Witness History

Witness History

Author: BBC World Service Language: English Episodes: 100
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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...
Episodes
The invention of Jenga [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:51
It's just over 30 years since the brick game was introduced to the world at a department store in London. Made of 54 wooden blocks stacked into a tower in rows of three by three, each player takes a turn to remove a bloc…
The first television opera [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:32
On 24 December 1951, in the United States, television history was made with the live broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever composed specifically for TV.Written by acclaimed Italian composer Gian…
When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:25
In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performed a show at the nearby Nottingham Empire.Stan’s sister, Olga Healey, w…
When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:11
In the late 1980s, Norway needed a new market for its growing farmed salmon production. Fish-loving Japan and its lucrative sushi market seemed to fit the bill. But salmon was one fish the Japanese did not eat raw. Lars…
India's disability law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:36
In December 1995, India's parliament passed the country's first disability rights legislation.The landmark law aimed to give full participation and equality rights to an estimated 60 million people - around five percent…
How NFL tickets caught fugitives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:37
Operation Flagship was a U.S Marshals sting operation, where some of Washington DC’s most wanted fugitives, were lured to a convention centre under the pretence of having won coveted NFL tickets in December 1985. Upon th…
The Paris climate agreement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:04
On 12 December 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris climate agreement. It legally committed countries to climate action plans, designed to stop global temperatures rising 2C above pre-industrial levels. Those com…
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:14
Following the abolishment of Apartheid in the 1990s, South Africa had to find a way to confront its brutal past without endangering the chance for peace. But it was a challenging process for many survivors of atrocities…
The discovery of the coelacanth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:20
In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered a coelacanth, a fish that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million years.It is thought to be our ancestor and the missing link between h…
Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:38
In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars.Working under cover of darkness, the street artist created Dismaland -…

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