Half-Arsed History

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster, a tragic tale of death on the ice as completely avoidable communication issues saw two ship captains believe a lost crew was aboard the other's vessel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the incredible tale of Florence Nightingale, the founder of the modern profession of nursing.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's monument is the Nazca Lines, a remarkable and mysterious series of enormous shapes and patterns "drawn" into the Peru's Nazca Desert, that can only be seen properly from high in the air. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Yoshie Shiratori, a bloke who escaped four different times in four different ways from four different prisons - and then went back to prison of his own accord. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More change is coming to Half-Arsed History: as the show has experienced unprecedented growth over the last twelve months, I want to talk about the big plans I have for the future, how I'm working to make them a reality, and what is supporting these plans - namely, for the first time, host-read ads. I'm posting this update to be as transparent as possible, and to seek your understanding by explaining how I see the incoming changes as being a net positive. As ever, I appreciate any and all feedback - head over to halfarsedhistory.net and use the contact form to get in touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, go on a journey through the history of tennis, one of the modern world's most popular professional sports and one that dates back almost a thousand years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's monument is the Great Wall of China, a series of defensive fortifications that has helped to secure the northern borders of various Chinese realms for over two and a half thousand years, with its most famous and iconic sections being built from the 14th century onwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: HMS Diamond Rock, an island that the British Royal Navy once commissioned as a ship, leading to a tradition of creating "stone frigates" - areas of land that were, as far as the Royal Navy was concerned, actual ships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the history of an international relations theory known as the Democratic Peace Theory, which argues that democracies never go to war with one another.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's monument is Stonehenge, a prehistoric stone circle found in the United Kingdom that dates back to around 2500 BCE. While we don't know for certain why Stonehenge was built, the way it was built is truly remarkable, and millennia later it remains a place of great cultural significance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Jenny Diver, a notorious and infamous pickpocket who terrorised London's wealthy classes in the early 18th century with all sorts of very inventive schemes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the emperor Charlemagne, who had a foundational influence on the creation and development of modern Europe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, an act of state terrorism carried out by France against a Greenpeace ship in a Kiwi harbour in 1985. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the tale of one of the most important scientific figures in human history: Charles Darwin, and his revolutionary theory on evolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Christmas Truce, an unofficial and unauthorised ceasefire between soldiers fighting the First World War over Christmas in 1914. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the life story of one of the greatest monarchs ever to have lived: Brazil's Pedro II the Magnanimous.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Alfred Nobel, a man who may have attempted to cover up his legacy as the inventor of dynamite by instituting the world-famous Nobel Prizes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the story behind one a longstanding diplomatic stoush between Greece and Britain, and the items that caused it: the Elgin Marbles.NOTE: Sincere apologies for my frustratingly incorrect pronunciation of "Elgin". I should have looked it up before I started recording, oops! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of the Principality of Hutt River, an unrecognised micronation whose chief exports were wheat, shonky passports, and tax evasion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, get across a condensed history of one of the richest and most powerful empires of the early modern period: the Mughal Empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of powdered wigs, from why and how they emerged as an essential fashion accessory for western men in the 18th century to their eventual decline and downfall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the life story of the the celebrated French seer Nostradamus, and examine some of his more famous prophecies in more detail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Operation Cowboy, when an unlikely group of allies came together in the closing stages of the Second World War in Europe to rescue a herd of prize horses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the life story of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach while listening to some of his most enduring works - most of which you are already probably familiar with, even if you don't realise it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Adolphe Sax, who not only invented the saxophone but also defied death on eight different occasions as a small child. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the remarkable tale of Kate Sheppard, who was instrumental in making Aotearoa New Zealand the first self-governing place on Earth to offer universal women's suffrage to its populace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Loudun Possessions, an affair that saw a horny French priest executed for the possession of some nuns during over a dispute about the demolition of Loudun's town walls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, count down through the five longest-reigning sovereign monarchs in history, from ancient Maya city states to modern 21st-century kingdoms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Sayyida al Hurra, a Moroccan noblewoman who ruled the city-state of Tétouan with a powerful pirate fleet that terrorised the Mediterranean. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the history of the celebration today known as Halloween, from its origin as a Christian festival for saints and martyrs to its modern Samhain-influenced incarnation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Al Capone, the infamous Mafia boss whose legendary fame during the Prohibition era has had a huge influence on the popular conception of gangsters to this day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the history of the Sicilian Mafia, the most famous criminal organisation in history, and hear about its spread from the island of Sicily across the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: George Mallory, the British mountaineer who lost his life while making an attempt on the summit of Mount Everest back in 1924. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first two people to be confirmed to have made it to the peak of the highest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Astor Place Riot, a deadly riot that erupted on the streets of New York after a longstanding disagreement over who was the best Shakespearean actor of the time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, find out about all the famous Australians represented on Australian banknotes: Banjo Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore, Mary Reibey and John Flynn, David Ngunaitponi and Edith Cowan, and Dame Nellie Melba and Sir John Monash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Bir Tawil, the only sizeable area of land outside of Antarctica that remains unclaimed, as Egypt and Sudan both fight for the other nation's claim to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn more about the historical setting for the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage: a tumultuous and chaotic time in Islamic history known as the Anarchy at Samarra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, whose short career as a pirate captain was enough to see him named by Forbes magazine as history's top-earning pirate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, who has gone on to become perhaps the most famous and well-known pirate in history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the 1944 Bombay Explosion, when a huge explosion ripped through the city's docks because of some truly idiotic mistakes when it came to loading cargo aboard a ship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn everything you need to know about Australian referendums - what they are, how they work, and what was involved with the most famous and important ones in Australian history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the TRUTH about the Bermuda Triangle, the truth that THEY don't want you to know about all the MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES of planes and ships and people in this ONE SPECIFIC PART of the Atlantic Ocean. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the tale of Catherine de' Medici, an Italian noblewoman who rose to become the ruler of France during one of the most tumultuous periods in French history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Pope Benedict IX, infamous not only for being the only person to have multiple "terms" as pope and for once selling the papacy to someone, but also for apparently having great big orgies in the papal residency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, enjoy another ten stories surrounding some of the most ridiculous and amusing deaths in history.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the famous event that saw the city of Pompeii destroyed and preserved under metres of volcanic material. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the stories behind the two deadliest volcanic eruptions in human history: the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, and the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: The Berners Street Hoax, an incident in 1810 that saw a street in central London jammed with tradespeople, merchants, deliverymen, doctors, lawyers, and countless others, all inexplicably trying to access one particular address on the same day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the monumental impact Henry VIII had on English history as a result of his many marriages, culminating in the establishment of the Church of England.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.