Heroes and Howlers
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Heroes and Howlers
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...
Neueste Episoden
152 EpisodenThe Arctic (Northwest Passage)
Oh!" said Pooh again. "What is the North Pole?"
"It's just a thing you discover," said Christopher Robin, not being quite sure himself.
...
North America’s First Nations (Klondike Gold Rush)
“Every human longs for peace and love.” Hiawatha
Separating ‘Fact’ from ‘Fiction’ is the constant challenge of an historian. None more so than t...
April Fools (April 1st)
"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. Bu...
Mata Khivi (Sikhism)
“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...
The Birth of a Nation (Ku Klux Klan)
“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,...
Festive Special (2022)
“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill
It's that time of year again! The halls are decked with holly...
Festive Special (2021)
"England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again.
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; ‘Twas Christmas told the me...
End Of Year Special
The boys have had a bumper year, and with the 'Giving Season' upon us they're delivering their final treats. When did a 'cab' become a 'taxi'? Who rea...
Pasifika!
In this episode Paul and Mikey chat to academic and Theatresports legend Professor Jioji Ravulo. It’s a fascinating look into the history of sexual a...
Extra Helpings 3 (Series 9 episodes 9-11)
New Guests. New Heroes. New Howlers. All of which have inspired Mikey and Paul to do a deep dive into more 'stories behind the story'. Sir Francis Dra...
Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln
In this episode Paul and Mikey chat with American comedy legend Jessie Joyce. He’s written a fantastic book with the wonderful title ‘Killing the Guys...
HERstory - could the future of AI learn from the lessons of HIStory?
Award-winning journalist and and broadcaster Tracey Spicer joins Mikey and Paul to shift the debate a notch or two. Women have long been written out o...
Fake Heroes
The boys are joined by Otto English and together they set out to skewer some of the biggest names in the pantheon. Did Coco Chanel collaborate with th...
The Battle of Tsushima (Russo-Japanese War 1904-05)
“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 bea...
Charles Wilkes (Antarctica)
“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....
Gregor McGregor (Securities Fraud - 19th Century style)
“Rather fail with honour, than succeed by Fraud” Sophocles
If only Gregor McGregor had spent more time studying the Classics. This week Paul an...
Battle of El Pinar 1524 (The Maya)
“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...
The Batavia (Early European Exploration ‘Down Under’)
“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”...
The Cadaver Synod (Papal States)
“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 Melv...
The Earl of Macclesfield (Calendars)
“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 co...
Kanishka the Great (The Kushans)
“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 re...
Emperor Commodus (Gladiator)
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius
If only the Emperor Commodus had inherited a fract...
South Sea Bubble (18th Century)
“I could calculate the motions of the heavenly stars, but not the madness of people.” Sir Isaac Newton
With ‘Money’ becoming more liquid, and ‘T...
Samurai (Japan/Warring States Period)
While Paul and Mikey russle up some new guests to join them, enjoy this classic episode all about the Samurai.
"To win any battle, you must figh...
Extra Helpings 2 (Series 9 episodes 1-3)
Our guests have inspired us with chunky extra helpings to share with you - a veritable smorgasbord of tales. From duels, to Greek philosophers, danger...
A Bull Moose, Some Rough Riders and One Rogue Horseman
In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to broadcast legend and co-host of the “Suddenly Senior” podcast Ian Rogerson about his hero Teddy Roosevelt. We a...
Opera, Cross Dressing, Sword Fighting & One Very Strange Philosopher
In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to author and historian Esme Louise James about the complicated life of the sword fighting soprano Julie d’Aubigny...
Matt Preston, the Pirate Queen and a Guy Called Smedley
In this episode Paul and Mikey talk to writer, presenter and bon vivant Matt Preston about Zheng Yi Sao, the woman who became possibly the most powerf...
Extra Helpings 1 (Series 9 episodes 1-3)
New Guests, New Heroes, New Howlers! It all means Paul and Mikey are doing more deep dives to find those ‘stories behind the story’. Look out Captain...
Wendy Harmer, the 70s, and Jimmy 'Cardigan'.
In this episode the lads talk to author and broadcasting legend Wendy Harmer, discussing Jimmy Carter, Australia in the ‘70s, and some timely reflecti...
P.T Barnum - The Greatest Showman?
This Season, the boys are mixing it up a bit and will be joined by special guests with their very own contenders for 'Heroes' and 'Howlers'. In this e...
David Hunt, Ned Kelly & Alfred Deakin
It's Season 9 and for the new series the boys will be joined by special guests, each with their very own Hero and Howler. First up is Historian and au...
Vegemite (Food Wars/War Food)
“I asked: ‘Do you speaka my language?’ He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” Men at Work
Do armies really march on their stomachs? P...
The Sharif of Mecca (Arab Revolt 1916-18)
“Young men make wars…, old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.” Prince Faisal (L...
White Ship (The Anarchy)
“They say openly that Christ and his saints slept.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Paul and Mikey look at how one howler of a booze cruise plunged tw...
The 1st Duke of Northumberland (The Tudors)
“I wish for adventure. I wish to matter.” Sins of a Wicked Duke
Good Dukes, Wicked Dukes and Wicked Uncles - Tudor England had them all. Or was...
Josephine Cochrane (Women’s Suffrage)
“If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.” Josephine Cochrane
Paul and Mikey look at the life of this ground...
Potsdam Giants (Prussia)
“No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on.” Curious last words of King Frederick William I of Prussia (1713-40)
Paul and Mikey kick off...
1st Afghan War (East India Company)
“Peccavi - I have sinned (Sindh)” Charles Napier (Major-General British Army in India)
The arrogance of the British in India knew few bounds. P...
Stede Bonnet (Pirates)
“A merry life and a short one” Pirate motto of Bartholomew Roberts (aka ‘Black Bart’)
Black Bart captured over 400 ships and was the complete op...