Our Fake History

With a new star-studded film adaptation of The Odyssey bringing Homer's world back to the big screen, it’s the perfect time to share a teaser clip from our friends at You're Dead To Me. It's the BBC comedy podcast that...

In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you to the conclusion of one of the podcast's most discussed series. The island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, has been called “the clearest example of a society that destroyed...

In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of the best loved series from Season 6. Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the indigenous islanders call it, may be the most misunderstood place on planet Earth. For centuries...

In this Throwback Episode Sebastian revisits one of his favourite episodes from Season 7 and brings in some new critiques that did not make it into the original show! The legendary hybrid creature known as the gryphon...

Rhiannon Giddens is a multi-instrumentalist, a singer, and a composer. She is a MacArthur Genius fellow, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and one the most dynamic voices in American folk and roots music performing today. She’s...

On this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Knights of the Air and the one-off on the Midnight Ride. The host grapples with questions about the American perception of Canadian history...

Paul Revere is one of the best remembered heroes of the American Revolution. The Boston silversmith is often credited with rousing the Massachusetts countryside to resist the King's army as they moved against the towns...

By 1916 the airplane had proven itself as an important new weapon in the Great War. Arguably just as important was the image of the glamorous flying aces. Entire flying units, like France's Lafayette Escadrille made up...

At the outbreak of First World War airplanes were still a novelty on the battlefield. Originally planes were used for reconnaissance and the pilots were usually unarmed. This quickly changed and soon airplanes were...

In this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about episode 249, 250, and 251. First, he does his best to grapple with how morality should factor into history education. Then a listener provides an epic email about...

When the HMS Dreadnought was launched in 1906 it completely revolutionized naval warfare. It made all previous ships obsolete and helped spur an arms race between Britain and Germany. For many the Dreadnought was symbol...

Every theatre kid can tell you that Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth is a cursed play. Some believe that even saying the name of the play in a theatre where it is not being performed can jinx a production. Stories of...

The Roman Empire is often remembered for it's grand works of architecture and formidable military. However, for most of its history Rome's economy was underpinned by the labour of millions of individuals who had been...

In this bonus episode Sebastian takes question from the listeners about the recent episodes on Henry Box Brown and Snow White. First, we hear some comments from a listener in Iceland who wanted to weigh in on the North...

The Brothers Grimm once write that "Snow White" was Germany's best known folktale. When the beloved fairytale served as the inspiration for the famous 1937 Disney film the story reached new levels of international...

One of the most celebrated stories from the Underground Railroad is that of Henry Box Brown, the man who mailed himself to freedom. In 1849 Henry Brown successfully had himself shipped out of slavery in a packing crate...

In this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Viking voyages to North America. In it he reckons with the history of slavery in the Norse world, guesses at why the southern Vinland of...

For centuries the western Norse colony of Vinland was known only to scholars of the Icelandic Sagas. But in the 19th century the work of a few Scandinavian historians helped revive interest in these previously obscure...

The only literary sources we have about the Viking settlements west of Greenland come from the Icelandic Sagas. The only problem is that the Sagas can be totally off-the-wall. Corpses reanimate and speak prophecies...

Between the 9th and 11th centuries Norse explorers undertook a series of remarkable journeys through the North Atlantic. Iceland and Greenland were settled by medieval farmers eager to find new uninhabited lands. But...

In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions from listeners about the series on the original Ponzi Scheme. The host investigates the history of the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul", locates early usages of the...

Charles Ponzi's remarkable rise and fall played out over the course of a wild eight month period. He went from being a failed importer-exporter mired in debt to Boston's most talked about self-made millionaire in a...

The name Charles Ponzi has become synonymous with financial frauds. In 1920 the formerly obscure Italian immigrant suddenly became one of the most famous men in Boston when his Securities Exchange Company started...

In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show. He unpacks Bill's influence on the cowboy hero archetype, dives into the contentious history of scalping...

Buffalo Bill's Wild West first started touring outdoor arenas in 1883. What started as a western themed circus soon grew in ambition. In the quest to appeal to respectable middle-class family audiences Buffalo Bill was...