Podcast Episodes

Mourning Jane Seymour

Episode 1281

ing Henry VIII’s third wife, Queen Consort Jane Seymour, died aged just 29 on 24th October, 1537 - 12 days after giving birth to their son, future King Edward VI. Her death was attributed to complica…

Published on 2 weeks ago

Meet The Smurfs

Episode 1280

Peyo’s comic album ‘Johan and Peewit’ provided the platform for The Smurfs’ debut on 23rd October, 1958 - a cameo that their Belgian creator considered an unremarkable side-hustle. But the tiny blue …

Published on 2 weeks, 1 day ago

Not The End Of The World

Episode 1279

Jesus failed to show up on the day that came to be known as ‘The Great Disappointment’ - 22nd October, 1844. It was an embarrassment for the New England preacher, William Miller, who had prophesied C…

Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago

Madonna's Naked Photos

Episode 1278

Berated by the tabloids as exhibitionist pornography, Madonna’s coffee table book, ‘Sex’, quickly sold out upon its release on 21st October, 1992.

Influenced by artists Robert Mapplethorpe and Cindy…

Published on 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Parachute!

Episode 1277

Losing control of his monoplane at 2,000 ft, First Lieutenant Harold R. Harris made history on 20th October, 1922, when he became the first person to use a manually-activated parachute to save his li…

Published on 2 weeks, 4 days ago

The Sound of the Circus

Episode 1275

The traditional music for the circus, "Entrance of the Gladiators", wasn’t actually written for the circus at all, instead when it was composed on 17th October, 1899, it was in fact intended to be a…

Published on 3 weeks ago

The Baby in the Well

Episode 1274

In front of the world’s TV cameras, 18-month-old Jessica McClure - affectionately known as “Baby Jessica” - was lifted from a disused well in Midland, Texas on 16th October, 1987, having been trapped…

Published on 3 weeks, 1 day ago

How Lincoln Got His Beard

Episode 1273

Future President Abraham Lincoln had yet to grow his iconic facial fuzz when he received a letter from Grace Bedell - an 11 year-old resident of Westfield, New York - dated 15th October, 1860.  “I ha…

Published on 3 weeks, 2 days ago

Mary Queen of Plots

Episode 1272

Accused of planning the assassination of her cousin Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots stood trial for treason on 14th October, 1586.

Mary’s coded letters, delivered to her co-conspirators in beer barr…

Published on 3 weeks, 3 days ago

Suffragettes... in the House!

Episode 1271

Margaret Travers Symons was the first woman to make herself heard in the British House of Commons - albeit without permission - on 13th October, 1908.

During a tour of Westminster, the suffragette c…

Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago