Witness Archive 2015
History as told by the people who were there. All the programmes from 2015.
The Millennium Bug—Witness History
How the world waited for a potential global computer meltdown on New Year's Eve 1999
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The Poster Boy for the Communist System—Witness History
In 1935, Alexei Stakhanov, a coal miner, became a Soviet celebrity.
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Rasputin—Witness History
In 1916, the infamous holy man Grigori Rasputin, was murdered by Russian aristocrats
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The Donner Party—Witness History
In 1846, a group of US pioneers were trapped in the mountains over the winter.
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The Beagle 2 Mission to Mars—Witness History
On Christmas Day 2003, a British space craft was due to land on Mars to look for life
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Grand Theft Auto—Witness History
A controversial new computer game designed in Scotland became a surprise hit in 1997
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It's a Wonderful Life—Witness History
A former Hollywood child star remembers filming the classic Christmas movie in 1946.
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Michael Jackson's Thriller—Witness History
In 1982 the world's best selling album was released
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Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita—Witness History
One of the 20th Century's most scandalous books was published in 1955
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The Death of General Patton—Witness History
America's legendary military commander, General George Patton, died in December 1945
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India Disability Rights—Witness History
In 1995 the first disability rights legislation was passed by India's parliament.
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Star Wars: C3PO's Story—Witness History
The actor behind the galaxy's most famous protocol droid remembers the first Star Wars
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The Rubik's Cube—Witness History
In 1974, Ernő Rubik invented the world's best selling puzzle: the Rubik's Cube
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A Pakistani View of the Bangladesh War of Independence—Witness History
The story of a Pakistani soldier caught up in the Bangladesh liberation war.
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The 1960 Coup Against Haile Selassie—Witness History
How Ethiopia's Emperor was almost overthrown in a bloody coup
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The Velvet Underground—Witness History
The seminal alternative rock band play their first gig at a high school in New Jersey.
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The KKK and the Killing of Viola Liuzzo—Witness History
In 1965, three KKK members were convicted of conspiring to kill a civil rights activist
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The Battle of Tora Bora—Witness History
After the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan in 2001 the hunt for Osama bin Laden began.
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WW1: The Siege of Kut, Iraq—Witness History
Thousands of British and Indian troops spent five months trapped in Kut, Iraq in WW1
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Gay and lesbian support for the British miners' strike—Witness History
In 1984 a group of lesbians and gay men organised to support striking coal-miners.
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Cuban Fighters in Angola—Witness History
Thousands of Cuban troops fought with Angola's Marxist government forces in the civil war
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The First Heart Transplant—Witness History
On 3 December 1967, two brothers carried out the first heart transplant operation
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Surviving Pearl Harbor—Witness History
How one US Navy mechanic made it through the surprise Japanese attack on his Pacific base
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The Bari Raid 1943—Witness History
How a devastating air raid on Bari during WW2 led to the deadly release of mustard gas
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