A quizzical look at some of history’s quirkiest moments and unpredictable people. Mikey Robins, celebrated Australian comedian, and Paul Wilson, Oxford Historian and author, take you on a raucous tour across many of the strangest turning points in history.
This series celebrates the unsung heroes of history and puts the boot into the howlers. It revels in the characters, the cock ups, and the bizarre twists of fate that have changed the course of mankind – sometimes tragic, sometimes comical, sometimes just plain stupid.
Oh!" said Pooh again. "What is the North Pole?" "It's just a thing you discover," said Christopher Robin, not being quite sure himself. A. A. Milne , Winnie-the-Pooh Paul and Mikey take the road north to balance out the series, stopping off to seek a route through the fabled NorthWest Passage on their way. But how can you discover a land that has no land?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“Revolution is the opium of the intellectual." Raymond Aron Paul and Mikey dish up more tasty morsels from episodes 1 to 3. More stories, more insights, more maps!! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have confidence even in a shadow than in the church.” Ferdinand Magellan Paul and Mikey take a quizzical look at ‘Flat Earthers’ from the sixth century to the modern day. Just how could this trope of a theory get tangled up with ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, a 1950s sign writer, and a moon full of beavers? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“Live dangerously. Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius.” Friedrich Nietzsche Brave words Freddy boy, but real estate choices near (and even not near) volcanoes can have dire consequences. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at some far reaching outcomes from volcanic activity, including the loudest noise in human history. The Volcano Revolution?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“Every human longs for peace and love.” Hiawatha Separating ‘Fact’ from ‘Fiction’ is the constant challenge of an historian. None more so than the early history of North America’s First Nations peoples. Research relies heavily on oral traditions handed down from generation to generation but that hasn’t stopped Paul and Mikey digging for nuggets of truth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"Number one Russian solution? Bring in the tanks!" Paul and Mikey, Heroes & Howlers (March 2021) Back in Season 1, Paul and Mikey had a look at the collapse of the Soviet Union. They assessed its impact on Russia and Eastern Europe in the intervening thirty years, and just what it might mean looking forward. Twelve months on and their assessment of Putin and Co was worryingly prescient. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
"If every fool wore a crown, we should all be Kings." Welsh Proverb Everybody’s favourite day of the year - well, certainly Paul and Mikey’s. But some of the stories behind the pranks and foolishness might surprise you. Just what is a Scottish gowk? And why should we hunt it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
'The history of the world is but the biography of great men.' Thomas Carlyle Paul and Mikey disagree with TC. Howlers will always be as influential as Heroes, and ‘Unsung Heroes’ often more so. Time to look back at episodes 4-6, answer listener questions, and dish up a couple of extra treats. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“The world is a drama, staged in a dream.” Guru Nanak Mata Khivi and the tradition of serving free communal meals (Langar) changed the face of Sikhism for ever. It has grown to become one of the most cherished institutions all over the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.” Werner Herzog But if that film was Birth of a Nation , Werner, you can just leave it there. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at how one film single-handedly resurrected the KKK. Then take a sideways glance at a few other early 20th-century repugnant (and sometimes costumed!) misfits/Howlers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.“ Samuel Johnson Paul and Mikey serve up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win, otherwise why be a warrior? It is easier to count beads.” Miyamoto Musashi Well, the Japanese navy was certainly not “counting beads” when it took on the Russians in 1904-5. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the ‘Wild East’: Russian expansion, Japanese expansion and a naval battle that changed the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It's like going to the moon.” Jon Krakauer The race to the South Pole was always going to throw up some Heroes, maybe a few Howlers too - but who should really get the credit for discovering the Seventh Continent? Paul and Mikey wrap up warm to take a look. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“Rather fail with honour, than succeed by Fraud” Sophocles If only Gregor McGregor had spent more time studying the Classics. This week Paul and Mikey go hunting for a Scottish rogue and find themselves marooned on Central America’s Mosquito Coast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“As for all your latest Mayan discoveries and poems, I want to hear every word of it.” Jack Kerouac, Letters to Allen Ginsberg The Americas were home to many fascinating nations and cultures, long before the Europeans arrived. And they did pretty well on the fruit and veg front too. In this episode, the boys take an in-depth look at the Maya, and see what Heroes and Howlers Meso-America might have to offer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“The past alone is truly real: the present is but a painful, struggling birth into the immutable being of what is no longer. Only the dead exist fully.” Bertrand Russell , On History Paul and Mikey dish up titbits galore, and answer listener questions from episodes 4-6. Time to close out Season 4 and enter a New Year in style. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“If a man were called upon to fix that period in the history of the world during which the condition of t he human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus. “ Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Paul and Mikey serve up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
"England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again. 'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; ‘Twas Christmas told the merriest tale; A Christmas gambol oft could cheer, The poor man's heart through half the year." Walter Scott - Marmion Paul and Mikey are unwrapping presents for everyone early this year. They’ve got Wars on Christmas, Coke bottle Santas, and drunken sleigh rides across New England. Sign off 2021 in style with the last of this season’s episodes. See omnyst...
“ Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy” Henry David Thoreau Captain Cook was the first to admit that the Dutch had been mapping New Holland decades before he set sail on The Endeavour . Could the Chinese have travelled that way too? The Spanish? The Portuguese? Paul and Mikey weigh anchor to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
This week, Mikey is revisiting Treasure Fleet as Paul is still in the UK. Enjoy! We will be back with new episodes shortly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With Paul out of town, Mikey has chosen some of his all-time favourite episodes that he wants you to hear again. This week we have Napoleon (Wallpaper). Enjoy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With Paul off in the UK, Mikey wanted to take a walk down memory lane and remind you of where it all began- The Fourth Crusade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“Are we not like people sitting up with a corpse, and making merry in the house of the dead?” Herman Melville Over a thousand years before Melville wrote his words one Pope actually did this very thing. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the Cadaver Synod and the perilous political games played out amongst the early medieval papacy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“ Do not to look upon the loss of 10 days with wonder or scorn. Do not regret the removal of 10 days from the calendar. All those who love sleep can console themselves by thinking about how wonderful it will be to go to bed on the second of the month and to sleep until the morning of the 14th” - Benjamin Franklin Julian vs Gregorian. Ten months vs twelve. Lunar vs solar. Paul takes Mikey for a spin around the zodiac and ends up… in Macclesfield! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius If only the Emperor Commodus had inherited a fraction of his father’s wisdom.In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the turbulent reign that many believe was the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. As well as the fascinating role played by adoption amongst Rome's ruling elite. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“To follow the Silk Road is to follow a ghost. It flows through the heart of Asia, but it has officially vanished leaving behind the pattern of its restlessness: counterfeit borders, unmapped peoples.” Colin Thubron, Shadow of the Silk Road Rather than being a bridge to link East and West, The Silk Road was a web of routes growing ever outwards. From its heart in Central Asia, it would stretch to all four corners of the continent. Yet its architects, The Kushans, like the network itself have all...
“I know that all things pass away but history. History never dies. It is what defines us as a civilization, and we live out our collective histories every day, in ways both good and evil... History dies hard.” Paul Rusesabagina ( An Ordinary Man ) Paul and Mikey dish up more juicy morsels, answer listener questions from episodes 6-9, and bring Season 3 (and Lockdown!) to a close with a bang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.” Voltaire ( L'Ingénu ) Paul and Mikey dish up more juicy morsels, answer questions from listeners, and dig out a couple of extra maps. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
“I could calculate the motions of the heavenly stars, but not the madness of people.” Sir Isaac Newton With ‘Money’ becoming more liquid, and ‘The Market’ more fluid, investors in ‘The City’ searched far and wide for new opportunities. Mikey and Paul are hot on their heels - hoping to catch a glimpse of the bubbles before they burst. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
"To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead." Miyamoto Musashi (Japanese Swordsman/Philosopher) Paul and Mikey head eastwards in search of Japan’s Three Great Unifiers… and some Black Ships! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
