Yesterday, I talked about the concept of diving headfirst into a new subject of your choosing and just going for the learning ride. This is something I’ve struggled with before, and particularly when it comes to history.

I didn’t enjoy history that much at school, but have since found a fondness for finding out how the world has come to be in the position it is in today. The trouble with history is it is a HUGE SUBJECT. Almost like it encompasses everything that has ever happened or something.

So, one way of getting a history fix without biting off more than you can chew is the brilliant Witness podcast from the BBC World Service. They are short ten minute shows that cover just one topic, and hear from the people involved themselves – either via actual interviews, voiced words, or historical documents. The structure of the show gives a great introduction to the topic, followed by the crux of the story itself, and then a small summary of how things panned out or if they are still ongoing.

Recent topics I’ve loved include:

• Toy Story – The First Digitally-Animated Feature Film
• The Exploding Whale
• Private Eye
• The Raising of the Mary Rose
• Britain’s Land Girls

The show is available as a podcast to subscribe to, or you can just peruse the archives for topics you might find interesting. It seems like all the shows are available indefinitely which is always a bonus with BBC content.