Francisco de Miranda, Part 2

This 2019 episode shares how Hennig Brand discovered phosphorous by boiling pee. But he was really thought the secret to the philosopher’s stone might be found in urine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Tracy talks about amusing old illustrations of babies in utero. Holly shares anecdotes about George Stephenson's life that rarely make it into discussions of his life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

George Stephenson started life in extremely humble circumstances, but his ingenuity and pursuit of education led him to an impressive legacy. He invented a miner’s lamp, but is most well known for his work on locomotives and railways. Research: “George Stephenson (1781-1848).” ht ... Show More

Danny and Derek welcome back historian Greg Grandin to talk about his recent book, America, América: A New History of the New World. In this first part of the discussion, they explore how the Spanish conquest produced unprecedented violence while also starting discussions about h ... Show More

<p>A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names and voices of people who have died.</p><p>Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.</p><p>First, the story of Brazil's ... Show More

Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote that “the silencing of the Haitian Revolution is only a chapter within a narrative of global domination. It is part of the history of the West and it is likely to persist, even in attenuated form, as long as the history of the West is not retold in wa ... Show More

Castro wrestles with Marxism and begins another affair. Attempting to reignite the revolution, he swims naked across the US border. At a get-together in Mexico City, he strikes up a rapport with a scruffy Argentine known as “Che”. Together, in a battered old boat, they will set s ... Show More

<p>In April 1898 the United States declared war on Spain. By the end of the war that December, the Spanish had lost their centuries-old colonial empire and the US had emerged as a power in the Pacific.</p><br><p>Join Don as he speaks to Christopher McKnight Nichols, Professor of ... Show More

<p>Assassin’s Creed III offers players a glimpse into the room where it happened - the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But was the Declaration more than just a document? Who wrote it? And what were the immediate and lasting impacts of making such a Declaration?</p><br ... Show More

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 b ... Show More

After a tragedy in the Florida Straits, a dramatic tug of war takes place between Castro and America - all centred on a five-year-old boy. A new leader in the Soviet Union comes to power with fresh ideas which terrify Fidel. The Berlin Wall crumbles, putting Cuba on the brink. As ... Show More

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Argentine theme. We find out more about the 1985 ‘trial of the juntas’ when the country’s former military leaders stood accused of torturing and murdering thousands of their own people. And we h ... Show More

María Elena Moyano Delgado (1958-1992) was an afro-Peruvian activist and organizer whose focus on community-based solutions revolutionized self-governance in a deeply stratified Peru. Her commitment to social justice in the face of a discriminatory government and threats to her l ... Show More