Last Witness

Series produced by Radio Diaries

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Portraits of history's last surviving witnesses.

Last Witness is an ongoing series, profiling the last surviving witnesses to major historical events. Each story will look back at moments from our past that have shaped contemporary society, culture and politics. The series will celebrate the experiences and stories of witnesses to history while they're still with us and explore what it means to be "the last."


4 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
The Man in the President's Limo
From: Radio Diaries
Series: Last Witness
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President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. There are many photos from that day — Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in aboard Air ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and KUCB


  • Added: Jan 25, 2024
  • Length: 09:29
  • Purchases: 2
Last Witness: The Kerner Commission
From: Radio Diaries
Series: Last Witness
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Decades before our current debate over critical race theory, the 1968 Kerner Commission pointed the finger at structural racism for creating the co...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Oct 05, 2021
  • Length: 08:56
  • Purchases: 2
Last Witness: Mission to Hiroshima
From: Radio Diaries
Series: Last Witness
Caption: Second Lt. Russell Gackenbach
On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Aug 27, 2018
  • Length: 04:44
  • Purchases: 2
Last Witness: Surviving the Tulsa Race Massacre
From: Radio Diaries
Series: Last Witness
Caption: Olivia Hooker, Age 6 in 1921
On May 31, 1921, Olivia Hooker was six-years-old when white mobs launched an attack on the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In less than 24 ho...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KOSU, KHSU, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jun 08, 2018
  • Length: 06:20
  • Purchases: 4