Half-Arsed History

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.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear about the Great Race of Mercy, where twenty courageous dog sledders attempted to prevent a deadly epidemic from wiping out the remote Alaskan town of Nome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, relive the Burke and Wills Expedition, one of the first attempts to cross the inland of Australia from south to north. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the life of Queen Zenobia, who forged an empire to rival Rome almost two thousand years ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the story surrounding the famous Spanish Armada - what it was, what it was trying to do, and just how catastrophically it failed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about an extraordinary figure from early palaeontology, whose fossil discoveries forever changed our understanding of the prehistoric world - Mary Anning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the life and times of Caligula, a short-lived Roman emperor known throughout history for his pants-on-head insanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed by the foolish optimism of Salomon Andree and his attempt to reach the North Pole - by hot-air balloon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the enormous environmental damage done by one of the most terrible inventors in the history of our civilisation: Thomas Midgley, Jr. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, separate the truth from the fiction when it comes to the legacy of the brutal Vlad the Impaler, who is known for the harsh cruelty he showed to his foes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be mystified at the tale of the Mary Celeste, a ship that was discovered in the middle of the Atlantic, abandoned by its crew with all its cargo untouched. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, explore the life of the only female ruler of China, known for ruthless and strong leadership, the empress Wu Zetian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, explore the absolute lunacy of the last emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear about the utter insanity involved in the Cadaver Synod, where a pope was dug up to be put on trial months after he'd actually died. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear about how a group of angry Bohemians chucked some blokes out of a window to trigger a religious war - and then did it again two hundred years later. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the insane economic genius of "Lord" Timothy Dexter, the original cashed-up bogan who built his fortune through ridiculous business decisions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the story of an unsung German hero, Georg Elser, who attempted to kill Hitler all by himself just after the outbreak of the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the incredible life of Jeanne de Clisson, who became known as the Lioness of Brittany after a brutal career from boring noblewoman to bloodthirsty pirate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the final years of the Ned Kelly and his gang, including bank robberies, murders, and of course the legendary Siege of Glenrowan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed at the ridiculous nonsense that went on during the early life of Ned Kelly, before he became the notorious bushranger and outlaw. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the complicated and tragic relationship between the cousins, rivals, and queens: Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, be amazed by the story of Leo Major, a Canadian soldier who single-handedly (and single-eyededly) liberated a Dutch town. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, witness the ruthless brutality of the early Mongol Empire as they engaged in the Mongol Conquest of Khwarezmia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.