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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:

Surviving an acid attack and changing the law Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

In 2013, India's Supreme Court made a landmark ruling aimed at transforming the lives of acid attack survivors.

It followed a campaign led by Laxmi Agarwal, who at the age of 15 was burned by acid thrown over her body.

The attack changed Laxmi’s life and scarred her face. In 2006, she took legal action demanding a ban on the sale of acid and more help for survivors.

But it took seven years of campaigning before the court made a ruling, as Laxmi tells Jane Wilkinson.

(Photo: Laxmi Agarwal. Credit: Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Kwame Nkrumah: Ousted from power Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

In February 1966, Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa's most famous leaders, was ousted from power in Ghana.

While he was out of the country, the Ghanaian military and police seized power in a coup.

Ghanaian film maker Chris Hesse worked closely with Nkrumah and was with him at the time.

In 2021, Chris spoke to Alex Last about his memories of the coup and his friendship with the man who led Ghana to independence.

(Photo: Kwame Nkrumah after Ghana's independence from Britain. Credit: Bettman, Getty Images)

Theodosia Okoh: Designer of Ghana’s flag Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

In March 1957, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and a new flag was unveiled marking a fresh start for the former British colony known as the Gold Coast.

The woman behind the design was Theodosia Okoh, an artist and former teacher who won a government competition for a new emblem which would signify the end of British rule.

Her flag had red, gold and green horizontal stripes with a black star in the centre and it replaced the symbol of an elephant encircled in front of a palm tree below the Union Jack.

Theodosia’s son Kwasi Okoh was a young boy at the time of independence, he speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the inspiration behind his mother's creation.

(Photo: Ghanaian football fans with the flag at the 2006 World Cup. Credit Joerg Koch/DDP/AFP via Getty Images)

The 84-year-old primary school pupil Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

In 2004, Kimani Maruge became the oldest man to start primary school when he enrolled at the Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Kenya.

The 84-year-old student was a former soldier who had fought against colonial rule in the Mau Mau independence movement.

He missed out on school as a child so when the Kenyan government scrapped all fees for state primary education, he saw his chance to finally learn to read and write.

Kimani's former teacher Jane Obinchu tells Vicky Farncombe how his story inspired people all over the world.

(Photo: Kimani Maruge attends class at Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Kenya. Credit: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

Yinka Shonibare: Nelson's Ship in a Bottle Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

On 24 May 2010, artist Yinka Shonibare unveiled Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, on the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square.

The piece was the world’s largest ship in a bottle, but it wasn’t just any vessel.

It was a replica of HMS Victory, commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar, except Yinka had made an eye-catching change.

The ship’s plain sails had been replaced with colourful Dutch wax sails. Dutch wax is a fabric typically sold in West Africa.

Yinka’s work captivated crowds and left people wondering what it meant.

“Some people were like ‘oh great we are celebrating Britishness. Fantastic’, and then some other groups said ‘Oh this is a critique of Britain. Fantastic’. I love it when the work does that!”, says Yinka.

He tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty how his artwork was created and what it means to him.

Protectors of the Amazon Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

In 2003, an oil company entered the indigenous Sarayaku community’s territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon in search of oil.

Neither the government nor the firm had consulted the community beforehand.

The locals responded by filing a lawsuit against the company. The ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights would go onto become an important case for indigenous communities all over the world.

Former Sarayaku president Jose Gualing and community leader Ena Santi recall the landmark case.

A Munck Studios production for BBC World Service presented by Isak Rautio.

(Photo: Ecuadorian rainforest. Credit: Fabio Cuttica/Reuters)

The Amoco Cadiz oil spill Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

In 1978, the Amoco Cadiz tanker ran aground off the coast of France.

The supertanker split, releasing more than 220,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea.

It was the largest oil spill caused by a tanker at the time.

Marguerite Lamour is the former secretary to Alphonse Arzel, the mayor of Ploudalmézeau in Brittany. He played a crucial role in the region's campaign for compensation.

Marguerite shares her experiences in this programme presented by Esther Egbeyemi.

(Photo: The Amoco Cadiz shipwreck. Credit: Pierre Vauthey/Getty Images)

Nigeria strikes oil Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

In 1956 commercial quantities of oil were discovered in the Nigerian village Oloibiri.

It marked the start of a huge oil industry for Nigeria but came at a cost for villages in the Niger Delta.

Chief Sunday Inengite was 19-years-old when prospectors first came to his village in search of crude oil.

In 2018 he spoke to Alex Last about the impact of the discovery.

(Photo: An oil worker at an oil well in Nigeria. Credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The oilfield that changed Kazakhstan Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

In the wake of the USSR breaking up, Kazakhstan was wrestling with the challenges of independence; hyperinflation, the economy collapsing and food shortages.

But three-and-a-half kilometres underground on the north-east shore of the Caspian Sea, a giant financial opportunity was lying dormant – The Tengiz Oil Field. Less than two years after gaining sovereignty, the government signed the “deal of the century”.

The state partnered with American company Chevron and started drilling to access the estimated 25 billion barrels of oil in the ground.

Tengiz is the sixth largest oilfield in the world, and its resources would change Kazakhstan from a fledgling state, to one of the largest oil producers in the world.

Johnny I’Anson speaks to Bruce Pannier, a news correspondent in Central Asia for over 30 years, who saw first-hand the chaos of independence and the growth of wealth in the country.

(Picture: Tengiz Oil Field. Credit: Getty Images)

The oil crisis of 1973 Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

In October 1973, Arab nations protested the American support of Israel in its war against Egypt and Syria by slashing oil production, causing prices to sky rocket.

Dr Fadhil Chalabi was deputy secretary general of Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). In 2014 he spoke to Alex Last about the embargo.

(Picture: Empty gas pump in 1973. Credit:Getty Images)

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