Podcast Episodes

The colony that broke Scotland (and made Great Britain)

It was meant to be Scotland’s saving grace - a bold plan to build a colony and dominate global trade. 

But disease, starvation, and frankly just bad p…

9 months, 1 week ago

The Hollywood femme fatale who invented wi-fi

She was called the most beautiful woman in the world and was seen as an exotic Hollywood star in the 1930s. But Hedy Lamarr was more than that. She w…

9 months, 2 weeks ago

The ballet that caused a riot and changed music

When you combine Russian ballet, French aristocracy, and a little bit of Walt Disney you get a recipe for a riot and one of the most important musica…

9 months, 3 weeks ago

The Forgotten Female Codebreakers of WWII

As the Second World War raged in the Pacific, there was a team of codebreakers in Australia working around the clock intercepting and deciphering Jap…

9 months, 4 weeks ago

Time is Chaos. The Calendar Tries (And Fails) to Fix That.

From moons to mind bending maths and revolutions, the story of how we got the modern calendar is messy. 

Matthew Champion, Associate Professor in Hist…

10 months ago

The Nativity Scene You Know—And The One You Don’t

You see it on Christmas cards, in shop windows and at your local church. The nativity scene is everywhere at this time of year. 

But the scene you kno…

10 months, 1 week ago

An 1843 Lifehack Became a Christmas Tradition

There’s one man you can thank - or curse - for your hand cramp after writing all your Christmas cards. Sir Henry Cole was a ‘dumpy’ Englishman who ha…

10 months, 2 weeks ago

Poison to Beauty: The Story of Botox

It started as a deadly toxin and became a billion-dollar beauty secret. So how exactly did a poison become the world’s most popular cosmetic fix? 

It’…

10 months, 3 weeks ago

The First Computer Was Greek (And Shipwrecked)

Over a hundred years ago, some divers jumped into the Mediterranean to look for sponges. Instead, they found ancient treasures. Artefacts, statues, j…

11 months ago

William Dalrymple: China’s Game of Thrones

She entered the royal palace as a concubine and became the first and only female emperor of China. She was power hungry, a total operator and if you …

11 months, 1 week ago