Women in 2021 talk about sexism and not being taken seriously by the scientific, corporate or engineering world. Imagine what that was like during World War Two? Hedy Lamarr was called the most beautiful woman in the world, but in her own words, she wished they’d been more interested in her brain. In fact, you might actually be listening to us via a technology she played a part in developing, right now…
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Nostradamus was either a genius with magical powers, or a very lucky bullshitter. In 16th century France, there may have been many mysterious men with the ability to convince the mighty they could foretell the future, but only one name survived down the ages. Even now, books about him and his predictions fly off the shelves. Those predictions continue to confound historians, ensnare mystics and drive rational people crazy... but who was Nostradamus?
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The most famous bandit of the Wild West, Jesse James and his gang terrorised many American cities for more than a decade. Apart from a treacherous death, a crazy mom and many crimes, we’ll tell you all about one of the most dangerous men the USA ever knew...
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To the Spanish he was a conquering hero, a conquistador, spreading Christianity to the 'savage tribes' of the new world. To the Aztecs and the native people of Central America, he was a harbinger of death, a destroyer of culture, and a frightening apparition that heralded the end of their civilisation.
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We know you love the bad guys, but this one is close to impossible to like. The fact that he perpetrated his crimes against humanity only three generations ago makes it somehow more monstrous. When the story of humanity is told, King Leopold II of the Belgians will not find himself covered in glory. Join us on this journey into the Heart of Darkness...
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The fearsome northmen in all their violence, strength, courage and ferocity probably shouldn’t be summarised in one lowly episode, but we’ll tell you how much more they gave us, and not just words like pillage and ransack. Their gods, society, women and sophistication were every bit as crucial as their raids, and we’re finding out more about the Vikings every day...
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Cleopatra VII lived at a great intersection of history... where Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collided. She was undoubtedly one of the personalities of the age - and a woman of tremendous power and influence. While the story ended in Shakespearean tragedy, to have seen history unfold through her eyes was to have a front row seat to the destiny of the world.
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Robert Sobukwe was one of the great thinkers and leaders of the struggle for democracy and freedom in South Africa. A humble man of academic bent, he ended up founding the Pan-Africanist Congress and was sentenced to solitary confinement on Robben Island. His story is both sad and inspiring, but without him, we would be living in a very different world.
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The longest reigning King of England watched the birth of America, the French Revolution, the dawn of modern science and the Agricultural revolution without ever leaving England. In fact, he hardly left Windsor. He was proud to be English and his bizarre eccentricities eventually proved to be real madness - but the people loved him. They called him 'Farmer George’ and he set a moral and respectable example of what the monarchy should be, one that has trickled down right to the present day.
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Before the words ‘gangster', ‘thug', ‘mafia' and 'mob boss' were used by pretenders, rappers and small-time thieves, those words were used to describe really dangerous, wily, streetwise and charismatic underworld people... people who started modern organised crime in America. Al Capone was the most real of them all.
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