Witness History Podcast
History as told by the people who were there.
Episodes to download
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The world's longest kiss
Yesterday
In 2013, a Thai couple locked lips for 58 hours and 35 minutes in a world record attempt
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Eva Peron: Argentina鈥檚 Evita
Friday
Eva Peron - or Evita - was an icon in 1940s Argentina, famous for her populist rhetoric
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Paul Keating's Redfern speech
Thursday
In 1992, Australia's Prime Minister addressed atrocities inflicted upon Indigenous people
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Mary Fisher's 'A Whisper of Aids' speech
Last Wednesday
Mary Fisher set out to fight the prejudice faced by those with HIV and Aids
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Eisenhower's farewell address
Last Tuesday
In 1961, the US President ended his time in the White House with a famous speech
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La Pasionaria: Heroine of the Spanish civil war
Last Monday
Dolores Ib谩rruri was dubbed La Pasionaria for her fiery speeches in the Spanish civil war
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Heathers: The making of a cult classic
Fri 7 Feb 2025
In 1989, dark comedy Heathers was released and changed the teen movie genre
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The first global case of coral bleaching
Thu 6 Feb 2025
In 1998 a strange phenomenon turned the world鈥檚 most colourful coral reefs deathly white
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Cuban blindness
Wed 5 Feb 2025
In the early 1990s, around 50,000 Cubans were struck down with sight loss
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Jacques Derrida: 鈥楻ock star鈥� philosopher
Mon 3 Feb 2025
In 1966, the Frenchman upended philosophy with his theory of "deconstruction"
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English TV lessons in China go primetime
Fri 31 Jan 2025
An estimated 500 million people in China watched English lessons on television in 1981
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1968 New York City teachers' strike
Thu 30 Jan 2025
In 1968, more than 50,000 teachers went on strike in New York City, in the USA
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Lithuania's 'wolf children'
Wed 29 Jan 2025
In the aftermath of World War Two, children fled East Prussia in order to survive
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The Baltic chain protest
Tue 28 Jan 2025
On 23 August 1989, approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain
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The Milltown Cemetery attack
Mon 27 Jan 2025
In 1988, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, three people were killed at a funeral
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The launch of Windows 95
Fri 24 Jan 2025
In 1995 Microsoft released a new operating system after a $300 million marketing campaign
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Replacing the Panchen Lama
Thu 23 Jan 2025
On 29 November 1995, China exerted its influence over Tibetan Buddhism's leadership
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The murder of Maurizio Gucci
Wed 22 Jan 2025
On 27 March 1995, the former head of the fashion house was shot dead in Milan, Italy
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Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Tue 21 Jan 2025
In 1995, the doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro
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Hunting the Unabomber
Mon 20 Jan 2025
In September 1995, US newspapers controversially published a terrorist's manifesto
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Drum: Africa鈥檚 revolutionary magazine
Fri 17 Jan 2025
The first African lifestyle magazine Drum, was first printed in 1951
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'I wrote Schindler's List'
Thu 16 Jan 2025
Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase
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Kobe earthquake
Wed 15 Jan 2025
On 17 January 1995, an earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, in Japan
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Confronting Betty Ford鈥檚 addiction
Tue 14 Jan 2025
In 1978, former first lady Betty Ford sought help for addiction
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Franklin D Roosevelt鈥檚 New Deal
Mon 13 Jan 2025
In 1933, President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to drag the US out of depression
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The Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks
Fri 10 Jan 2025
In 2015, ship spotter Y枚r眉k I艧谋k saw Russian military trucks on a ship going to Syria
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The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg
Thu 9 Jan 2025
The Swedish diplomat saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two
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The invention of the hotel key card
Wed 8 Jan 2025
In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card
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Charlie Hebdo attack
Tue 7 Jan 2025
On 7 January 2015, 12 people were shot dead at a satirical magazine in France
