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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:

Patty Hearst: Rebel heiress Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

When wealthy newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped by far-left militants in February 1974, America saw her as a victim.

But two months later, she announced she had decided to join the group. Soon, she was accompanying it on an attempted bank robbery.

In 2010, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Carol Pogash, a journalist who followed the story.

(Photo: Patty being led to her trial. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

The WW2 escape line that fooled the Nazis Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

In 1940 a daring rescue operation began to help Allied servicemen escape from Nazi-occupied France.

French resistance fighter Roland Lepers was among those who guided stranded Allied soldiers and airmen to neutral Spain during World War Two. The 1,000 km route became known as the Pat O’Leary Escape Line - or the Pat Line.

It’s estimated 7,000 Allied personnel escaped through this route and similar escape lines, thanks to a network of people who clothed, fed and hid them. Peter Janes was one of those British servicemen.

Roland’s daughter Christine and Peter’s son Keith, speak to Jane Wilkinson about their fathers’ adventures.

(Photo: German-controlled checkpoint in France, 1940. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

The Battle of Versailles: Catwalk clash of American and French fashion Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

In 1973, a fashion show was held in France which became known as the Battle of Versailles, a duel between designs from modern America and the capital of couture, Paris.

Five American designers, including Oscar de la Renta and Halston, were invited to show their work alongside five of France’s biggest names, including Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert de Givenchy.

The aim was to raise money to help restore Versailles, a 17th Century palace built by King Louis XIV, but the media billed it as a competition between the two countries.

By the end, the Americans were declared the winners. The show also highlighted their industry’s racial diversity on an international stage, with 10 women of colour modelling work by US designers. Bethann Hardison, one of the models, talks to Jane Wilkinson about the lasting impact of the astonishing show.

(Photo: Bethann Hardison at Versailles in 1973. Credit: Jean-Luce Hure/Bridgeman Images)

How Rosa Parks took a stand against racism Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

Rosa Parks was brought up in Alabama during the Jim Crow era, when state laws enforced segregation in practically all aspects of daily life.

Public schools, water fountains, trains and buses all had to have separate facilities for white people and black people.

As a passionate civil rights activist, Rosa was determined to change this.

In December 1955, she was travelling home from the department store where she worked as a seamstress.

When a white passenger boarded the bus, Rosa was told to give up her seat.

Her refusal to do so and subsequent arrest sparked a bus boycott in the city of Montgomery, led by Dr Martin Luther King.

Using BBC interviews with Rosa and Dr King, Vicky Farncombe tells how Rosa’s story changed civil rights history and led to the end of segregation.

This programme includes outdated and offensive language.

(Photo: Rosa Parks sitting on a bus. Credit: Getty Images)

Lucha Reyes: Peruvian music star Feb 07, 2024

Show notes

Lucha Reyes was one of Peru’s greatest singers. She was born into poverty in 1936 and fought terrible health problems and racism throughout her life. But it didn’t stop her becoming a star of Peruvian Creole music - a fusion of waltzes, Andean and Afro-Peruvian styles.

In the early 1970s she recorded hits including Regresa and Tu Voz. One of the few black Peruvian celebrities of her era, she was a trailblazer for black women in the country.

Polo Bances played the saxophone in her band, accompanying her on many of her greatest records. He celebrates her life with Ben Henderson.

(Photo: Lucha Reyes. Credit: Javier Ponce Gambirazio)

A young mother saved from death by stoning Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

In March 2002, a young Nigerian Muslim woman was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and conceiving a child out of wedlock.

Amina Lawal’s case attracted huge international attention and highlighted divisions between the Christian and Muslim regions in the country.

Hauwa Ibrahim, one of the first female lawyers from northern Nigeria, defended Amina and helped her secure an acquittal.

The case would have very personal consequences for Hauwa who went on to adopt Amina’s daughter.

She tells Vicky Farncombe how the ground-breaking case also changed attitudes in Nigeria towards defendants from poor, rural communities.

(Photo: Hauwa Ibrahim (left) with Amina Lawal, Credit: Getty Images)

Queen of the 'fro Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

In May 1986, 16-year-old Charlotte Mensah went to work in the UK’s first luxury Afro-Caribbean hair salon, Splinters.

In London’s glamorous Mayfair, Splinters had earned a world-class reputation and hosted the likes of Diana Ross.

Charlotte says it looked more like a five-star hotel than a salon and that its owner, Winston Isaacs expected no less than perfection from all his staff.

Now a giant of the hair care industry in her own right, Charlotte has become known as the 'Queen of the 'fro'.

She tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty about her roots and how training at the legendary Splinters changed her life.

This programme includes an account of racial bullying.

(Photo: Young Charlotte in the salon. Credit: Charlotte Mensah)

First internet cafe Feb 01, 2024

Show notes

The first commercial internet cafe opened in London on 1 September 1994.

Eva Pascoe, from Poland, is one of the founders of Cyberia. She claims that Kylie Minogue was amongst the famous visitors and learnt how to use the internet at the cafe.

Eva tells Gill Kearsley the story of how cakes, computers and Kylie came together to make this new venture a success.

(Photo: Surfers at the Cyberia cafe. Credit: Mathieu Polak/Sygma via Getty Images)

The Arctic’s doomsday seed vault Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

In January 2008, seeds began arriving at the world's first global seed vault, buried deep in a mountain on an Arctic island, 1,000km north of the Norwegian coast.

The vault was built to ensure the survival of the world's food supply and agricultural history in the event of a global catastrophe.

In 2019, Louise Hidalgo spoke to the man whose idea it was, Dr Cary Fowler.

(Photo: Journalists and cameramen outside the entrance of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in 2008. Credit: Hakon Mosvold Larsen/AFP/Getty Images)

Brazil's Landless Workers Movement Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

In 1980, poor rural workers set up camp on land owned by the rich at Encruzilhada Natalino in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil's government sent in the army to evict them and violent clashes followed. It was a formative moment in the history of one of Latin America's biggest social movements, Brazil's Landless Workers Movement (MST).

Maria Salete Campigotto was a teacher living in the camp with her husband and young son. She speaks to Ben Henderson.

(Photo: Brazil's Landless Workers Movement meeting. Credit: Patrick Siccoli/Getty Images)

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