Witness History

Witness History

By BBC World Service

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most...

Recent Episodes

I starred in Pan’s Labyrinth

11 Mar 2026

My father directed Seven Samurai

10 Mar 2026

Triumph of the Will: A Nazi propaganda film

9 Mar 2026

The invention of the mobility scooter

6 Mar 2026

India’s first nuclear test

5 Mar 2026

Portugal’s worst train disaster

4 Mar 2026

Elvis visits Scotland

3 Mar 2026

The Origins of Ska Music

2 Mar 2026

Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

2 Mar 2026

Syria's secret library

27 Feb 2026

Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

26 Feb 2026

The Japanese invasion of Malaya

25 Feb 2026

The Aga Khan meets Florence Nightingale

24 Feb 2026

The storming of Spain's parliament

23 Feb 2026

The playboy spy who inspired James Bond

20 Feb 2026

'I taught the Dalai Lama'

19 Feb 2026

The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance

18 Feb 2026

Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety

17 Feb 2026

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

16 Feb 2026

The flooding of Florence

13 Feb 2026

The Mont Blanc Tunnel

12 Feb 2026

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

11 Feb 2026

When Pink Floyd played in Venice

10 Feb 2026

The discovery of nerve growth factor

9 Feb 2026

My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss

6 Feb 2026

Austria's wine scandal

5 Feb 2026

Jimmy Carter visits Cuba

4 Feb 2026

Cuba's Mariel boatlift

3 Feb 2026

The 'Jugroom Fort' rescue mission

2 Feb 2026

Ötzi: The Iceman of Bolzano

30 Jan 2026