Witness History Podcast
History as told by the people who were there.
Episodes to download
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The Arctic鈥檚 doomsday seed vault
Wed 31 Jan 2024
In 2008, seeds began arriving at a frozen vault designed to save the world鈥檚 food supply
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Brazil's Landless Workers Movement
Tue 30 Jan 2024
In 1980, poor rural workers occupied land owned by the rich and violent clashes followed
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Silenced by the Vatican
Mon 29 Jan 2024
How Brazilian priest Leonardo Boff was punished for his writing on liberation theology
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Jack Strong aka Ryszard Kukli艅ski: Cold War traitor or hero?
Fri 26 Jan 2024
During the Cold War a high-ranking Polish colonel passed Soviet secrets to the CIA
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The Hungarian footballer executed for love
Thu 25 Jan 2024
S谩ndor Sz疟cs was hanged for trying to escape communist Hungary with his lover
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Wang Jingwei: China鈥檚 traitor or protector?
Wed 24 Jan 2024
The national hero was branded a traitor for collaborating with Japan during World War Two
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Axis Sally: World War II traitor who broadcast for the Nazis
Tue 23 Jan 2024
Mildred Gillars became the first woman in American history to be convicted of treason
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Vidkun Quisling: Norway's traitor
Mon 22 Jan 2024
In 1939, Vidkun Quisling asked Hitler to invade Norway.
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Jamuna Tudu: The real life 'Lady Tarzan'
Fri 19 Jan 2024
In the early 2000s, a woman known as 鈥楲ady Tarzan鈥� fought India鈥檚 so called timber mafia
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Ibadan Zoo
Thu 18 Jan 2024
Bob Golding turned Ibadan Zoo into one of Nigeria's biggest attractions in the 1970s
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Tortured in Iran's Evin Prison
Wed 17 Jan 2024
Protests after Iran's 2009 election caused one man to be interrogated for 118 days
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The Green March: Moroccans take over the Sahara
Tue 16 Jan 2024
In 1975, unarmed Moroccans faced off against gun-carrying Spanish soldiers
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The hunger-striking Bolivian president
Mon 15 Jan 2024
In 1984, President Zuazo went on hunger strike, in an attempt to stabilise Bolivia
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G眉rtel scandal: Spain's Watergate
Fri 12 Jan 2024
How one man's secret recordings revealed one of Spain's biggest corruption scandals
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The first World Laughter Day
Thu 11 Jan 2024
The first World Laughter Day took place in Mumbai, India in January 1998
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Russian ballerina defects to the west
Wed 10 Jan 2024
The Russian ballerina who defected to the west
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The mystery of France's lost king
Tue 9 Jan 2024
The fate of Louis-Charles, imprisoned in 1795, was for years shrouded in rumour
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The world鈥檚 first lesbian couple to get married
Mon 8 Jan 2024
In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage
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What the 1989 solar storm did to Quebec
Fri 5 Jan 2024
In 1989, a huge solar flare ground life to a halt in Quebec
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The Hindenburg airship disaster
Thu 4 Jan 2024
In 1937, the Hindenburg burst into flames during mooring, killing 35 people on board.
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The invention of the wingsuit
Wed 3 Jan 2024
In 1999, skydiver Jari Kuosma developed the first commercial wingsuit
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Discovery of the hole in the earth鈥檚 ozone
Tue 2 Jan 2024
In 1985, news broke of a major environmental discovery: a hole in the earth鈥檚 ozone layer
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Earth: A pale blue dot in the universe
New Year's Day 2024
In 1990, a space probe's photograph of Earth captured the enormity of space
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Ken Hom's 'Chinese Cookery'
Fri 29 Dec 2023
In 1984, Ken Hom taught TV audiences to cook Chinese food for the first time
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The disputed history of pad Thai
Thu 28 Dec 2023
Exploring the different theories behind the creation of pad Thai
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Flavr Savr tomato: The world's first genetically-engineered food
Wed 27 Dec 2023
In 1994, a tomato became the world's first genetically-engineered food on sale
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Kiwi: How New Zealand hijacked China's fruit
Boxing Day 2023
How the Chinese gooseberry became the kiwi and one of New Zealand鈥檚 biggest exports
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'The bad boy of Welsh politics'
Fri 22 Dec 2023
In 1969, the singer Dafydd Iwan campaigned for official recognition of the Welsh language
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Al Jazeera Three: Imprisoned in Egypt
Thu 21 Dec 2023
There was an international outcry in 2014 when three journalists were imprisoned in Egypt
