Witness History

BBC

4.5 (876)
HISTORY

Ad-free access to fascinating chapters of history

$4.99/mo or $49.99/yr after trial

History as told by the people who were there.

11 HR. AGO

The murder of Maurizio Gucci

On 27 March 1995, fashion heir Maurizio Gucci was shot dead outside his office in Milan, Italy. Five people, including his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani, and her clairvoyant, were jailed in connection with his murder. The media called it the 'trial of the century'. Rachel Naylor speaks to Carmine Gallo, the police officer who cracked the case. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Carmine Gallo arresting Patrizia Reggiani, who's wearing his jacket, in 1997. Credit: PA)

10 min
1 DAY AGO

Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

In 1995, an obscure Japanese religion launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro. Members of the doomsday cult, which called itself Aum Shinrikyo, dropped plastic bags containing sarin liquid on the floors of five different trains and then pierced them. As the liquid evaporated, passengers began inhaling the deadly fumes. Thirteen people were killed and thousands more injured. One of the passengers affected that day was Atsushi Asakahara. He spoke to Chloe Hadjimatheou in 2012. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Sarin attack. Credit: Getty Images)

10 min
2 DAYS AGO

Hunting the Unabomber

During a 17-year bombing campaign, an elusive terrorist known as the Unabomber killed three and injured 23 Americans. In 1995, he contacted The New York Times and The Washington Post promising to stop his terror attacks if they published his 35,000-word manifesto. The document explained his aim: to dismantle modern industrial society. On the advice of the FBI and the Attorney General, the newspapers published the manifesto, which led to the Unabomber’s downfall. Dr Kathleen Puckett was an FBI agent who uncovered his identity. She speaks to Ben Henderson. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Theodore 'Ted' Kaczynski in custody. Credit: Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

10 min
5 DAYS AGO

Drum: Africa’s revolutionary magazine

Drum was considered to be the first African lifestyle magazine with a readership of 40,000 in its 1950s heyday. It was first printed in South Africa in 1951 and became a voice of resistance during Apartheid. Drum hit newsstands in 12 countries across the continent after former World War Two pilot Jim Bailey bought the publication after the first two editions flopped. Jim changed the focus by telling African stories by African writers and shining a spotlight on music, culture and life in the illegal drinking joints known as shebeens. Black writers including Henry Nxumalo, known as Mr Drum, were credited with revolutionising journalism and literature in South Africa. Reena Stanton-Sharma speaks to Jim's son Prospero Bailey. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: The Drum Office in 1954. Credit: Jurgen Schadeberg from The Schadeberg Collection)

10 min
6 DAYS AGO

'I wrote Schindler's List'

In 1980, Australian author Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase in Beverly Hills, in the USA. The owner of the shop, a Polish Jew called Leopold Pfefferberg, told Thomas that a Nazi party member had saved him, his wife and many others from the Holocaust, by employing them in his enamel factory. Thomas tells Rachel Naylor why Oskar was such a compelling subject, full of contradictions, and why he believes his book has lasting appeal. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Thomas Keneally at his home in Bilgola Beach, Australia, in 1981. Credit: Martin James Brannan/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

10 min
JAN 15

Kobe earthquake

On 17 January 1995, an earthquake devastated the port city of Kobe, in west Japan. More than 6,000 people died and around 300,000 people were left homeless. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes in the country's history. Rachel Naylor speaks to Kiho Park who, aged eight, had to jump off his balcony to escape when his home was damaged. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: A resident walks through the debris in Kobe after the earthquake. Credit: Toru Yamanaka via AFP via Getty Images)

10 min
JAN 14

Confronting Betty Ford’s addiction

In 1978, former first lady of the United States, Betty Ford, announced that she had an addiction to alcohol and prescription medication, and would be seeking treatment. Wife of the 38th US president Gerald Ford, her openness and honesty about her addictions was remarkable for its time and was headline news. But it was her daughter, Susan Ford, who had organised the family intervention to confront her mother about her addiction, prompting her to seek help. Susan Ford Bales remembers the moment she knocked on her mother's door early in the morning with the rest of her family and begged her to get help. Betty Ford would go on to establish the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California to help others struggling with addiction. Susan Ford tells her and her mother’s story to Colm Flynn. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Betty Ford. Credit: Getty Images)

10 min
JAN 13

Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal

In 1933, newly-elected US President Franklin D Roosevelt attempted to drag the United States out of the depression with the New Deal. One of the biggest public spending projects in history, the programme funded hundreds of infrastructure projects and created thousands of jobs. In 2020, Lucy Burns listened to archive interviews and spoke to author Adam Cohen about how the deal changed American people’s lives. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: US President Franklin D Roosevelt. Credit: Getty)

10 min
JAN 10

The Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks

Yörük Işık is a ship spotter who logs all the boats that pass through the narrow Bosphorus Strait near his home in Istanbul, Turkey. In October 2015, he noticed something unusual - Russian military trucks on a civilian ship bound for Syria. The photos he took were the first evidence that Russia was supplying armed forces to support President Bashar al-Assad. It followed months of denial from Moscow that they were planning to engage militarily on the ground in Syria’s civil war. Emily Wither speaks to Yörük about how his hobby became a news source. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Ship with Russian military trucks on. Credit: Yörük Işık)

10 min
JAN 9

The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during World War Two. Once Soviet troops reached Budapest, Wallenberg reported to Soviet officials on 17 January 1945. But he was never seen in public again. Rumours of his fate have circled ever since: a Soviet government report said he died of a heart attack in prison, while former officials said he was executed, and prisoners claimed to have seen him decades later. There is still a campaign to uncover what happened to him. Alex Last made this programme in 2015 using archive recordings. 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP. (Photo: Raoul Wallenberg in 1937. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

9 min

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SOCIETY & CULTURE

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4.5

out of 5

876 Ratings

Every day is worth the listen!

08/16/2024

SylviaAP73

I’m sure my friends and family are just as happy that I found this amazing, informative podcast. We share and discuss what we learned weekly! Keep up the great work!
My desert island podcast

07/06/2024

Jmmillett

If I could listen to only one podcast for the rest of my life I’d most likely choose the BBC’s Witness History.
CIA first coup in latin America

07/02/2024

noonmeem

It is such a pleaser listening to these podcasts , first hand accounts of people who were witnesses to historic events, be they gruesome, happy, sad or inspiring. they reflect the complex character of humanity. I specially love listening to old grainy audio clips of important people. Please have a podcast on Congo and Patrice Lumumba
Witness History

06/14/2024

European loving America

Witness History gives you a new dimension of historic events through direct eye wittness accounts. So interesting!