Podcast Episodes

Encore: Charles Dickens | The Final Curtain | 4

Episode 107

At the height of his fame, Dickens falls in love with a young woman (Nelly Ternan) and a city (Paris). He survives a train crash and public disapproval over his separation from his wife. People turn …

Published on 9 hours ago

Encore: Charles Dickens | A Very Dickens Christmas | 3

Episode 106

“A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, everyone!” A Christmas Carol is a huge success and Dickens is an international celebrity. There’s lots of money coming in – Bleak House, Hard Times, David …

Published on 5 days, 9 hours ago

Encore: Charles Dickens | Dickensmania | 2

Episode 105

Dickens’ star is on the rise. Sketches by Boz is a success and he publishes The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and more. Plus, he is a hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Dickensmania’ sweeping th…

Published on 1 week ago

Encore: Charles Dickens | Hard Times | 1

Episode 104

A young Charles is filled with imagination and ambition, but his childhood with humiliation and uncertainty. His father is in and out of debtors’ prison and he is forced to sacrifice his education fo…

Published on 1 week, 5 days ago

Jane Austen | Feat. Marlon James | It's Jane Austen's World And We're Living In It | 3

Episode 103

Booker Prize winning author - Marlon James joins Afua and Peter to tear open Jane Austen’s world — from slavery shadows to savage social critique — and reveal why her novels still cut like a knife.

St…

Published on 2 weeks ago

Jane Austen | Proud Or Prejudiced |2

Episode 102

Jane Austen wrote about drawing rooms, dances, and marriage plots — but beneath the lace and manners she was dissecting power, class, gender, and the world-changing revolutions unfolding outside her …

Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Jane Austen | Making The Small Things The Right Size | 1

Episode 101

Jane Austen’s world wasn’t quiet, genteel, or boring — it was full of scandal, class tension, family drama, and the pressures that shaped one of literature’s sharpest minds. In this episode, we trace…

Published on 3 weeks ago

Kellogg | Snap, Crackle, Pop | 2

Episode 100

John Harvey Kellogg built a wellness empire obsessed with purity, bowel cleansing, and bland food — then accidentally launched the most successful sugar-delivery system in history. From celebrity-stu…

Published on 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Kellogg | From The End Of The World To Wellness | 1

Episode 99

A breakfast empire built on purity, fear, and some of the strangest medical ideas of the 19th century. From apocalypse cults to anti-masturbation crusades, this is the real story behind Kellogg’s ris…

Published on 4 weeks ago

The Rise of the Nazis | How Disease and Religion Paved the Way for Evil | 2

Episode 98

Germany’s crises didn’t end with Versailles — they mutated. Hyperinflation, political extremism, spiritual panic, and a pandemic all collided to push an obscure drifter named Adolf Hitler toward powe…

Published on 1 month ago