Apr 2025

The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More

9m 43s

Jun 12

Hussein of Jordan: The survivor king

In 1970, King Hussein of Jordan survived after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade close to his summer palace. The king remained unharmed, but his driver was wounded. It wasn’t the king’s first near-miss. Before being crowned, Hussein survived another attempt when his grandfather ... Show More

10m 38s

Apr 27

The world's first perfume archive

On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena was one of the team who created it.He speaks to Jen Dale about how L'Osmothèque ... Show More

10m 6s

Feb 2021

Gay and lesbian support for the British miners' strike

In 1984 a group of lesbians and gay men organised a benefit concert to support striking coal-miners. They sent the money they raised to a mining village in Wales. The miners' strike was the biggest industrial dispute in British history. Hear from Mike Jackson, one of the gay men ... Show More

8m 58s

Nov 2023

Section 28: The Anti-Gay Law That Sparked A Movement

The 1980s have a lot to answer for - spandex, for one. It also saw the first new anti-gay law in Britain for over a century. Against the backdrop of the HIV epidemic, and increasing homophobia across the media and politics, the law Section 28 was passed in ... Show More

38m 44s

Oct 2021

The Greenham Common women's peace camp

The anti-nuclear weapons protest began in 1981 and lasted nineteen years. Also the first transgender priest in the Church of England, WW2 Polish refugees in Africa, plus why lesbian mothers caused such a stir in the 1970s and was the untimely death of Mozambique's President S ... Show More

50m 12s

Mar 2023

The Early Days of LGBTQ Rock

Once upon a time, it was illegal—criminal—to be another other than heterosexual...any hint that you may be something other than straight could get you into all sorts of trouble—and career suicide was the least of your worries... In 1895, the famous English playwright, Oscar Wilde ... Show More

28m 7s

Jan 2024

The first lesbian couple to get married and World Laughter Day

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise gay marriage. Four couples were chosen to take part in a collective wedding at midnight which was broadcast on TV. Hé ... Show More

51m 43s

Mar 2020

The fight against Poland’s ‘LGBT free zones’

New laws are being passed across Poland taking aim at the LGBT community. They’ve been called “LGBT free zones” as a shorthand. While they don’t necessarily mean that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are being thrown into prison, they are having a chilling effect on ... Show More

19m 38s

Jun 2022

LGBTQ Royals of the World

Happy Pride! In the history of the world there have been numerous royals and countless common people who preferred the romantic company of their own gender. Acceptance of this has varied by time period and by culture. Being gay was often made much easier if you were a person born ... Show More

31m 24s

Feb 2024

417. Britain in 1974: State of Emergency (Part 1)

“Who governs Britain?” Britain in the early 1970’s was a state in crisis, and by 1974, things had never seemed bleaker. Held hostage by the Trade Unions, British industry was flailing. England’s sporting record was atrocious, the economy was tanking and the prospect of a miners’ ... Show More

57m 47s

Gay and lesbian support for the British ...