughter of the Soviet dictator Stalin, defected to the West. | 9 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
60 |
Witness: Discovery of Penicillin | How scientists turned mould into the world's first anti-biotic medicine | 8 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
61 |
Witness: The Warhol films | In the 1960s the pop artist turned his attention to film making. | 7 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
62 |
Witness: The Zeebrugge disaster | On March 6 1987, a car ferry capsized in the English Channel killing 193 people. | 6 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
63 |
Witness: | Geeks in a garage gave birth to the computer revolution | 5 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
64 |
Witness: First flight of Concorde | On March 2 1969 the supersonic airliner took to the skies for the first time. | 2 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
65 |
Witness: Gujarat riots | It is 10 years since communal violence broke out in the Indian state. | 1 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
66 |
Witness: The killing of Georgi Markov | The Bulgarian dissident was on his way to work at Bush House when he was stabbed with a poisoned umbrella. | 29 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
67 |
Witness: The death of Olof Palme | On February 28 1986 the Swedish Prime Minster was shot in the street. | 28 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
68 |
Witness: Mary Quant and the mini skirt | How a young British designer led the fashion revolution of the 1960s. | 27 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
69 |
Witness: From the silent screen to talkies | How Hollywood made the transition to films with words and music. | 24 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
70 |
Witness: The Damascus Spring | 12 years ago Syria experienced a brief burst of political openness. | 23 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
71 |
Witness: Moose Murders | Nearly 30 years ago the most comprehensive flop ever opened and closed - on the same day - on Broadway. | 22 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
72 |
Witness: When Nixon met Mao | It is 40 years since the US President met the Chinese leader. | 21 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
73 |
Witness: Sucked out of a Plane | In February 1989 nine people were sucked out of a plane over the Pacific Ocean. | 20 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
74 |
Witness: Japanese internment in the USA | It's 70 years since the United States began to intern almost anyone of Japanese origin in the United States. | 17 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
75 |
Witness: Bombing of Darwin | In February 1942 the Japanese air force started bombing the Australian port town. | 16 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
76 |
Witness: Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan | In February 1989 the last Soviet troops rolled out of Afghanistan. | 15 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
77 |
Witness: Sister Dorothy Stang | The life and death of Dorothy Stang, the American-born nun whose work with the poor of the Amazon made her a target for gunmen. | 14 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
78 |
Witness: Stolen Generation | Debra Hocking was taken from her aboriginal family in Australia as a baby. | 13 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
79 |
Witness: Deep Blue and Kasparov | In 1996 a computer beat the chess world champion. | 10 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
80 |
Witness: Breast Implants | Its 50 years since silicone breast implants were used in cosmetic surgery. Claire Bowes has been speaking to the American woman who was the first to have the operation | 9 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
81 |
Witness: Charonne metro deaths | It is 50 years since 9 peace protestors were crushed to death in Paris. | 8 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
82 |
Witness: Mexico drug murder | On February 7 1985 a US drug enforcement agent was kidnapped in Guadalajara. | 7 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
83 |
Witness: Death of King George VI | How Britain mourned the death of King George VI in February 1952. | 6 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
84 |
Witness: Umm Kulthum | The great Egyptian singer died in February 1975. | 3 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
85 |
Witness: Hama Massacre | It's 30 years since thousands of Syrians were killed as government troops put down an uprising in the city of Hama. | 2 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
86 |
Witness: Diane Blood | It is 15 years since a British woman won the right to use her dead husband's sperm to have a baby. | 1 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
87 |
Witness: Charles Dickens in America | In February 1842 the great English novelist toured America for the first time. | 31 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
88 |
Witness: Bloody Sunday | It is 40 years since 13 civil rights marchers were killed by British soldiers in Northern Ireland. | 30 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
89 |
Witness: The Challenger disaster | In January 1986 a space shuttle launch went tragically wrong. | 26 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
90 |
Witness: The rise of Hitler | In January 1933 Communists rallied against Hitler for the last time. | 25 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
91 |
Witness: Japanese soldier | He remained in hiding for 27 years after the end of World War II. | 24 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
92 |
Witness: Jackson Pollock | It is 100 years since the great American abstract painter was born. | 23 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
93 |
Witness: Final Solution | Its 70 years since Nazis met at Wannsee and agreed a plan to annihilate Europe's Jews. | 20 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
94 |
Witness: Roe v Wade | In 1973 a landmark case legalised abortion across the USA. | 19 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
95 |
Witness: Warsaw ghetto | On January 18 1943 German soldiers began a final drive to rid Warsaw of Jews. | 18 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
96 |
Witness: Brinks Robbery | In 1950 eleven men carried out the biggest ever cash robbery in the US so far, and they almost got away with it. | 17 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
97 |
Witness: Vietnam draft dodgers | In January 1977 President Carter pardoned people who had avoided fighting in Vietnam | 16 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
98 |
Witness: Johnny Cash plays Folsom prison | How playing a high-security jail in 1968 transformed the career of country legend, Johnny Cash. | 13 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
99 |
Witness: Perez de Cuellar goes to Baghdad | In January 1991 there was a last minute attempt to stop the first Gulf War. | 12 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
100 |
Witness: J'Accuse! | How an article by the novelist, Emile Zola, turned the case of the Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, into a defining issue for France. | 11 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
101 |
Witness: The death of Emperor Hirohito | How Japan reacted to the death in 1989 of their Emperor, a leader once regarded as divine. | 10 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
102 |
Witness: Crossing the Rubicon | In 49 BC Julius Caesar made a decision which would change history. | 9 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
103 |
Witness: Charter 77 | In January 1977 an opposition movement was born in Czechoslovakia | 6 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
104 |
Witness: Project Stormfury | How the USA tried to control hurricanes using science. | 5 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
105 |
Witness: The Hollywood blacklist | Over 60 years ago a list of radicals in Hollywood was published - it ruined careers. | 4 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
106 |
Witness: The capture of the USS Pueblo | In January 1968 an American spy ship was captured by North Korean forces | 3 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
107 |
Witness: Birth of the Euro | How millions of Europeans celebrated the birth of a new currency on New Year's Day 2002. | 2 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 107 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Keep adding
Interesting and informative.
Brilliant!
This is a great podcast. What a brilliant idea to capture social history by the people that were actually there! It's short and informative and a great peek through a window into our past. Keep up the good work.
just the right length
and very interesting. can we have some more history from the caribbean and african subcontinent though?
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