Witness History: Witness Archive 2016
255 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 7 years ago - ★★★ - 8 ratingsHistory as told by the people who were there. All the programmes from 2016.
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Episodes
A Mass Shooting in America
January 11, 2016 08:51 - 10 minutes - 4.89 MBIn October 2006 a man killed five Amish schoolgirls, and injured five more, in one of the many mass-shootings that take place every year in the USA. Hear from Terri Roberts, the killer's mother, for a unique perspective on gun violence, grief and forgiveness.
Fidel Castro Takes Havana
January 06, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBIn January 1959 left-wing revolutionaries marched triumphantly into the Cuban capital, ending decades of rule by the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. We hear from Carlos Alzugaray, then a 15-year-old school boy, who was among the crowds that turned out to watch the rebel tanks roll into town. (Photo: Fidel Castro speaks to the crowds in Cuba after Batista was forced to flee, Jan 1959. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
The Eames Chair
January 05, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 3.76 MBIn 1956, designers Charles and Ray Eames created one of the most famous piece of furniture of the twentieth century – the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Witness speaks to their grandson, Eames Demetrios. PICTURE: Charles and Ray Eames’ laid-back, leather-covered reclining armchair lounger with matching molded Ottoman, is part of a Library of Congress exhibit showing examples from over a million items of the Eames’ works. (AP Photo)
The start of the Open University
January 04, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBIn January 1971, the first students enrolled in the Open University in Britain. The new university offered degree courses through distance learning to students previously excluded from higher education. Its approach was radically different from conventional universities: it had an open admissions policy, there was no campus for students and lectures were broadcast on BBC television and radio. Witness hears from John Cowin who left school with no qualifications and was in the University’s ...
Vietnamese Boat People Arrive in Britain
January 01, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MBIn late 1978, huge numbers of refugees began fleeing Vietnam, trying to escape the country's repressive communist government. Many of the refugees took to sea in flimsy boats at huge risk. Diep Quan and her family were rescued from their sinking vessel by a British merchant ship and were among the first Vietnamese refugees to arrive in Britain. In January 1979, her family were given the keys to a new home in the English city of Peterborough. Diep tells Witness about her journey to Britain...