Half-Arsed History

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn all about the English longbow, which played a decisive role in the military history of western Europe between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, and hear the stories of the battles in which it played a key role. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the life of Edward Jenner, a man who perhaps saved more lives than any other human in the history of our species by developing a vaccine for smallpox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the story of Irene of Athens, who rose to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own right through a combination of political cleverness and brutal and bloody authority. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the incredible exploits of the brazen sea captain Peter Tordenskjold, who fought for Denmark-Norway against the Swedish during the Great Northern War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the ridiculous story of the Siege of Dunbar, where a Scottish noblewoman known as Black Agnes thoroughly humiliated her English foes as they laid siege to her castle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the tale of Johann Friedrich Struensee, who took control of the Kingdom of Denmark in the eighteenth century, by winning over the king and sleeping with the queen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the remarkable tale of the Norwegian and Allied saboteurs who fought a secret and dangerous war against the Nazi nuclear weapons program during the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the remarkable true story of the Beast of Gévaudan, a monstrosity that plagued and terrorised the French countryside in the 1760s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the life of Tycho Brahe, who balanced his astronomic and scientific genius with, like, just a whole bunch of really weird stuff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the second half of the story of Operation Pastorius, when eight Nazi saboteurs were sent across the Atlantic in submarines to attempt to wreak havoc within the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the first half of the story of Operation Pastorius, when eight Nazi saboteurs were sent across the Atlantic in submarines to attempt to wreak havoc within the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the origin of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the woman who was behind its construction, Artemisia II of Caria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the story of the Norman Conquest of England, an event which put a new line of kings on the throne of England and forever changed the course of world history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover one of the most humiliating defeats ever suffered by the Australian Army - the Great Emu War, when artillerymen and machine guns from the Australian Army were deployed to fight tens of thousands of emus, and lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the story of the Mutiny on the Batavia, when a Dutch ship ran aground off the coast of Western Australia and ended up with a murderous psychopath in charge, resulting in treachery, betrayal, and of course 'orrible murder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the hilarious and near-world-changing story of the USS William D. Porter, a ship whose crew almost accidentally killed US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before suffering the weirdest kamikaze attack in history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, find out the truth about the famous Battle of the Alamo and its role in securing Texan independence, as well as the stories of some of the famous men who were there, including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the tale of Queen Nzinga, who spent a lifetime fighting against the Portuguese colonisation of Angola - and in doing so, united two kingdoms and made a name for herself as a clever, pragmatic, and ruthless leader. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the incredible story of the Dumas family, who for four consecutive generations produced a succession of "distinguished men" - a revolutionary general, a celebrated author, a talented playwright, and an Olympic double-gold medallist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear more of the ridiculous stories that came out of the Eighty Years' War, including a sixteenth-century Trojan Horse story, the establishment of the Dutch East India Company, and the only time in history a Spanish treasure fleet was ever captured. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear some of the ridiculous stories that came out of the Eighty Years' War, including the surfing pirates of the Siege of Leiden, the tens of thousands left dead after the Spanish Fury, and William the Silent paying for his assassin's pistols. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the incredible life story of Josephine Baker, who went from the slums of St. Louis to international stardom as a singer, while also working as a spy during the Second World War and a civil rights activist in the years afterwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed at the incredible exploits of Juan Pujol García, who went from being a Spanish chicken farmer to one of the most important double agents during the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the amusing and tragic adventures of Tarrare, a French man who had perhaps the most voracious appetite the world has ever seen, eating everything from his own bodyweight in meat to wood and rocks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the story of John Paul Jones, a daring naval commander whose early victories against the British during the American Revolutionary War earnt him the title "Father of the US Navy". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the tale of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, one of the greatest naval strategists the world has ever seen, who never lost a battle or even a ship at sea throughout his entire career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, enjoy the uplifting story of James Lind, a medical visionary who was ahead of his time in helping to cure scurvy and conducting what might have been the world's first clinical trial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, try to contain your bewilderment as you hear the story of John R. Brinkley, a man who made his fortune by transplanting goat testicles into humans after marketing them as a miracle cure-all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn how Alexander the Great besieged Tyre, with hundreds of ships and a human-made causeway, altering not only the course of world history but also the course of world geography. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the story of Neutral Moresnet, a fascinatingly unique geographical and political anomaly in 19th-century Europe, famous for zinc mining, smuggling, gambling, and Esperanto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be shocked at the debauchery of Elagabalus, who ruled Rome as emperor during the third century with some and gained an outrageous reputation for salaciousness and promiscuity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, enjoy the life story of the gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet, who left behind a life of comfortable wealth to take to the seas as a pirate in the Golden Age of Piracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the incredible life of Robert Smalls, who went from being born into slavery to becoming a war hero and a congressman, securing his freedom by stealing a Confederate gunboat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed at one of the most brazen and audacious confidence tricks in history - the Poyais Scheme, run by Gregor MacGregor, who invented an entire country and swindled people into investing in and emigrating to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the wild soldiering career of the famous swindler Gregor MacGregor, who talked his way into (and out of) all sorts of wild adventures while fighting for various Latin American independence movements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be entertained by the wild life story of Julie d'Aubigny - better known as La Maupin - who was a swordfighting, convent-burning, and incredibly amorous opera singer in seventeenth century France. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be shocked at just how close we've come to a nuclear apocalypse, and how the actions of brave individuals such as Vasiliy Arkhipov and Stanislav Petrov mean that we're still around today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, explore the story of William Buckley, a convict who was transported to Australia only to make a daring escape and live amongst the local indigenous population for decades. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed at an untold piece of Scottish History: the Darien Scheme, when Scotland attempted to start a colony in Central America, in the hopes of bridging the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the swashbuckling lives of Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read, three famous pirates that caused all sorts of havoc and mayhem at the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed at the total lunacy that surrounded the 1904 Olympic Marathon, which featured people coughing up blood, getting attacked by dogs, stopping for naps, taking rat poison as a performance-enhancing drug, and even taking cars to the finish line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the consequences of the famous Mutiny on the Bounty, and the fates of both the loyalists and the mutineers after the ship was seized. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear about the leadup to and execution of the famous Mutiny on the Bounty, when malcontent British sailors seized control of a British vessel from their captain, William Bligh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the adventures and misadventures of the Russian Second Pacific Squadron, which sailed 29,000km to fight in the Russo-Japanese War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the amazing - and utterly ridiculous - life and times of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover one of the most ridiculous military operations in history - when the US mobilised over ten thousand troops to cut down a single tree. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed by the bloodthirsty butchery perpetrated by the Britonnic queen Boudica, when she campaigned against the Romans in the first century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover what happened when Hannibal Barca attacked the Roman Republic after crossing the Alps, including the famous Battle of Cannae. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the legendary Hannibal Barca and his crossing of the Alps to stage a land invasion of the Roman Republic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the life of Guillaume Le Gentil, who was fraught with unbelievably bad luck while attempting to observe the Transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.