BBC Radio Podcasts from Witness History: Archive 2010
Albert Luthuli Receives the Nobel Peace Prize
Chief Albert Luthuli was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Peace - in 1960
Jamaica Slave Rebellion
The rebellion was brutally crushed, but it had a significant impact
Chiapas Uprising
On January 1 1994 indigenous people in southern Mexico began their rebellion.
Hamlet
Hamlet - by William Shakespeare - is still popular four centuries after it was written.
Assad and Syria
It is 40 years since Hafez al Assad seized power in Syria.
The Great Escape
One of the Great Escapees from a German prisoner of war camp speaks out
Christmas Truce
When British and German troops sang carols, exchanged gifts and played football together
Andrei Sakharov
On 23 December, 1986 the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov was allowed to return to Moscow
Georgia in crisis
Christmas 1991 was a very difficult time for the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Lockerbie
On December 21 1988 a US passenger plane blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
US invasion of Panama
It is 21 years since the US invaded the tiny Central American state of Panama.
Washington Snipers
It is 7 years since one of the Washington snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo, was convicted of murder
Operation Desert Fox
On 16 December 1998 the US and Britain began a four day bombardment of Iraq.
Siege of Grozny
In December 1994 Russian forces invaded Chechnya and laid siege to the capital Grozny.
Capture of Saddam Hussein
It was on this day in 2003 that Saddam Hussein was finally captured by US forces
Argentina's disappeared
On 13 December 1983, the government of Argentina promised to investigate military crimes
Smallpox Eradication
It was once one of the most feared diseases in the world - disfiguring and often deadly
John Lennon
It is exactly 30 years since the former Beatle, John Lennon, was shot dead in New York.
Pearl Harbour
The Japanese attack on American ships in Pearl Harbour forced the US into World War II.
Somalia Marines
In December 1992 US Marines stormed the beaches of Somalia.
Kindertransports
In December 1938 the Kindertransports began, carrying Jewish children to safety in Britain
El Salvador killings
On December 2nd 1980 the military in El Salvador killed 3 US nuns, and a layworker.
Channel Tunnel
The moment of breakthrough for the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France
Tomb of Tutankhamun
In late November 1922 the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, was uncovered
Inca defeat
How the great Inca empire was brought to its knees - almost 500 years ago.
Freddie Mercury
The last days of Freddie Mercury battle with Aids
Mishima Suicide
Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima's dramatic decision to end his life.
Afghan Prison Massacre
The story of the bloody suppression of an uprising by Taliban prisoners in an Afghan jail
The Roswell incident
The most famous reported encounter with aliens of our time
Piracy Trial
A piracy trial makes history in 19th century America
Greek Student Protest 1973
The story of the Greek military junta's brutal suppression of a student protest in 1973
The Young Benazir Bhutto
Why did she follow her father into politics?
Coventry blitz
It is 70 years since the German bombing of Coventry destroyed much of the UK city.
World War I poetry
On 11 November, 1918 the guns of World War I fell silent
Barack Obama's Indonesian childhood
As President Obama visits Indonesia, Witness takes you back to his childhood there
Blasted
It is 15 years since the play Blasted first shocked theatregoers
Suez canal invasion 1956
In November 1956 Britain and France invaded Egypt - to regain control of the Suez canal
Burma Elections
What was it like to vote in Burma's last general election in 1990?
Rabin Assassination
It is exactly 15 years since the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.