Witness History Podcast
History as told by the people who were there.
Episodes to download
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Returning Benin Bronzes
Wed 16 Aug 2023
In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures
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Iran: How the prime minister was overthrown in 1953
Tue 15 Aug 2023
It's 70 years since the US-backed coup which brought the Shah of Iran to power in 1953
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The boy who discovered a new species of human ancestor
Mon 14 Aug 2023
Matt Berger tripped over a hominid fossil whilst exploring with his dad in South Africa
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Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene
Fri 11 Aug 2023
The success of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Val茅ry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal
Thu 10 Aug 2023
Journalist Claude Angeli broke the story that helped topple France's President in 1981
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Sarajevo鈥檚 haven of peace
Wed 9 Aug 2023
The Jewish charity that helped people in the Bosnian war during the siege of Sarajevo
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The Great Train Robbery
Tue 8 Aug 2023
In 1963, thieves held up a Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London
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Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties
Mon 7 Aug 2023
How Brownie Wise inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties
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Dinosaur in court
Fri 4 Aug 2023
In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of a restraining order and a court case
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Treehouse on the Berlin Wall
Thu 3 Aug 2023
In 1982 a Turkish worker in Germany built a treehouse against the Berlin Wall
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Birth of a new language
Wed 2 Aug 2023
In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a new sign language
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First dinosaur eggs identified in India
Tue 1 Aug 2023
In 1982, Ashok Sahni discovered nests of dinosaur eggs for the first time in India
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Jos茅 Mujica: Prison break to president
Mon 31 Jul 2023
Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros
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Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway
Fri 28 Jul 2023
It鈥檚 been 50 years since Mr Bigg's was first launched in Nigeria
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The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie
Thu 27 Jul 2023
There was an attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in December 1960
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The Pope鈥檚 controversial Nicaragua visit
Wed 26 Jul 2023
Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip
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Brain: The first personal computer virus
Tue 25 Jul 2023
In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan
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Escaping the Nazis in Greece
Mon 24 Jul 2023
Yeti Mitrani and her family escaped deportation from Greece by the Nazis in 1943
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The US singer who became the Soviet Union鈥檚 Red Elvis
Fri 21 Jul 2023
In 1966, American Dean Reed was the first western rock star to tour the Soviet Union
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The birth of Barbie
Thu 20 Jul 2023
Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll which was first sold in 1959
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Japan surrenders in China
Wed 19 Jul 2023
The signing of the Japanese surrender documents at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1945.
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The 鈥楤arricades鈥� of Latvia
Tue 18 Jul 2023
More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991
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Tamoxifen: Breast cancer 鈥榳onder drug鈥�
Mon 17 Jul 2023
How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment
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Creating the first emoji
Fri 14 Jul 2023
In 1999, Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita created a global phenomena - the first emoji
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When disposable nappies were invented
Thu 13 Jul 2023
The story of how disposable nappies were invented.
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Inventing Rubik鈥檚 Cube
Tue 11 Jul 2023
In 1974, a Hungarian architect, Ern艖 Rubik invented his bestselling puzzle
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Invention of the ballpoint pen
Mon 10 Jul 2023
In 1938 a Hungarian journalist L谩szl贸 B铆r贸 invented the ballpoint pen
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A right royal night out
Fri 7 Jul 2023
Princess Diana, Kenny Everett and Freddie Mercury went on a night out in London in 1988
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When tourism came to the Maldives
Thu 6 Jul 2023
In February 1972 the first group of tourists arrived in the Maldives
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The National Health Service begins
Wed 5 Jul 2023
The UK鈥檚 National Health Service started on 5 July 1948
