This is an outstanding series, using eyewitnesses to historical events to tell the story. This gives an immediacy to the stories and makes for compelling history. Sometimes the eyewitnesses are famous figures, but as often as not they are simply ordinary folk swept up in the history that is part of all of us. Kudos to the BBC for yet another original contribution.

It is always fun to hear about history from those whom have experienced the event. Very professional and organized podcast.

Caught this series on my local NPR station early in the morning and followed the podcast immediately. I just wish these were longer with even more info!

Delicious, nutritious and bite-sized. Highly recommend.

Interesting, authentic,,, I listen everyday and always learn something new!

How could “Witness History” give voice to such an outrageous distortion of history in this episode of “Organizing Chile’s 1973 military coup”? Shouldn’t BBC know better that Pinochet committed the most heinous crimes against humanity? If this continues, a future episode will probably talk about the good economic policies of Adolf Hitler. This is scandalous!

These are great true life stories, told factually and engagingly by people who had their direct perspective on what we might otherwise read in history books. Well done BBC

I like interesting, true accounts of history and science. These are great to listen to when you’re busy doing physical chores and want something to occupy your mind. They’re not so long that you get disinterested. Just enough info that you get the gist of what happened…your not going to remember all the details anyway. These are just enough.

I love Witness History, but please stop using that horribly jarring interstitial sound. So annoying.

A necessary part of my day. An intellectual shot of espresso

Such interesting interviews about Gorbachev! Please bring more!

Best Podcast I’ve listened to, history and time, moving and endearing.

Well done pod cast!! You definitely can tell who in the reviews are the racist conservatives. Lol.

BBC says it all. You clearly know nothing about our American Civil War. VERY few of the people in the south “FOUGHT TO MAINTAIN SLAVERY” as your British announcer said. About 1% of the public owned slaves. What they fought for was to maintain their way of life. Slavery would have died out within ten years anyway. Lincoln was our greatest President but he more than likely should have let Slavery alone. World pressure would have forced the US to abandon slavery less we be known as NAZIS which we are clearly not. Lee and Civil War expert Shelby Foote have said as much. You’re guest commentator Elizabeth Holtzman ( a democrat naturally ) is an absolute idiot. When I heard this cretin speak the veins in my neck bulged out. For her to call one of our greatest Americans Robert E Lee a traitor shows how ignorant she is and how anyone of any mental capacity can become an attorney. Holtzman calls Lee a traitor. I call her an imbecile. Robert E. Lee did not join the union forces ( and he made this clear) because “he couldn’t bear the idea of drawing his sword against his “heart and hearth” and aiming cannon at his own home and the birthplace of his wife’s family (she was the granddaughter of George Washington) and burning down the place where his children were born. For this this nitwit politician / attorney called Lee a traitor. I’m 66 and have never hit a woman and never will. But If ever met this broad, this uneducated moron I’d be tempted to.

Good storys but someone had there SUN KILLED and the host expressed zero sympathy They NEED to have sympathy for these people

This is one of the best podcasts out there. I’ve learned about so many historical events I had no idea happened! Covers topics from all around the world. My only recommendation would be to have longer content for each historical event, I always want to hear the full interview of the person once it starts! they could cover just one topic and episode and I would love it. I’ve recommended this podcast to teachers bc I think it would be so engaging for students!

These are great podcasts, except for the ads for other podcasts. My heart goes out to Sophie Townsend, but please stop pummeling your listeners with adverts for her podcast at the end of every one of these podcasts. The podcast themes are not related. There has to be an algorithm to shuffle adverts. Some listeners may be too close to a loss to want to hear about another, over and over and over and over again. I will unsubscribe if I have to.

People who like to judge the past by today’s leftist standards will love this.

I just heard an account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor that was so moving. A Kansas farmer describing his experience made me feel like I was there. I’ve seen full length movies that didn’t affect me like that.

...I could give this program 10 stars. Excellent, well-written reporting and use of archival and interview audio providing actual events and people in perspective.

This was one of my favorite podcasts. I usually like to listen to 5 or so in a row since they are short, but now they run a commercial before and after each one. I understand that they need to make money but the same commercial over and over and over and over has stopped me from listening.

If it’s an event from within the United Kingdom hosted by a native English speaker with UK guests, it’s usually very good; the ultra-liberal bias, notwithstanding. If interviewing foreign fuests with heavy accents, can the BBC PLEASE add audio transcriptions from a Native English speaker, OR IS THAT TOO POLITICALLY INCORRECT??? Until then I’m done with this show b/c i’m so tired of not understanding all the Africans and Indians speak with their heavy accents shrouding their words in goddamn mystery.

437999

This show used to be about history. Now all the episodes are about racism. Looks like they have a new editorial team.

Nicely presented story. I was struck by the person interviewed. He never once acknowledged those who liberated his country.

I thoroughly enjoy this Podcast and am very grateful that historical first person narratives are recorded here for future generations. I had many relatives who served in many wars, including WWII, and these podcasts are a tribute to their history so that future generations can truly hear it accurately vs. revisionist or inaccurate future historical accounts. The interviewers are very professional and the editors did an excellent job of constructing beautifully flowing segments. Their production team really did their research before interviewing people who witnessed history. Thank you for your efforts!

I love listening to podcasts about history, but I’ve often found them to be too long to listen to while commuting, before bed, or on a walk (all the times when I typically find myself wanting to listen to a podcast). BBC’s Witness is informative, thoroughly researched, well-edited, easily digestible, and respectful to the those whose stories are being told, whether they’re the ones being interviewed or not (particularly in the cases of older stories), and I don’t think it’s ever more than 10 or so minutes, usually less. I love that there’s a range of topics — some serious, others silly, always interesting — so no matter your mood, you can find an episode that matches it.

Great podcast if I want something short and informative to listen to. All kinds of amazing stories from the war in Iraq, to the creation of crop circles, to the time Belgium banned Coca-Cola. Great work BBC!

I love these. Not enough first-person historical docs. I enjoy the presence of context— and absence of editorial/ideological bent. Refreshing.

These stories are also in the hour long history hour podcast by the bbc, these are just snippets of some of the topics from that podcast. Good if you just want to gear one story and not an hour’s worth.

A near-perfect show. We should all hear what the voices of history have to say, and the BBC lets its subjects shine. Each show is about 10 minutes; soon you’ll be consuming the episodes like popcorn and going through the huge archive of past shows. Only negative... sometimes the stories end a bit abruptly. But that’s not a big deal.

Every episode is so informative and enlightening—what a service this is. Thank you, BBC!

Voices of past historical events with intelligent narrations. Always wishing for next episode to arrive. Brava!

I learn about things, people, events that I didn’t even know existed. Very captivating and fun

Spinning everything into a web of lies, perfect BBC form

I listen to Witness every morning through my local NPR station. So informative. Well done.

I do admire how they matched the January 30 1972, with the 30th 2018.

I listen to an episode before bed just about every night. Learn something new every episode. The research is meticulous. The presentation engaging. One ask: could you cover the anniversaries of death and destruction less? Depressing, esp. when we have so much world upheaval to live through ourselves.

Great!

What a great service the BBC is providing with this little gem. Wonderfully told stories that are incredibly researched. They have a great archive from which to draw and excellent journalists so it makes sense they should create Witness. If you don’t like your history podcasts taking 3 hours and super heady, this is the one for you. I recommend it all the time.

I am in my 70s, so many of the stories are of events that have taken place in my lifetime. It is so often the case that I find myself exclaiming “Oh, so that’s what happened.” The events that elicit that remark are those that occurred when I was a child, when much of what I heard was from my parents’ point of view. Thank you Witness for setting straight so many stories.

Although I have been subscribed to this wonderful podcast for about 5 years, there is a problem downloading "The Naked Ape" (3 November, 2017). I get a message saying that authorization is required in order to download this episode.

Is there a podcast that is boring from the BBC? I have yet to find one. I REALLY love this podcast because when you don't have a lot of time these are just snippets with great information! Things I had zero idea about but now am very interested. Keep up the great work BBC!

"Witness" is one of my favorite podcasts. Each is fairly brief (nine minutes, give or take), but the variety of topics is quite impressive. I'm an American -- and history courses in the U.S. often find a way to be U.S.A.-centric* -- so I appreciate the U.K. emphasis, but other nations get their due attention as well. *For example, "The Magna Carta was granted by King John of England in 1215. Here's how it influenced America's Founding Fathers ... ."

One of my favorite history podcasts, bar none. Bite-sized episodes that still pack in plenty of details. I've learned so much about historical events and people I didn't know about. Love the show.

I hate it so much.

I love Witness. History as told through the voices that lives through it. Great variety and always fascinating.

The podcasts are lovely and I endorse everyone else's comments. However, I'm constantly frustrated by the poor sound editing. I'm constantly scaling the volume up and down, never able to hear quiet voices or deep male voices without putting on earbuds. It's very frustrating trying to listen at work, as it's either indecipherable, or the sudden volume changes result in my blasting all my colleagues!

As an American who enjoys history but knows much less about other parts of the world, I find this podcast the most enjoyable and informative one that I have ever been exposed to. Each nine minute segment is a marvelous adventure and a chapter in my ongoing education.

I enjoy this podcast because you get to hear from people who actually witnessed an event, not just reporters relating stories. It is a different perspective than what you normally hear from the media.