During World War Two, a Japanese American battalion became one of the most decorated army units in US military history. The 442nd Regimental Combat Unit earned more than 4,000 Purple Hearts and seven Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in battle. The unit was set up in 1943, just over a year after Japan bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. Following the attack, 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast were sent to internment camps, but many were keen to show the...
Dec 11, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1953, Fidel Castro attacked military barracks in the east of Cuba in a bid to revolutionise the country. He failed, but it marked the beginning of his career as a guerrilla fighter. Michael Voss spoke to one of his comrades, Agustin Diaz Cartaya, in 2010. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by 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...
Dec 09, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests, drawing international condemnation. It was the first time the country had tested nuclear weapons for 24 years. Governments including the USA and Japan imposed economic sanctions on India, while Pakistan promised the tests “would not go unanswered”. Weeks later, Pakistan tested their own nuclear weapons. In response, the Indian artist, Nalini Malani, created a video installation showing the horrors of nuclear war. It was displayed in Mumbai for 10 ...
Dec 06, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In October 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard made an impromptu speech in the Australian parliament setting out the misogyny she endured for years as a prominent female politician. In 2022, she spoke to Alex Collins about her career defining-speech which has been viewed online by millions of people. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were ther...
Dec 05, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In May 1974, people gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, to see whether three women would be sent to jail for writing a book. Maria Teresa Horta, Maria Velho da Costa and Maria Isabel Barreno’s ‘Novas Cartas Portuguesas’ was banned after it was published and they were put on trial. The case of the ‘Three Marias’ became famous around the world. Laura Jones listens to an archive interview of Maria Teresa Horta, who is now 87. Archive audio is courtesy of Tommaso Barsali and Riccardo Bargellini, at Valigi...
Dec 04, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr Katalin Karikó grew up in a small town in Hungary with no electricity or running water at home. She overcame great adversity to become a scientist and publish a groundbreaking paper in 2005 showing how the mRNA molecule could be used to protect the human immune system from viruses. But, her findings were initially overlooked and she even lost her job after failing to attract funding. However, she persisted with her research, which laid the scientific groundwork for mRNA vaccines that saved co...
Dec 03, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1972, feminist campaigner Gloria Steinem co-founded the first magazine in the US which was owned, run and written by women. Called Ms. Magazine, it covered issues including equal rights, abortion and domestic violence. The glossy covers helped bring feminism into the mainstream. In 2022, Gloria Steinem told Louise Hidalgo that it's one of the projects of which she's most proud. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to...
Dec 02, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast For 22 years, a travel and immigration ban was in place which stopped people with HIV legally entering the US. In 2009, President Barack Obama announced it would be lifted, from the start of 2010. HIV-positive passenger Clemens Ruland flew from Amsterdam to John F. Kennedy airport in New York and became the first passenger to fly legally into the US once the ban was lifted. He speaks to Megan Jones. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the p...
Nov 29, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists in Russia managed to dig a hole more than 12,000 metres deep. It was called the Kola Superdeep Borehole. They wanted to achieve a world record and learn more about the Earth's crust. Rachel Naylor speaks to Prof David Smythe, a geophysicist who worked there for four months. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who ...
Nov 28, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In June 1963, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk died after setting himself on fire in protest against the Catholic South Vietnamese government. Malcolm Brown's photograph of Thich Quang Duc's burning body became one of the most famous images of the 20th century. Sister Chan Khong witnessed the protest. She spoke to Lucy Burns in 2013. Some listeners may find this programme disturbing. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to th...
Nov 27, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Iran-Contra affair was a scandal that went right to the heart of Ronald Reagan’s White House and it became known as one of the most controversial political scandals in modern US history. In 1986, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North was accused of orchestrating the illegal sale of weapons to Iran and using those profits to fund rebel groups in Central America. Five years after the affair, North spoke to the BBC’s Panorama. Matt Pintus has been through the interview for Witness History. Eyewitness...
Nov 26, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Television extravaganza Strictly Come Dancing debuted in May 2004 in the UK, bringing ballroom dancing to a whole new generation. Pairing celebrities with professionals, it has gone on to become one of the most successful TV competitions in the world. In several countries, it’s called Dancing with the Stars. In 2019, co-creator and executive producer Karen Smith spoke to Ashley Byrne about the bright, shiny and glittery TV success story. A Made in Manchester production. Eye-witness accounts brou...
Nov 25, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1993, a new combat sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship – UFC. It pitted all forms of mixed martial arts against each other with little to no rules and all contained in an octagon-shaped cage. The first contest between a Samoan sumo wrestler and a Dutch kickboxer resulted in several teeth flying through the air. It didn’t take long for the sensation to attract some big critics including the late US senator John McCain. He wanted it banned and labelled it a...
Nov 22, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 70 years since William Golding’s acclaimed novel was published. Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a desert island, and how they survive without adults. It was Golding’s first novel, and was praised for tackling questions about human nature and whether people are intrinsically good or evil. The book proved a huge success, and has sold millions of copies around the world. Golding won the Nobel Prize in literature. He died ten years later. His daughter...
Nov 21, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1999, the small territory of Macau was handed back to China after centuries of Portuguese rule. Lawyer and comedian Miguel Senna Fernandes was a member of the Macau Legislative Council and involved in the historic handover. He tells Ashley Byrne the emotions he felt as he saw the Portuguese flag being taken down from the Government Palace. A Made in Manchester production. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the e...
Nov 20, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast During the early years of Syria’s brutal civil war, one neighbourhood close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, bore the brunt of the government’s viciousness. During 2013-14, some 18,000 residents of Yarmouk, an area originally set up as a camp for Palestinian refugees, were continually subjected to bombardments from the air, or were shot at by army snipers or hit by mortar-fire. No one was allowed in or out of Yarmouk and many people came close to starvation – surviving only by eating grass, or d...
Nov 19, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, some Christians faced persecution. Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi and her husband, Saeed Abedini, set up a network of secret 'house churches' across the country. But it came at a cost: they were arrested, forced to flee the country, and Saeed was jailed. Naghmeh Panahi speaks to Ben Henderson. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world th...
Nov 18, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since the 19th Century, Germans have been bathing nude at the beach. The naturist movement, known as the FKK, was banned under the Nazis. People also faced official disapproval during the early years of communist rule in East Germany. Mike Lanchin spoke to German naturist, Wolfgang Haider, in 2017. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there...
Nov 15, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2013, a six-year-old from Argentina became one of the youngest people in the world to legally have their gender changed on official documents through self-declaration. It followed the introduction of the Gender Identity Act in 2012, that aimed to reduce the exclusion of transgender people. But as Luana's mother Gabriela Mansilla reveals, the fight for recognition wasn’t easy. Gabriela speaks to Madeleine Drury. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fasc...
Nov 14, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In November 1989, mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill saved 65 miners from the Mahabir Coal Mine, in India. The miners, who had been trapped for three days after a flood, were winched out one by one using a tiny, steel capsule. Rachel Naylor speaks to Jaswant's son, Sarpreet Singh Gill. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine mi...
Nov 13, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1974, Greece held a referendum to decide the future of the country’s monarchy, and whether Constantine II would remain their king. Constantine had come to the throne in 1964, but he’d inherited a divided country. Political divisions, between the left and right, ran deep. In 1967, a group of army officers launched a coup, and Constantine fled into exile in England. When the military regime collapsed seven years later, the new government called a referendum to decide the fate of the country. So...
Nov 12, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2013, 11 people were shot dead in base camp of the Nanga Parbat mountain in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The gunmen were associated with the Pakistani Taliban and the group were set up to target foreigners. It was the worst attack on tourists in Pakistan in a decade. Polish mountaineer Aleksandra Dzik, aged 30, was there that night, at camp two, and speaks to Megan Jones. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take ...
Nov 11, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In June 1948, the ‘Baby’ was invented. It was the first stored-program computer, meaning it was the first machine to work like the ones we have today. It was developed in England at the University of Manchester. The computer was huge, it filled a room that was nearly six metres square. The team who made it are now recognised as the pioneers of modern computing. Gill Kearsley has been looking through the archives to find out more about the 'Baby'. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. ...
Nov 08, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker who risked her life to save 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two. Irena, a Catholic, was able to enter the ghetto because of her job. She was soon smuggling in food, medicine and clothing; and smuggling out children. And, as a member of the Zegota underground resistance movement, she recruited others to help. Some children were hidden in suitcases, potato sacks, and even inside coffins. Others escaped through sewers. In 1943, ...
Nov 07, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1971, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire by throwing a huge three-day party. Trees were planted, birds imported, and a runway built in the middle of the desert with royalty from across the world attending. But the event united opposition parties against the Shah and lost him public credibility. Author and journalist Sally Quinn was “party reporter” for the Washington Post and covered the event. She speaks to Megan Jones. Eye-witness accounts ...
Nov 06, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast On 16 January 1979, the Shah of Iran and his wife, Farah Pahlavi, left Iran for the last time. There had been increasingly violent protests against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime. Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February after 14 years of exile. Following a referendum, he declared an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979. In 1985, social scientist Rouhi Shafi, also left Iran and chose London as her home. Lucy Williamson spoke to both women in 2010. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by arc...
Nov 05, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of the most dramatic moments from the Iranian revolution took place in November 1979. Young insurgents stormed the US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran, taking 52 Americans captive. Barry Rosen was held hostage for 444 days. He told his story to Alex Last in 2009. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by 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 da...
Nov 04, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast For nearly 40 years, the magicians Roy Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher wowed audiences in Las Vegas with their death-defying tricks involving white lions and tigers. But in 2003, their show at the Mirage casino came to a dramatic end when Roy was left partially paralysed after being attacked by a seven-year old tiger called Mantacore live on stage. Animal trainer Chris Lawrence was backstage at the time and rushed to save Roy. He tells Vicky Farncombe about the terrifying moment. Eye-witness acco...
Nov 01, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1996, Brazil introduced a pioneering electronic voting system, revolutionising its election process. Carlos Velozo, an electoral lawyer and judge, played a pivotal role in implementing this system, which aimed to enhance security, integrity and accessibility in voting. The electronic voting machines were developed to make it easier for illiterate and semi-literate voters to participate in elections. Carlos Velozo speaks to Ashley Byrne, in this Made in Manchester production for BBC World Serv...
Oct 31, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2002, filmmaker Ken Burns received an intriguing proposition from Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. He wanted Burns’ signature filming style to be inserted into the video editing software of every Macintosh computer. He would call it, ‘the Ken Burns effect.’ Burns first shot to fame in 1981, when his documentary, Brooklyn Bridge, was nominated for an Academy Award. He is perhaps best known for his 1990 documentary series, The Civil War, which was watched by more than 40 million Americans when it debuted...
Oct 30, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
