Heroes and Howlers: Recent Episodes
Mikey Robins and Paul Wilson
'Heroes and Howlers - And The Rest Is History’ - a quizzical look at some of history’s quirkiest moments. Mikey Robins, celebrated Australian comedian, and Paul Wilson, Oxford Historian and author, take you on a raucous tour across some of the strangest turning points in history.We like to think of history as a ‘Grand March’ full of bold action and heroic deeds, but scratch the surface and it’s amazing how many key events have been shaped by serendipity, moments of madness, even the downright banal. This series revels in such circumstance: the cock ups, the mishaps, the bizarre twists of fate that have changed the course of mankind – sometimes tragic, sometimes comical, sometimes just plain stupid.FacebookTwitterInstagram
Oh!" said Pooh again. "What is the North Pole?"
"It's just a thing you discover," said Christopher Robin, not being quite sure himself.
A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Paul and Mikey take the road north to balance out the series, stopping off to seek a route through the fabled NorthWest Passage on their way. But how can you discover a land that has no land?!
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“Every human longs for peace and love.” Hiawatha
Separating ‘Fact’ from ‘Fiction’ is the constant challenge of an historian. None more so than the early history of North America’s First Nations peoples. Research relies heavily on oral traditions handed down from generation to generation but that hasn’t stopped Paul and Mikey digging for nuggets of truth.
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"If every fool wore a crown, we should all be Kings." Welsh Proverb
Everybody’s favourite day of the year - well, certainly Paul and Mikey’s. But some of the stories behind the pranks and foolishness might surprise you. Just what is a Scottish gowk? And why should we hunt it?
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“The world is a drama, staged in a dream.” Guru Nanak
Mata Khivi and the tradition of serving free communal meals (Langar) changed the face of Sikhism for ever. It has grown to become one of the most cherished institutions all over the world.
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“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.” Werner Herzog
But if that film was Birth of a Nation, Werner, you can just leave it there. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at how one film single-handedly resurrected the KKK. Then take a sideways glance at a few other early 20th-century repugnant (and sometimes costumed!) misfits/Howlers.
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“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill
It's that time of year again! The halls are decked with holly and there’s a big tree blocking Martin Place. Listen in on the last of this Season’s episodes to get you in the Festive Spirit. Bottoms Up!
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"England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again.
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; ‘Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer, The poor man's heart through half the year."
Walter Scott - Marmion
Paul and Mikey are unwrapping presents for everyone - they’ve got Wars on Christmas, Coke bottle Santas, and drunken sleigh rides across New England.
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The boys have had a bumper year, and with the 'Giving Season' upon us they're delivering their final treats. When did a 'cab' become a 'taxi'? Who really was that 'Third man'? And which Hero had the worst Howler of a school report card?
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In this episode Paul and Mikey chat to academic and Theatresports legend Professor Jioji Ravulo. It’s a fascinating look into the history of sexual and gender diversity in communities across the Pacific, as well as a discussion about the arrival of and the repercussions brought about by those pesky missionaries.
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New Guests. New Heroes. New Howlers. All of which have inspired Mikey and Paul to do a deep dive into more 'stories behind the story'. Sir Francis Drake, Lord Byron, Quack Doctors, and the North-West Passage - which side of the ledger will this lot fall?'
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In this episode Paul and Mikey chat with American comedy legend Jessie Joyce. He’s written a fantastic book with the wonderful title ‘Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln”
We look at Edwin Booth the brother of John Wilkes Booth and ask the question, “was there ever a stranger character in Civil war history than Boston Corbett?"
Find Killing the Guys who Killed the Guy who Killed Lincoln by Jesse Joyce available exclusively on Everand - where you’ll find a host of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, magazines and sheet music. Enjoy millions of great titles across every genre, including best-selling authors, diverse voices, emerging talents, and more.
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Award-winning journalist and and broadcaster Tracey Spicer joins Mikey and Paul to shift the debate a notch or two. Women have long been written out of schoolbook History but why The Sciences too? In the life of Ada Lovelace, Tracey believes lies the answer.
Follow Tracey on X HERE, Instagram HERE and purchase her book 'Man Made' HERE
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The boys are joined by Otto English and together they set out to skewer some of the biggest names in the pantheon. Did Coco Chanel collaborate with the Nazis? Was JFK really 'The Man'? Or more of a myth? Not even Mother Teresa escapes untarnished.
Otto English is the pen name of author and journalist Andrew Scott - find him on X HERE and purchase his latest book 'Fake Heroes' HERE
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“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win, otherwise why be a warrior? It is easier to count beads.” Miyamoto Musashi
Well, the Japanese navy was certainly not “counting beads” when it took on the Russians in 1904-5. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the ‘Wild East’: Russian expansion, Japanese expansion and a naval battle that changed the world.
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“Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It's like going to the moon.” Jon Krakauer
The race to the South Pole was always going to throw up some Heroes, maybe a few Howlers too - but who should really get the credit for discovering the Seventh Continent? Paul and Mikey wrap up warm to take a look.
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“Rather fail with honour, than succeed by Fraud” Sophocles
If only Gregor McGregor had spent more time studying the Classics. This week Paul and Mikey go hunting for a Scottish rogue and find themselves marooned on Central America’s Mosquito Coast.
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“As for all your latest Mayan discoveries and poems, I want to hear every word of it.” Jack Kerouac, Letters to Allen Ginsberg
The Americas were home to many fascinating nations and cultures, long before the Europeans arrived. And they did pretty well on the fruit and veg front too. In this episode, the boys take an in-depth look at the Maya, and see what Heroes and Howlers Meso-America might have to offer.
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“Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy” Henry David Thoreau
Captain Cook was the first to admit that the Dutch had been mapping New Holland decades before he set sail on The Endeavour. Could the Chinese have travelled that way too? The Spanish? The Portuguese? Paul and Mikey weigh anchor to find out.
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“Are we not like people sitting up with a corpse, and making merry in the house of the dead?” Herman Melville
Over a thousand years before Melville wrote his words one Pope actually did this very thing. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the Cadaver Synod and the perilous political games played out amongst the early medieval papacy.
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“Do not to look upon the loss of 10 days with wonder or scorn. Do not regret the removal of 10 days from the calendar. All those who love sleep can console themselves by thinking about how wonderful it will be to go to bed on the second of the month and to sleep until the morning of the 14th” -Benjamin Franklin
Julian vs Gregorian. Ten months vs twelve. Lunar vs solar. Paul takes Mikey for a spin around the zodiac and ends up… in Macclesfield!
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“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius
If only the Emperor Commodus had inherited a fraction of his father’s wisdom.In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the turbulent reign that many believe was the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. As well as the fascinating role played by adoption amongst Rome's ruling elite.
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“To follow the Silk Road is to follow a ghost. It flows through the heart of Asia, but it has officially vanished leaving behind the pattern of its restlessness: counterfeit borders, unmapped peoples.” Colin Thubron,Shadow of the Silk Road
Rather than being a bridge to link East and West, The Silk Road was a web of routes growing ever outwards. From its heart in Central Asia, it would stretch to all four corners of the continent. Yet its architects, The Kushans, like the network itself have all but vanished - Paul and Mikey go in search of this lost people, and the ‘ghost’ of their leader, Kanishka the Great.
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“I could calculate the motions of the heavenly stars, but not the madness of people.” Sir Isaac Newton
With ‘Money’ becoming more liquid, and ‘The Market’ more fluid, investors in ‘The City’ searched far and wide for new opportunities. Mikey and Paul are hot on their heels - hoping to catch a glimpse of the bubbles before they burst.
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While Paul and Mikey russle up some new guests to join them, enjoy this classic episode all about the Samurai.
"To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead." Miyamoto Musashi (Japanese Swordsman/Philosopher)
Paul and Mikey head eastwards in search of Japan’s Three Great Unifiers… and some Black Ships!
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Our guests have inspired us with chunky extra helpings to share with you - a veritable smorgasbord of tales. From duels, to Greek philosophers, dangerous British politicians, and bizarre American presidential family trees, to a big slice of The Great Wall of China.
There’s even dessert - with the origins of tiramisu!
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In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to broadcast legend and co-host of the “Suddenly Senior” podcast Ian Rogerson about his hero Teddy Roosevelt. We also find
out just what his uncle thought about Aussie fascist Francis de Groot, spoiler alert it’s not flattering!
Listen to Ian Rodgerson on the Suddenly Senior podcast here
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In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to author and historian Esme Louise James about the complicated life of the sword fighting soprano Julie d’Aubigny. They also pass a sideways glance at a the rather odd man who went down in history as Diogenes the Cynic.
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In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to writer, presenter and bon vivant Matt Preston about Zheng Yi Sao, the woman who became possibly the most powerful pirate in maritime history. They also discuss the eventful life of Major General Smedley Butler and a foiled insurrection during FDR’s administration.
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New Guests, New Heroes, New Howlers! It all means Paul and Mikey are doing more deep dives to find those ‘stories behind the story’. Look out Captain Moonlite, and Sriracha Sauce lovers!
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In this episode the lads talk to author and broadcasting legend Wendy Harmer, discussing Jimmy Carter, Australia in the ‘70s, and some timely reflections on the state of politics in the USA.
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This Season, the boys are mixing it up a bit and will be joined by special guests with their very own contenders for 'Heroes' and 'Howlers'. In this episode Max Markson, showbiz guru and celebrity manager, offers up the greatest showman of them all - P. T. Barnum.
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It's Season 9 and for the new series the boys will be joined by special guests, each with their very own Hero and Howler. First up is Historian and author, David Hunt, but which side of the ledger will he be putting legendary bushranger Ned Kelly?
Contact David Hunt here
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“I asked: ‘Do you speaka my language?’ He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” Men at Work
Do armies really march on their stomachs? Paul and Mikey tuck into how conflict has transformed food production over the centuries and given us some of our best-loved staples.
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“Young men make wars…, old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.” Prince Faisal (Lawrence Of Arabia)
The Arabian Peninsula has been pivotal since ancient times, and for good reason. Home to legendary figures such as the Queen of Sheba, and thriving trading hubs linking India to Africa to the Mediterranean, its territories have been fought over for centuries. Time for Paul and Mikey to get some sand between their toes.
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“They say openly that Christ and his saints slept.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Paul and Mikey look at how one howler of a booze cruise plunged twelfth century England and France into chaos.
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“I wish for adventure. I wish to matter.” Sins of a Wicked Duke
Good Dukes, Wicked Dukes and Wicked Uncles - Tudor England had them all. Or was that just Shakespearean propaganda? Paul and Mikey dig deep to find out.
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“If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.” Josephine Cochrane
Paul and Mikey look at the life of this groundbreaking entrepreneur and inventor, and the rise of the women’s rights movement in late 19th century America.
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“No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on.” Curious last words of King Frederick William I of Prussia (1713-40)
Paul and Mikey kick off Season 3 by going Prussian! Join them as they cast a quizzical eye over the man they called the ‘Soldier King’.
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“Peccavi - I have sinned (Sindh)” Charles Napier (Major-General British Army in India)
The arrogance of the British in India knew few bounds. Paul and Mikey pick through probably the worst howler of them all - The First Afghan War.
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“A merry life and a short one” Pirate motto of Bartholomew Roberts (aka ‘Black Bart’)
Black Bart captured over 400 ships and was the complete opposite from this episode’s Howler: Stede Bonnet. Paul and Mikey shiver their timbers and have a look down the spy-glass at the man known as ‘The Gentleman Pirate’. Beware the Black Spot!
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“I am the son of the road, my country is the caravan, my life the most unexpected of journeys.” Leo Africanus
Paul and Mikey follow in the footsteps of one of History’s greatest historians. Their journey takes them along West Africa’s Gold Coast, up the Niger and into the heart of the Sahara Desert - all in search of …?
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“My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go.” -Oscar Wilde
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the bizarre connection between the death of Napoleon and one of Britain’s greatest interior designers.
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‘Steal a loaf of bread and they will cut your hands off, steal an entire country and they will proclaim you their king.’ Norse Sagas
Don’t be fooled by chilly tales of beards and battle-axes. Head east with Paul and Mikey, and discover a whole new (warm!) viking world.
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“Assassination has never changed the history of the world” Benjamin Disraeli
Sorry to disagree with you, Ben, but the killing of Lincoln had repercussions that we still feel today. Paul and Mikey look at that fateful April night and one participant that history has tried to forget.
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'Whenever I can find the time, I read history books and the classics so as to avoid idle living.’ Yongle (Ming Dynasty Emperor)
Big China or Little China? Why did Ming Dynasty China turn its back on the world? Could modern-day China be about to do the same? Paul and Mikey go in search of the answers.
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“I am a man more sinned against than sinning.” King Lear, Act 3 Scene 2
Paul and Mikey look at one of theatre’s greatest sins - the century and half when King Lear was performed with (of all things) a happy ending!
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“I shall be a good politician. Even if it kills me. Or if it kills anyone else, for that matter.” Mark Antony
Mikey and Paul ask you to lend them your ears as they recount one of the epic showdowns in history: Mark Antony vs Octavian (Augustus). But who’s the hero?
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“The same intelligence is required to marshal an army in battle and to order a good dinner.” Lucius Aemillius Paullus (Roman Consul and General, conqueror of Macedon 168 BC)
A secret but often overlooked weapon the United States brought to the battlefields of WWI. Mikey has a theory but Paul’s going to need some convincing.
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“Here’s an equivocator that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven..” Macbeth
Was Guy Fawkes a Catholic terrorist or the ‘equivocator’ alluded to by Shakespeare? Mikey and Paul scour the records and find out more about Bonfire Night than they bargained for.
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“I have often marvelled at the thin line which separates success from failure.” Ernest Shackleton
But sometimes failure is hard-wired in from the start. Paul and Mikey uncover why the Burke and Wills expedition was already in deep trouble long before the tragic events of the Dig Tree.
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“I have not told half of what I saw.” Marco Polo (1254–1324)
There’s a reason why Marco didn’t tell the other half - because that would have lifted the lid on Niccolo Polo, Marco’s dad. Niccolo was the true hero and it’s his name that should have gone down in the history books - Paul and Mikey tell you why.
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“I could sooner reconcile all Europe than two women.” Louis XIV (1643-1715)
Well he would say that, wouldn’t he? In this episode Mikey and Paul look at power, progeny, Louis’ love life, and how a certain one-eyed sex tutor saved the House of Bourbon.
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“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander of Macedon (356–323 BC)
Alexander successfully conquered the known world but without his trusty steed, Bucephalus, many say he would have been only half the man. Just how much have famous horses changed the course of history? Mikey and Paul saddle up to find out.
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“For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.” Christopher Columbus
Well no wonder he got lost!! Throw in some phantom islands plus a manatee fetish, and it's a surprise his ships ever left port. Paul and Mikey go exploring the high seas for answers. NB Columbus did NOT discover America!
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"Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori" - Wilfred Owen (via Horace)
'The Black Hand Gang - a name to strike fear into the heart of any Archduke. Throw in one hell of a wrong turn and… where’s Sat-Nav when you need it? Join Mikey and Paul as they take The Great War for a spin (Part I)
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"The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years" - GDR head of state Erich Honecker, January 1989
The Berlin Wall, The Iron Curtain, The Warsaw Pact, The Eastern Bloc – could they all have been brought tumbling down by one lousy press conference? Join the boys as they sift through the rubble. Warning: contains German!
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“Be temperate in wine, eating, girls, and sloth; or the gout will have you both.” - Benjamin Franklin
Everyone knows America was born on the Fourth of July, but what brought about the Declaration of Independence? Paul and Mikey dissect the politics, the economics, and the often overlooked role of gout… Yes that’s right, we said ‘gout’.
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“The most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation." - David Hume
The Crusades is one of the defining chapters in History, a showcase for ‘East meets West’. It was the era of great men, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, St Bernard of Clairvaux. So who cocked up the Fourth Crusade? And how did it end up turning on fellow Christians?
Comedian Mikey Robins and Historian Paul Wilson kick off their new series in style. Join Mikey and Paul as they take on Seljuks, Saracens, Mamluks and more.
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'“History is a huge gramophone in which the voices of nations are preserved.” Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal
To round off another great year, Paul and Mikey dish up the last of their tasty morsels from the smorgasbord that has been Season 8. More stories, more insights, and of course… more maps!!
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“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill
It's that time of year again! The halls are decked with holly and there’s a big tree blocking Martin Place. Listen in on the last of this Season’s episodes to get you in the Festive Spirit. Bottoms Up!
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“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill
It's that time of year again! The halls are decked with holly and there’s a big tree blocking Martin Place. Listen in on the last of this Season’s episodes to get you in the Festive Spirit. Bottoms Up!
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“I judge a man by one thing, which side would he have liked his ancestors to fight on at Marston Moor?” Isaac Foot (Liberal MP/father of Michael)
Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 4 to 6. More stories, more insights, and of course… more maps!!
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It's that time of year! Christmas displays are in the Myer windows and the streets are lighting up. To get you ready for the home stretch of the year, Mikey and Paul are treating you with the Christmas special of last year, enjoy!
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“But what does it mean, the plague? It's life, that's all.” Albert Camus
“Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.” Voltaire
Move over COVID 19, in History the Bubonic Plague takes all the prizes. So Paul and Mikey are going in search of the worst of the worst. Camus vs Voltaire - Who will win the spoils?
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“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” Did Churchill ever really say this?!
Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 1 to 3. More stories, more insights, and of course… more maps!!
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“Russia has sold us a sucked orange!” Horace Greeley, editor of the New York World's response to the Alaskan purchase of 1867.
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at how the politics of the Old World literally shaped the Americas. And why a tiny Caribbean island might be worth more than half a continent.
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“Wait not while your foe fits arrow to bowstring when you can send your own arrow into him.” Babur, founder of the Mogul Empire.
The Mogul Empire is seen as quintessentially Indian, but was born out of Afghanistan and Central Asia. Paul and Mikey go in search of why this could be, and the long lasting effects it would have on Indian cuisine. This episode is to be enjoyed in the presence of a good curry!!
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“How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?” Charles De Gaulle
Blessed are the cheesemakers - well, Paul and Mikey certainly think so! Join them on their historical world tour in search of the Grand Fromage.
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In preparation for their 8th season, Paul and Mikey are too busy to bang out a new ep. Instead of missing a week, the guys thought they'd spoil you with an old favourite- the South Sea Bubble (18th Century).
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‘Cities are the result of farmers working too hard. In fact, History is the result of farmers working too hard.’ Mark Forsyth, A Short History of Drunkenness
Paul and Mikey keep digging and serve up a whole new bunch of treats from episodes 7 and 8. More stories, more insights, and of course… more maps!!
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“Every man has his price, or a guy like me couldn’t exist.” Howard Hughes
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the archetypal eccentric billionaire, and how the life of one man did so much to mirror and then shape 20th Century America.
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“Just because a King is a King does not mean he is not human.” Saladin
The Kurds are one of History’s most put-upon races. But where are they, who are their heroes, and what prospects do they have for the future?
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“The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.” Felix Adler
Paul and Mikey keep digging and serve up a whole new bunch of treats from episodes 4 to 6. More stories, more insights, and of course… more maps!!
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“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half as much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at three vessels that got well and truly messed up. From 17th century Sweden to the heights of the Cold War, these are three bizarre tales of the sea.
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“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time." Sylvia Plath
Paul and Mikey explore all things August, Augustan and even Augustine! But where did this month come from and how did we survive for so long without it?
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“Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true. When you realise that Vienna waits for you.” Billy Joel
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the interwoven lives of the powerful and the infamous, and how they all rubbed elbows in pre-World War I Vienna. It’s 1913 and they’re about to enter ‘The laboratory of the Apocalypse.’
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Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 1 to 3. More stories, more insights, more maps!!
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“Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the idea is quite staggering.” Arthur C. Clarke
The Final Frontier?! Not for Paul and Mikey. Space exploration, hot rockets, cold wars, moon landings and ballistic missiles - this episode has them all.
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“You can’t be a real spy and have everybody in the world know who you are and what your drink is. That’s just hysterically funny.” Roger Moore
In this episode on espionage, Mikey looks at two of history’s most inept spies, and Paul asks: ‘Was one of England’s greatest playwrights a secret agent?’
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With Paul wrapping up his trip to the UK, the guys thought to wrap up our classic ep with Paul's Hero- The Earl of Macclesfield.
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Paul is still in the UK but Mikey can't help but keep on releasing some of his favourite episodes. This week, we take a look back on The Batavia.
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With Paul off to the UK, the guys thought it would be a good idea to revisit some classic episodes and thought revisiting The Kushans would be a perfect start!
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“The past is not behind us but under our feet” H Corbin (French Philosopher)
Paul and Mikey are serving it up a treat - a real smorgasbord from episodes 7 and 8. More stories, more insights, more maps!!
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“Travelling: it leaves you speechless, and then turns you into a storyteller.” Ibn Battuta
Join Paul and Mikey as they go in search of one of the most well-travelled legends in History. With probably the world’s greatest traveller as their guide.
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“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.” Alexandre Dumas
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the real D’Artagnan, how changing military tactics helped to keep the French at war for over a century, and a secret Parisian society dedicated to smoking hash.
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“History is not the sort of animal you can domesticate.” Antonio Tabucchi (Pereira Maintains)
Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 4 to 6. More stories, more insights, more maps!!
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“Scratch a Russian and you will find a Tartar.' Napoleon
The lands above the Black Sea have been fought over for centuries. Yet in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries they were united under one force - the Khazars. Could mass religious conversion have been the secret to their success?
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“If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” Will Rogers
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at some of the disastrous results of humans mucking around with nature.It’s about invasive species and the role played by Shakespeare in plane crashes.
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Oh!" said Pooh again. "What is the North Pole?"
"It's just a thing you discover," said Christopher Robin, not being quite sure himself.
A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Paul and Mikey take the road north to balance out the series, stopping off to seek a route through the fabled NorthWest Passage on their way. But how can you discover a land that has no land?!
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“Revolution is the opium of the intellectual." Raymond Aron
Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 1 to 3. More stories, more insights, more maps!!
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“The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have confidence even in a shadow than in the church.” Ferdinand Magellan
Paul and Mikey take a quizzical look at ‘Flat Earthers’ from the sixth century to the modern day. Just how could this trope of a theory get tangled up with ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, a 1950s sign writer, and a moon full of beavers?
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“Live dangerously. Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius.” Friedrich Nietzsche
Brave words Freddy boy, but real estate choices near (and even not near) volcanoes can have dire consequences. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at some far reaching outcomes from volcanic activity, including the loudest noise in human history. The Volcano Revolution?!
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“Every human longs for peace and love.” Hiawatha
Separating ‘Fact’ from ‘Fiction’ is the constant challenge of an historian. None more so than the early history of North America’s First Nations peoples. Research relies heavily on oral traditions handed down from generation to generation but that hasn’t stopped Paul and Mikey digging for nuggets of truth.
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"Number one Russian solution? Bring in the tanks!" Paul and Mikey, Heroes & Howlers (March 2021)
Back in Season 1, Paul and Mikey had a look at the collapse of the Soviet Union. They assessed its impact on Russia and Eastern Europe in the intervening thirty years, and just what it might mean looking forward. Twelve months on and their assessment of Putin and Co was worryingly prescient.
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"If every fool wore a crown, we should all be Kings." Welsh Proverb
Everybody’s favourite day of the year - well, certainly Paul and Mikey’s. But some of the stories behind the pranks and foolishness might surprise you. Just what is a Scottish gowk? And why should we hunt it?
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'The history of the world is but the biography of great men.' Thomas Carlyle
Paul and Mikey disagree with TC. Howlers will always be as influential as Heroes, and ‘Unsung Heroes’ often more so. Time to look back at episodes 4-6, answer listener questions, and dish up a couple of extra treats.
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“The world is a drama, staged in a dream.” Guru Nanak
Mata Khivi and the tradition of serving free communal meals (Langar) changed the face of Sikhism for ever. It has grown to become one of the most cherished institutions all over the world.
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“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.” Werner Herzog
But if that film was Birth of a Nation, Werner, you can just leave it there. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at how one film single-handedly resurrected the KKK. Then take a sideways glance at a few other early 20th-century repugnant (and sometimes costumed!) misfits/Howlers.
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“Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.“ Samuel Johnson
Paul and Mikey serve up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps!
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“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win, otherwise why be a warrior? It is easier to count beads.” Miyamoto Musashi
Well, the Japanese navy was certainly not “counting beads” when it took on the Russians in 1904-5. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the ‘Wild East’: Russian expansion, Japanese expansion and a naval battle that changed the world.
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“Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It's like going to the moon.” Jon Krakauer
The race to the South Pole was always going to throw up some Heroes, maybe a few Howlers too - but who should really get the credit for discovering the Seventh Continent? Paul and Mikey wrap up warm to take a look.
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“Rather fail with honour, than succeed by Fraud” Sophocles
If only Gregor McGregor had spent more time studying the Classics. This week Paul and Mikey go hunting for a Scottish rogue and find themselves marooned on Central America’s Mosquito Coast.
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“As for all your latest Mayan discoveries and poems, I want to hear every word of it.” Jack Kerouac, Letters to Allen Ginsberg
The Americas were home to many fascinating nations and cultures, long before the Europeans arrived. And they did pretty well on the fruit and veg front too. In this episode, the boys take an in-depth look at the Maya, and see what Heroes and Howlers Meso-America might have to offer.
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“The past alone is truly real: the present is but a painful, struggling birth into the immutable being of what is no longer. Only the dead exist fully.”Bertrand Russell, On History
Paul and Mikey dish up titbits galore, and answer listener questions from episodes 4-6. Time to close out Season 4 and enter a New Year in style.
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“If a man were called upon to fix that period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.“ Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Paul and Mikey serve up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps!
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"England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again.
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; ‘Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer, The poor man's heart through half the year."
Walter Scott - Marmion
Paul and Mikey are unwrapping presents for everyone early this year. They’ve got Wars on Christmas, Coke bottle Santas, and drunken sleigh rides across New England. Sign off 2021 in style with the last of this season’s episodes.
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“Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy” Henry David Thoreau
Captain Cook was the first to admit that the Dutch had been mapping New Holland decades before he set sail on The Endeavour. Could the Chinese have travelled that way too? The Spanish? The Portuguese? Paul and Mikey weigh anchor to find out.
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This week, Mikey is revisiting Treasure Fleet as Paul is still in the UK. Enjoy! We will be back with new episodes shortly.
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With Paul out of town, Mikey has chosen some of his all-time favourite episodes that he wants you to hear again. This week we have Napoleon (Wallpaper). Enjoy!
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With Paul off in the UK, Mikey wanted to take a walk down memory lane and remind you of where it all began- The Fourth Crusade.
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“Are we not like people sitting up with a corpse, and making merry in the house of the dead?” Herman Melville
Over a thousand years before Melville wrote his words one Pope actually did this very thing. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the Cadaver Synod and the perilous political games played out amongst the early medieval papacy.
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“Do not to look upon the loss of 10 days with wonder or scorn. Do not regret the removal of 10 days from the calendar. All those who love sleep can console themselves by thinking about how wonderful it will be to go to bed on the second of the month and to sleep until the morning of the 14th” -Benjamin Franklin
Julian vs Gregorian. Ten months vs twelve. Lunar vs solar. Paul takes Mikey for a spin around the zodiac and ends up… in Macclesfield!
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“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius
If only the Emperor Commodus had inherited a fraction of his father’s wisdom.In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the turbulent reign that many believe was the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. As well as the fascinating role played by adoption amongst Rome's ruling elite.
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“To follow the Silk Road is to follow a ghost. It flows through the heart of Asia, but it has officially vanished leaving behind the pattern of its restlessness: counterfeit borders, unmapped peoples.”Colin Thubron,Shadow of the Silk Road
Rather than being a bridge to link East and West, The Silk Road was a web of routes growing ever outwards. From its heart in Central Asia, it would stretch to all four corners of the continent. Yet its architects, The Kushans, like the network itself have all but vanished - Paul and Mikey go in search of this lost people, and the ‘ghost’ of their leader, Kanishka the Great.
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“I know that all things pass away but history. History never dies. It is what defines us as a civilization, and we live out our collective histories every day, in ways both good and evil... History dies hard.” Paul Rusesabagina (An Ordinary Man)
Paul and Mikey dish up more juicy morsels, answer listener questions from episodes 6-9, and bring Season 3 (and Lockdown!) to a close with a bang.
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“History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.” Voltaire (L'Ingénu)
Paul and Mikey dish up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps.
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“I could calculate the motions of the heavenly stars, but not the madness of people.” Sir Isaac Newton
With ‘Money’ becoming more liquid, and ‘The Market’ more fluid, investors in ‘The City’ searched far and wide for new opportunities. Mikey and Paul are hot on their heels - hoping to catch a glimpse of the bubbles before they burst.
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"To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead." Miyamoto Musashi (Japanese Swordsman/Philosopher)
Paul and Mikey head eastwards in search of Japan’s Three Great Unifiers… and some Black Ships!
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“I asked: ‘Do you speaka my language?’ He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” Men at Work
Do armies really march on their stomachs? Paul and Mikey tuck into how conflict has transformed food production over the centuries and given us some of our best-loved staples.
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“Young men make wars…, old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.” Prince Faisal (Lawrence Of Arabia) The Arabian Peninsula has been pivotal since ancient times, and for good reason. Home to legendary figures such as the Queen of Sheba, and thriving trading hubs linking India to Africa to the Mediterranean, its territories have been fought over for centuries. Time for Paul and Mikey to get some sand between their toes.
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“They say openly that Christ and his saints slept.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Paul and Mikey look at how one howler of a booze cruise plunged twelfth century England and France into chaos.
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“I wish for adventure. I wish to matter.” Sins of a Wicked Duke
Good Dukes, Wicked Dukes and Wicked Uncles - Tudor England had them all. Or was that just Shakespearean propaganda? Paul and Mikey dig deep to find out.
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“If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.” Josephine Cochrane
Paul and Mikey look at the life of this groundbreaking entrepreneur and inventor, and the rise of the women’s rights movement in late 19th century America.
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“Superficial goals lead to superficial results” Attila The Hun
History has cast him as the Biggest, Baddest Barbarian of all time. But Paul’s ready to convince Mikey he should go down as a Hero. Wil this challenge to Gibbon’s masterpiece succeed? Or is it Paul’s Decline and Fall?
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“No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on.” Curious last words of King Frederick William I of Prussia (1713-40)
Paul and Mikey kick off Season 3 by going Prussian! Join them as they cast a quizzical eye over the man they called the ‘Soldier King’.
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“History always has a few tricks up its frayed sleeve. It's been around a long time.” Terry Pratchett
It’s the end of Season 2 and the last of our Extra Helpings. Join the boys as they call time on Episodes 6-10.
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“Geography is the eye of history” Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598: cartographer and producer of first ‘World Atlas’)
Paul and Mikey get the chance to answer all your questions from Season Two, and squeeze in a few of their own for good measure.
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“Peccavi - I have sinned (Sindh)” Charles Napier (Major-General British Army in India)
The arrogance of the British in India knew few bounds. Paul and Mikey pick through probably the worst howler of them all - The First Afghan War.
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“A merry life and a short one” Pirate motto of Bartholomew Roberts (aka ‘Black Bart’)
Black Bart captured over 400 ships and was the complete opposite from this episode’s Howler: Stede Bonnet. Paul and Mikey shiver their timbers and have a look down the spy-glass at the man known as ‘The Gentleman Pirate’. Beware the Black Spot!
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“I am the son of the road, my country is the caravan, my life the most unexpected of journeys.” Leo Africanus
Paul and Mikey follow in the footsteps of one of History’s greatest historians. Their journey takes them along West Africa’s Gold Coast, up the Niger and into the heart of the Sahara Desert - all in search of …?
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“My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go.” -Oscar Wilde
In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the bizarre connection between the death of Napoleon and one of Britain’s greatest interior designers.
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‘Steal a loaf of bread and they will cut your hands off, steal an entire country and they will proclaim you their king.’ Norse Sagas
Don’t be fooled by chilly tales of beards and battle-axes. Head east with Paul and Mikey, and discover a whole new (warm!) viking world.
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“Assassination has never changed the history of the world” Benjamin Disraeli
Sorry to disagree with you, Ben, but the killing of Lincoln had repercussions that we still feel today. Paul and Mikey look at that fateful April night and one participant that history has tried to forget.
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'Whenever I can find the time, I read history books and the classics so as to avoid idle living.’ Yongle (Ming Dynasty Emperor)
Big China or Little China? Why did Ming Dynasty China turn its back on the world? Could modern-day China be about to do the same? Paul and Mikey go in search of the answers.
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“I am a man more sinned against than sinning.” King Lear, Act 3 Scene 2
Paul and Mikey look at one of theatre’s greatest sins - the century and half when King Lear was performed with (of all things) a happy ending!
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“I shall be a good politician. Even if it kills me. Or if it kills anyone else, for that matter.”Mark Antony
Mikey and Paul ask you to lend them your ears as they recount one of the epic showdowns in history: Mark Antony vs Octavian (Augustus). But who’s the hero?
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“The same intelligence is required to marshal an army in battle and to order a good dinner.” Lucius Aemillius Paullus (Roman Consul and General, conqueror of Macedon 168 BC)
A secret but often overlooked weapon the United States brought to the battlefields of WWI. Mikey has a theory but Paul’s going to need some convincing.
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“History repeats itself - Has to; no one listens.” Steve Turner
It’s the end of Season 1 and the last of our Extra Helpings. Join the boys as they call time on one chapter and look forward to the next..
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“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” George Hegel
Paul and Mikey get the chance to answer all your questions from Season One, and squeeze in a few of their own for good measure.
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“Here’s an equivocator that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven..”Macbeth
Was Guy Fawkes a Catholic terrorist or the ‘equivocator’ alluded to by Shakespeare? Mikey and Paul scour the records and find out more about Bonfire Night than they bargained for.
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“I have often marvelled at the thin line which separates success from failure.” Ernest Shackleton
But sometimes failure is hard-wired in from the start. Paul and Mikey uncover why the Burke and Wills expedition was already in deep trouble long before the tragic events of the Dig Tree.
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“I have not told half of what I saw.” Marco Polo (1254–1324)
There’s a reason why Marco didn’t tell the other half - because that would have lifted the lid on Niccolo Polo, Marco’s dad. Niccolo was the true hero and it’s his name that should have gone down in the history books - Paul and Mikey tell you why.
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“I could sooner reconcile all Europe than two women.”Louis XIV (1643-1715)
Well he would say that, wouldn’t he? In this episode Mikey and Paul look at power, progeny, Louis’ love life, and how a certain one-eyed sex tutor saved the House of Bourbon.
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“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander of Macedon (356–323 BC)
Alexander successfully conquered the known world but without his trusty steed, Bucephalus, many say he would have been only half the man. Just how much have famous horses changed the course of history? Mikey and Paul saddle up to find out.
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“For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.”Christopher Columbus
Well no wonder he got lost!! Throw in some phantom islands plus a manatee fetish, and it's a surprise his ships ever left port. Paul and Mikey go exploring the high seas for answers. NB Columbus did NOT discover America!
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"Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori" - Wilfred Owen (via Horace)
'The Black Hand Gang - a name to strike fear into the heart of any Archduke. Throw in one hell of a wrong turn and… where’s Sat-Nav when you need it? Join Mikey and Paul as they take The Great War for a spin (Part I)
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"The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years" - GDR head of state Erich Honecker, January 1989
The Berlin Wall, The Iron Curtain, The Warsaw Pact, The Eastern Bloc – could they all have been brought tumbling down by one lousy press conference? Join the boys as they sift through the rubble. Warning: contains German!
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“Be temperate in wine, eating, girls, and sloth; or the gout will have you both.” - Benjamin Franklin
Everyone knows America was born on the Fourth of July, but what brought about the Declaration of Independence? Paul and Mikey dissect the politics, the economics, and the often overlooked role of gout… Yes that’s right, we said ‘gout’.
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“The most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation." - David Hume
The Crusades is one of the defining chapters in History, a showcase for ‘East meets West’. It was the era of great men, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, St Bernard of Clairvaux. So who cocked up the Fourth Crusade? And how did it end up turning on fellow Christians?
Comedian Mikey Robins and Historian Paul Wilson kick off their new series in style. Join them as they take on Seljuks, Saracens, Mamluks and more.
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'Heros and Howlers - And The Rest Is History’ - a quizzical look at some of history’s quirkiest moments. Mikey Robins, celebrated Australian comedian, and Paul Wilson, Oxford Historian and author, take you on a raucous tour across some of the strangest turning points in history.
We like to think of history as a ‘Grand March’ full of bold action and heroic deeds, but scratch the surface and it’s amazing how many key events have been shaped by serendipity, moments of madness, even the downright banal. This series revels in such circumstance: the cock ups, the mishaps, the bizarre twists of fate that have changed the course of mankind – sometimes tragic, sometimes comical, sometimes just plain stupid.
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