Witness History Episodes Episode guide
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Argentina’s 'trial of the juntas'
In 1985 Argentina’s ex-leaders were accused of torturing and murdering their own people
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Dancing in the Street: David Bowie and Mick Jagger
In July 1985, music legends Mick Jagger and David Bowie performed a duet for Live Aid
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Back to the Future
On 3 July 1985, the hit film Back to the Future was released
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Drill, baby, drill!
The story behind the catchy political slogan much loved by US President Donald Trump
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Ai Weiwei: Imprisoned for art
In 2011, the Chinese artist was detained for 81 days
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Cecil the lion
On 1 July 2015, Cecil, a popular lion, was shot in Zimbabwe by an American trophy hunter
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Italian happiness trains
Between 1945 and 1952, ‘happiness trains’ transported 70,000 children from southern Italy
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The opening of the Medellin Metro
How a train system helped transform the “murder capital of the world” in 2015
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The funeral train for Robert Kennedy
In June 1968, Robert Kennedy was killed during his campaign for the presidency
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The Czech Freedom Train
On 11 September 1951, a Czech train was hijacked and driven into West Germany
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The Gratitude Train: France thanks America
In 1949, the Gratitude Train arrived in the US, 49 wagons of thank you gifts from France
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Making Jaws
On 20 June 1975 the film premiered, launching summer blockbusters and scaring beachgoers
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The signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The signing of a peace agreement that marked the end of World War One took place in 1919
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Civil rights swim-in
In 1964, a civil rights swimming protest ended when acid was poured into the pool
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'Tripperburgen' the sexual health clinics that detained women
In 1977, in the former East Germany, tens of thousands of women and girls were abused
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Charleston church shooting
Polly Sheppard, a survivor of the 2015 Charleston shooting, describes how it unfolded
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The Schengen Agreement
In 1985, five European politicians agreed to scrap border checks between their countries
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Ronald Reagan’s ‘Tear down this wall’ speech
In 1987 the US President called on the Soviet Union leader to take down the Berlin Wall
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Lonesome George: The celebrity tortoise
In 2012, Lonesome George, the last tortoise of his species died
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The woman born in a prisoner of war camp
The Sino-Indian war in 1962, left a lasting legacy on Indian families of Chinese descent
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World War Two’s Rome escape line
How an Irish priest saved thousands of allied prisoners of war and Jews in Rome in WW2
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Usonia: Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘utopian’ town
1948 saw the start of a “utopian” town of houses designed by America’s greatest architect
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The discovery of the first exoplanets
In 1992, astronomer Alex Wolszczan discovered the first planets outside our solar system
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Favela life: The diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus
In 1960, the diary of a poor Brazilian mum became an international bestseller.
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The world’s largest model train set
In 2000, twins Frederik and Gerrit started building Miniatur Wunderland
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Dolly Rathebe: South Africa’s first international film star
Jim Comes to Jo’burg, also known as African Jim, launched Dolly Rathebe’s career in 1949
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The Battle of the Beanfield
In 1985, police and hippies clashed at the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge, in England
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The legacy of The Pirate Bay
In 2006 police raided the popular but controversial file-sharing website The Pirate Bay
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Chinua Achebe’s revolutionary book Things Fall Apart
Achebe's English language novel from 1958 about life in Nigeria before colonialism
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The Tragically Hip's final gig
In 2015 Canadian rockstar Gord Downie was given months to live, he went on one last tour
