Half-Arsed History
A Very Serious History Podcast
Riley Knight
Show overview
Half-Arsed History has been publishing since 2018, and across the 8 years since has built a catalogue of 686 episodes. That works out to roughly 420 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a several-times-a-week cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 22 min and 48 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language History show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed yesterday, with 37 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 162 episodes published. Published by Riley Knight.
From the publisher
Half-Arsed History's first book, History's Strangest Deaths, is now available: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.htmlWelcome along to Half-Arsed History! It's a weekly podcast highlighting absurd and entertaining stories from history. Twice a week, it helps host Riley Knight feel as though his useless history degree has some kind of real-world relevance.Get in touch: [email protected] the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/halfarsedhistorySubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/halfarsedhistoryBuy Half-Arsed History merch: https://halfarsedhistory.theprintbar.comIf you've just discovered the show and aren't sure which of the 350+ episodes to start with, here are some suggestions:Episode 139: The History of the Toilet - https://sptfy.com/PK3J • https://apple.co/3Giftt3Episode 75: The Great Emu War - https://sptfy.com/PK3K • https://apple.co/4jKCvr7Episode 197: The History of Nuclear Weapons - https://sptfy.com/PK3L • https://apple.co/4jygYlcEpisode 233: The 1930 FIFA World Cup - https://sptfy.com/PK3M • https://apple.co/4iltL9PEpisode 106: The First Circumnavigation - https://sptfy.com/PK3N • https://apple.co/4jewsLjHalf-Arsed History acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the unceded Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) Land on which the podcast is written and recorded, and pays respect to First Nations Elders past, present, and emerging. Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. This continent always was, and always will be, Aboriginal Land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest Episodes
View all 686 episodesWeek 19: The Assassination of Spencer Perceval
Update: I'm Really Sick So Episodes Will Be Delayed
Episode 410: John Harrison’s Marine Chronometer
Week 18: George Psalmanazar and the Formosa Hoax
Episode 409: The Donner Party
Week 17: The Battle of Clontarf
Episode 408: The 1973 Oil Crisis
Week 16: The Death of the Red Baron
Episode 407: The Avignon Papacy
Week 15: The Invention of Cornflakes
Episode 406: The East India Company - Part 6: Legacies and Lessons
Ep 50014Week 14: The Rescue of Poon Lim
This week in history we’ve got volcanic eruptions and famous statues, we’ve got the birthdays of royals, representatives, and root rats, and we’ve got a bloke catching seagulls and killing sharks in a months-long ordeal of lonely maritime survival. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 10405Episode 405: The East India Company - Part 5: Downfall and Dissolution
In this week's episode, discover how and why the British East India Company, an immensely powerful and wealthy imperial institution, came crashing down after a slow and steady decline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 50013Week 13: The Spaghetti Tree Hoax
This week in history we’ve got the origin of gerrymandering, the renaming of Constantinople, we’ve got the birthdays of composers and scientists and painters, and we’ve got the time the BBC convinced half of Britain that spaghetti grew on trees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 10404Episode 404: The East India Company - Part 4 Expansion and Empire
In this week's episode, hear about the phase of conquest and expansion that transformed the British East India Company into one of the largest and most powerful imperial institutions on Earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 50012Week 12: England Loses the 1966 World Cup
This week in history we’ve got monuments both finished and unfinished, we’ve got great escapes, we’ve got the birthdays of clockmakers, filmmakers, and musicmakers, and we’ve got the time that England lost the World Cup in 1966. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 10403Episode 403: The East India Company - Part 3: Conquest and Corruption
In this week's episode, get across how the British East India Company transformed from a purely commercial enterprise to a sovereign entity exercising colonial authority over a growing part of the Indian subcontinent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 50011Week 11: The Assassination of Julius Caesar
This week in history we’ve got the death of a saint, the discovery of a planet, and the theft of half a billion dollars of art, we’ve got the birthdays of scientists and explorers, and beware the Ides of March, we’ve got the assassination of Julius Caesar.Selene's Fun Animal Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6LMIgPToyL63jhxRKddc0a?si=3a181b5c586449b3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 10402Episode 402: The East India Company - Part 2: Footholds and Factories
In this week's episode, hear about the early history of the English East India Company, and how it moved away from the Indonesian spice trade and instead gained a foothold on the Indian subcontinent under the Mughal Empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 50010Week 10: The 13 Original Rules of Golf
This week in history we’ve got the foundation of the French Foreign Legion and frozen food, we’ve got the birthdays of explorers and artists and activists, and we’ve got the establishment of the original and sometimes very amusing rules of the game of golf. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.