Half-Arsed History

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.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Jumbo the Elephant, who became the world's most famous elephant after a lifetime as a star attraction in zoos and circuses across Europe and North America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of the Vasa, a heavily-armed 17th century Swedish warship that sank just minutes into its maiden voyage, but is today the best-preserved warship from that period. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Great Molasses Flood, a disaster where a reservoir burst and wiped out half a neighbourhood with a sticky, sugary, eight-metre high wave of molasses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, find out the truth about five of the biggest misconceptions in history, including the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the visibility of the Great Wall of China from space, what ninja and vikings used to wear, and historical beliefs about the Earth being flat.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Bertha Benz, an automotive pioneer who undertook the world's first-ever long-distance test drive of a car, when she drove the Benz Model III over 100km from Mannheim to Pforzheim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn how artificial light has helped to create and shape human civilisation, and how it has changed over the millennia - from fire to gas to electricity.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Demon Core,a six-kilogram lump of plutonium that caused the first-ever lethal criticality accident, and then a second one when some reckless US scientists went back for a second helping of radiation poisoning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the true story of the life and career of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist principally responsible for bringing nuclear weapons into the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Bat Bombs, an actual, factual US military project run by a dentist, the goal of which was to drop incendiary bats on Tokyo during the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover five historical figures with some of the strangest epithets you'll ever come across: Mithridates the Poison King, Charles the Bald, Ivaylo the Cabbage, Selim the Drunk, and Robert the Cuckhold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese guerilla fighter who continued to fight the Second World War on behalf of Japan for almost three decades after it finished. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, uncover the life story of one of the most famous vikings in history: Harald Hardrada, who attempted to reforge the North Sea Empire after spending his younger years in exile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Harald Bluetooth, a famed viking king who unified Denmark before going after Norway and the Holy Roman Empire, and whose name is now synonymous with connecting electronic devices wirelessly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of Cnut the Great, who unified the thrones of Denmark, Norway, and England to create what is known to history as the North Sea Empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Violet Jessop, who not only survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, but also the sinking of its sister ship the HMHS Brittanic, as well as surviving a collision aboard the RMS Olympic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn the full story of the famous ship RMS Titanic - a ship that was touted as being "unsinkable", right up until it sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Operation Plumbbob, a series of nuclear tests that were carried out in the US in 1957, that involved test subjects such as buildings, aircraft, pigs, living servicemen - as well as creating what was at the time the fastest-moving human-made object in history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of the second and third voyages of Captain James Cook, as he sailed in search of Terra Australis Incognita and the Northwest Passage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Blas de Lezo, the Spanish naval officer who lost a leg, arm, and an eye and still managed to be one of the greatest naval commanders Spain ever produced. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, hear the tale of the first voyage undertaken by Captain James Cook, the first recorded instance of European contact with the east coast of Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: Iron Mike Malloy, a seemingly indestructible Irishman who survived several murder attempts as people attempted to cash in on his life insurance policies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Half-Arsed History, learn about the time that a chariot race sparked a deadly revolt which almost brought down an emperor: the Nika Riots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.