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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.

Copyright: © (C) BBC 2024

Latest Episodes:

Crimea's Soviet holiday camp Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

Artek, on the shores of the Black Sea in Crimea, was a hugely popular Soviet holiday camp.

Maria Kim Espeland was one of the thousands of children who visited every year.

In 2014, she told Lucy Burns about life in the camp in the 1980s.

(Photo: A group of children attending Artek. Credit: Irina Vlasova)

Russia annexes Crimea Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

In 2014, Russia annexed the strategic Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, a move seen by Kyiv and many other countries as illegal.

The crisis it caused was so acute the world seemed on the brink of a new cold war.

In 2022, one Crimean woman told Louise Hidalgo what it was like to live through.

(Photo: A soldier outside the Crimean parliament in 2014. Credit: Getty Images)

Whistler: Creating one of the world’s biggest ski resorts Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

In 2003, Whistler Blackcomb won its bid to host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time.

It was sixth time lucky for the Canadian ski resort which had been opened to the public in 1966.

The mountain – which is named after the high-pitched whistle of the native marmot – has been through a lot of iterations and one man has been there to see nearly all of them.

Hugh Smythe, known as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler, has been sharing his memories of the mountain with Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Whistler mountain. Credit: Getty Images)

Columbus Lighthouse Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

In 1992, Columbus Lighthouse opened in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

It was designed to house the ashes of explorer, Christopher Columbus.

The huge memorial is built in the form of a horizontal cross and has 157 searchlight beams that when turned on project a gigantic cross into the sky. The light is so powerful it can be seen from over 300km away in Puerto Rico.

Tour guide and historian, Samuel Bisono tells Gill Kearsley about the struggle to get the monument built.

(Photo: Columbus Lighthouse. Credit: Gill Kearsley)

Trans murder in Honduras Feb 21, 2024

Show notes

In June 2009, transgender sex worker and activist Vicky Hernandez was murdered in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula.

The killers were never identified or punished, but in 2021 the Inter-American Human Rights Court found the Honduran state responsible for the crime. It ordered the government to enact new laws to prevent discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

Mike Lanchin hears from Claudia Spelman, a trans activist and friend of Vicky, and the American human rights lawyer Angelita Baeyens.

A CTVC production for the BBC World Service.

(Photo: A protestor holds a sign saying “Late Justice is not Justice”. Credit: Wendell Escoto/AFP/Getty Images)

Icelandic women's strike Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

In October 1975, 90% of women in Iceland took part in a nationwide protest over inequality.

Factories and banks were forced to close and men were left holding the children as 25,000 women took to the streets.

In 2015, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, later Iceland's first female president, told Kirstie Brewer about the impact of that day.

(Photo: Women take to the streets. Credit: The Icelandic Women's History Archives)

The Soviet scientist who made two-headed dogs Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

In the 1950s, Soviet scientist Dr Vladimir Demikhov shocks the world with his two-headed dog experiments.

He grafts the head and paws of one dog onto the body of another. One of his creations lives for 29 days.

He wants to prove the possibilities of transplant surgery, which was a new field of medicine at the time.

Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, Igor Konstantinov, tells Vicky Farncombe about the "difficult emotions" he experiences when he looks at photos of the creatures.

This programme includes a description of one of the experiments which some listeners may find upsetting.

(Photo: Vladimir Demikhov. Credit: Getty Images)

Supermalt: The malt drink created after the Nigerian civil war Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

In 1972, a food supplement used by soldiers during the Nigerian civil war was turned into a popular malt drink by a brewery in the Danish town of Faxe.

It was called Supermalt and it became so popular that the Nigerian government decided to ban all imports of malt into the country.

Peter Rasmussen created the drink and he has been sharing his memories with Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Supermalt. Credit: Royal Unibrew Ltd)

The small Irish town known as ‘Little Brazil’ Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

Gort in the west of Ireland is known by the nickname ‘Little Brazil’ because it’s home to so many Brazilians.

They first came to Ireland in the late 1990s to work in the town’s meat factory.

Lucimeire Trindade was just 24-years-old when she and three friends arrived in the town, unable to speak a word of English or Irish.

Nearly 25 years later, Lucimeire considers Gort her true home.

She tells Vicky Farncombe how being in Ireland changed her outlook on life.

“I learned that a woman can have their own life, especially going to the pub alone without their husbands!”

(Photo: Traditional Brazilian carnival dancers strut their stuff in Gort. Credit: John Kelly, Clare Champion)

The Juliet letters Feb 14, 2024

Show notes

The Juliet Club is in Verona, Italy, a place known throughout the world as being the city of love.

The club has been replying to mail addressed to Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet since the early 1990s.

The story of the Juliet letters started in the 1930s when the guardian of what is known as Juliet’s tomb began gathering the first letters people left at the grave and answering them.

The task was taken on by the Juliet Club which was founded by Giulio Tamassia in 1972. His daughter, Giovanna, tells Gill Kearsley that thousands of love letters from around the world are each given a personal response.

(Photo: Letters to the Juliet Club. Credit: Leonello Bertolucci/Getty Images)

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