Shows
We Are HistoryThe 1960s - The advent of the permissive societyHow a handful of landmark events and reforms suddenly shook off the hypocrisy, censorship and repression that had plagued Great Britain since Victorian times. (Available in Northern Ireland several decades later)We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2024-04-3042 min
We Are HistoryThe Painful History of DentistryHow travelling quacks and snobby doctors held back dentistry for centuries, while millions endured the agony of toothache and wondered why ‘smoking out the tooth worms’ didn’t seem to be working.Reading List: An Excruciating History of Dentistry by James WynbrandSupport We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryWe Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production 2024-04-2349 min
We Are HistoryBritish Shops and Shopping CentresThis week Angela drags John around the shops of Britain for about 200 years as we take a look at the history of how we shop. We look at why shopping moved out of town centres and ask the important questions like “Does Selfridges sell fridges?”Reading: Back to the Shops: The High Street in History and the Future by Rachel BowlbyWe Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production Learn...2024-04-161h 01
We Are HistoryThe Brighton Bomb – 1984How the IRA came very close to killing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the British Cabinet and triggered a massive manhunt for that world famous crime fighting agency, the Sussex County Constabulary.Reading List: Killing Thatcher by Rory CarrollBuy Killing Thatcher through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund [name of podcast] by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryWe...2024-04-0950 min
We Are HistoryThe History of April Fool’s DayThis week Angela tricks John into learning about the history of April Fool’s Day. Where did it originate? Why do we do practical jokes on people we are supposed to love? Fom the Swiss spaghetti harvest to the Black Cliffs of Dover, we look at some of the best April Fool’s Day pranks across the centuries. And this episode is brought to you in smellovision, so don’t forget to scratch your screen to get the accompanying aromas. Gotcha! Reading List:Practically Joking by Moira Marshhttps://hoaxes.org/af_database Sup...2024-04-011h 00
We Are HistoryThe Grand TourCenturies ahead of those “Brits Abroad” tabloid headlines that make us hang our heads in shame, the British were still managing to cause chaos on the continent. The Grand Tour was a chance for upper class boys to kick up their heels and party across Europe under the auspices of an educational expedition, before getting married off and settling down in a massive country pile. A sort of Georgian Gap Year. We look at where they went, what they got up to and what they brought back with them in an age before antibiotics.Support We Are Hist...2024-03-2648 min
We Are HistoryThe French RevolutionIn 18th Century France the Ancien Regime comes up against the Enlightenment and Age of Reason and, spoiler alert, it doesn’t end well for the monarchy. In this episode that serves as a sort of French revolution for dummies we look at what happened, from the storming of the Bastille on, well, Bastille Day to the rise of NapoleonReading List:Vive La Revolution: A Stand-up History of the French Revolution by Mark SteelBuy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund We Are History by earning us a small...2024-03-191h 02
We Are HistoryThe Story of Live AidHow one scruffy Irish popstar saw a terrible famine being reported on his television and decided to do a bit more than just send a cheque to Oxfam. (John spent so long researching this podcast on Live Aid that he thought he might as well do a West End Musical about it at the same time). Reading List:The Eighties, One Day, One Decade by Dylan Jones; Is That It by Bob GeldofBuy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund We Are History by earning us a smal...2024-03-1244 min
We Are HistoryInternational Women’s DayJust in time for International Women’s Day on March 8, we dig into the surprising history of this worldwide celebration of patriarchy-pummeling. Angela Barnes and feminism “expert” John O’Farrell trace IWD’s roots from its beginnings in Communist countries in the early 20th century via a brazen American attempt to cover up its origins… and never once says “yeah, but when is it International Men’s Day?” Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryWe Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and...2024-03-0539 min
We Are HistoryThe Glorious Revolution of 1688John O’Farrell and Angela Barnes return for a new season of We Are History! In this first episode they explore how the British had a very polite revolution without anyone getting hurt, and then pretended they’d actually wanted to be invaded by a big foreign army.Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryReading List:Happy and Glorious: The Revolution of 1688 - Michael WilsonWe Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Fa...2024-02-2734 min
We Are HistoryThe Golden Age of SmugglingFor the final episode in this series, the ever-so-honest John O’Farrell and Angela Barnes find out how and why smuggling in Britain became a crime epidemic that benefited everyone except the tax man.Source:Smuggling in the British Isles by Richard Platt Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryAngela Barnes is on tour with her critically acclaimed, sold out Edinburgh Fringe show ‘Hot Mess’. Tickets are available here ht...2023-11-1435 min
We Are HistoryThe Green Belt: Contentious countrysideThis week on We Are History, Angela Barnes and John O'Farrell look at the origins of the Green Belt, what is it and why do we have it? Spoiler alert, it’s not for holding up your green trousers. The Green Belt is a phrase we’ve heard politicians talking about forever, so we wanted to find out whose idea it was, how it has evolved over the last 100 or so years and how it affects the relationship between town and country.Reading List:Outskirts by John GrindrodRepurposing the Green...2023-11-0755 min
We Are HistoryThe Gunpowder Plot: He didn’t start the fireThis time on We Are History; our bold and fearless non-historians Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell find out how and why Britain’s first major terrorist plot was conceived and ultimately thwarted. Expect barrels of explosive fun, gory retribution and hear why we burn the wrong person on Bonfire night.Sources:Remember Remember the Fifth of November by James Sharpehttps://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-executions-london-docklands#:~:text=Not%20many%20know%2C%20that%20on,was%20then%20disembowelled%20and%20quartered.Get all episodes a wee...2023-10-3146 min
We Are HistoryFrom Bits to Bots: A History of AIOur technologically-challenged hosts Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell trace the history of Artificial Intelligence from Greek Mythology, via Alan Turing and the Speak and Spell to the rapid developments we’re seeing today. Should we be afraid of our robot overlords? Will AI ever be able to deliver a lighthearted History podcast? Maybe it already has...Reading List:The Brain Makers: The History of Artificial Intelligence – Genius, Ego, And Greed In The Quest For Machines That Think - HP NewquistGet all episodes a week early – when you...2023-10-241h 03
We Are HistoryNudity down the centuriesJohn O’Farrell and Angela Barnes take a not-so-serious look at the most captivating and bizarre moments in history.This time things get very silly as John sneaks a peek at nakedness and how our attitudes to it has changed throughout history. He insists that this is a serious sociological and historical study and not at all an excuse to giggle at bare bottoms.Main sourceA Brief History of Nakedness by Philip Carr-GommGet all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: http...2023-10-1751 min
We Are HistoryThe Zimmermann TelegramJohn O’Farrell and Angela Barnes take a not-so-serious look at the most captivating and bizarre moments in history.This time Angela tells John how in 1917, the German Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram to his man in Washington. Sounds dull? It isn’t; this telegraph was probably responsible for changing the course of WW1. What could a telegram possibly say that would make peace loving US President Woodrow Wilson take his country into the bloodiest conflict?Recommended reading:The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman.Cryptologic Quarterly, Nati...2023-10-1056 min
We Are HistoryThe Haitian Revolution - the slave rebellion that succeededThis time; our eager non-historians Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell discuss the amazing story of the enslaved people of Haiti, who rose up and defeated a major world power and established the New World’s first independent black state. Episode includes violence, voodoo and a zombie.Recommended reading:Avengers of the New World by Laurent DuboisYou are all free : the Haitian revolution and the abolition of slavery by Jeremy PopkinThe Black Jacobins by C.L.R. JamesGet all e...2023-10-0340 min
We Are HistoryThe Glamour BoysSeries 8 of the hit podcast continues to romp its way through history unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre events.This time: Angela Barnes tells John O’Farrell about The Glamour Boys – a group of courageous queer MPs in buttoned-up Britain of the 1930’s. They put the "party" into "party politics" and were some of the first people to warn the government they needed to stand up to that Hitler.Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryReading List:2023-09-2658 min
We Are HistoryThe Race for the BombAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell are back with Series 8 of the hit podcast which romps through history unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre events.This time: how the Nazis and Allies became locked in a race for the atom bomb, keeping it a total secret from everyone except all the Russian spies.Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: https://patreon.com/WeAreHistoryReading List:Atomic: The First War of Physics and the Secret History of the Atom Bomb...2023-09-1953 min
We Are HistoryBonuscast: Angela Barnes and John O'Farrell answer your questions.We put the call out, and you came, in your droves! Thank you so much to everyone who made the first ever We Are History Live Q+A.The video is available to watch back over on our Patreon page and here is a special audio mix. Angela and John answer your questions without fear or favour, but much frivolity! Find out how they select their subjects, whether John really does have a piece of the Berlin Wall and what's coming up in Series 8.We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and...2023-09-071h 02
We Are HistoryThe Legend of the Kinder Scout Mass TrespassAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell cavort through history and uncover the most fascinating and down-right bizarre events.This time; the day hundreds of walkers asserted the Right To Roam across the Peak District against the wishes of the landed gentry who wanted the hills kept private so they could shoot grouse. John and Angela really struggle to take sides on this one. The protest is seen as an important catalyst to securing access to the countryside, but has the simple story of one dramatic day of action obscured the...2023-07-2436 min
We Are HistoryThe Story of Nancy Wake: The Mouse that ran rings around the NazisAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell romp through history, unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre events.This time we meet the New Zealand born journalist turned French society housewife Nancy Wake, who became one of Churchill’s most decorated agents and one of the Gestapo’s most wanted. Whether she was flirting with Nazis to get out of trouble or parachuting into the heart of the French Resistance, Nancy Wake was right in the thick of the action and the woman the Germans called “White Mouse”. She took no shit from anyone. Contemporaries say she ”put the men to sha...2023-07-1853 min
We Are HistoryThe 1904 St Louis Olympics: A Marathon EventAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell romp through history, unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre events.This time; the five month-long 1904 Olympic Games which was a catalogue of failures and unbelievably poor decisions. This included restricting liquids during the marathon, one of the runners stopping to practise his english and wild dogs chasing the athletes.It’s an incredible story so make sure those shoelaces are tied and your nipples are Vaselined.
“Every four years, as a nation, we pick one event we’re experts in, like the Olympic Slalom.” – Angela Barnes
“41 runners signed...2023-07-1147 min
We Are HistorySt Patrick and the Patriarchy: Women’s rights in IrelandAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell present the not-so-serious podcast unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre historical events.New Episode!For much of the 20th century the Catholic establishment had a stranglehold over Ireland’s morality and used it to deny Irish women basic rights such as contraception, divorce and abortion. When a series of scandals stripped away the hypocrisy of the church, the women of the country took their chance to stand up against the patriarchy and were finally able to win basic human rights – and even win the presidency....2023-07-0451 min
We Are HistorySaucy Seaside Postcards - A Celebration of Great British SmutAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell present the not-so-serious podcast unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre historical events.This week; you ordered an innuendo, so we’re giving you one. Yes, it’s that stalwart of smut, the saucy seaside postcard. Join us as we enter a cartoon world of buxom ladies and henpecked men. But enough about us here’s a podcast about the history of this great British institution.Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory...2023-06-2755 min
We Are HistoryGreat Fire of London: Burning down the houseAngela Barnes and John O'Farrell dust off more delightful and unbelievable details from the pages of history.This time: How most of London was destroyed after a baker ignored his wife’s advice to check if the fire had gone out, saying ‘Oh, what’s the worst that could happen?’Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory
“Does one tip the man with the corpse cart? It’s one of those embarrassing social dilemmas.” – John O’Farrell
“We need a radical solution to...2023-06-2036 min
We Are HistoryNavajo Code Talkers – America's secret WWII weaponAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell present the not-so-serious podcast unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre historical events.This week; our history enthusiasts discuss how the US military used an indigenous American language to outfox the Nazis. By taking a gamble that there weren’t many natural Navajo speakers in Berlin, the Americans kept their secret messages unbreakable by the enemy.Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are History on Patreon: https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory
“You couldn’t choose just any language for coded messages; for instan...2023-06-131h 11
We Are HistoryAlbania: Communism, capitalism, chaosAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell bring us more ridiculous history facts and a less-than serious romp through an event from the past.This time: How one small country in Europe lurched suddenly from hardline Stalinism to Disaster Capitalism, and then gave everyone guns and said ‘Oh sort it out yourselves’.Albania has suffered a stormy history of dictatorships, a king called Zog and being economically choked by the iron grip of mass pyramids schemes which provided false hope to millions.Get all episodes a week early – when you support We Are H...2023-06-0640 min
We Are HistoryThe 1968 US Presidential Election: Rotting from the head downAngela Barnes and John O’Farrell present the not-so-serious podcast unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre historical events.This time: They dive deep into the year American politics took a dark turn towards lies, divisiveness and criminality. As is said so often on this podcast; 'it could never happen now'.This is the bitterly fought American Election that set the modern tone with its controversy and dishonesty - and heralded the rise of the new right in America. Spoiler alert - Richard Nixon ends up as a preserved head in Futurama.Ge...2023-05-3046 min
We Are HistoryRadium: A toxic love affairNEW SERIES! The not-so-serious podcast unravelling fascinating and down-right bizarre historical events.Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell celebrate the return of We Are History by plunging into the luminous but lethal history of Radium. They reveal how its discovery led to a craze for radio-active health and beauty treatments, which had the slight drawback of eventually killing you. Angela and John share our predecessors ill-advised fascination with radium; its myriad ‘miracle’ uses include a radium jock strap and the pair wonder whether to name their next pub-rock band Liquid...2023-05-231h 02
We Are HistoryChristmas Number OnesNever mind world wars or revolutions, it's time to do the really important history - how did Christmas singles become a thing in the UK, and when was the golden age of of the festive hit. Warning; includes John doing dad singing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-12-121h 16
We Are HistoryMussolini - the rubbish war leaderIt is compulsory or a man of John's age to do one episode on the Second World War. But fascists being useless is always worth revisiting - and the farcical and disastrous leadership of Benito Mussolini between 1940-45 is that rare thing in modern history - a bit of World War 2 that hasn't been done to death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-12-0544 min
We Are HistoryThe Stasi Poetry Circle - the East Germans secret police advancing socialism through verseAngela has read yet another book about East Germany (this one by Philip Oltermann) and explains how it was believed that loyalty to the Communist regime could be secured, not just by suppressing dissent and spying on your neighbours, but also with encouraging pro-government poetry . (Includes a hastily-penned socialist limerick written by John.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-11-141h 12
We Are HistoryThe slow death of John Major’s government 1992-97How self-inflicted economic disasters and endless sleazy scandals made a Conservative government massively unpopular. Imagine it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-10-2459 min
We Are HistoryThe Greenham Common Women's Peace CampThe women-only peace camp that became the focus of the anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s and inspired a whole new generation of feminists. (Contains walk on parts for both of John's parents.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-03-281h 02
We Are HistoryAgent SonyaIn a life that began in the Weimar Republic and outlived the Berlin Wall, Ursula Kuczynski spied for Communism all around the world, and not even her own children suspect anything. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-03-211h 18
We Are HistoryRichard III and the Princes in the TowerWho murdered the young Princes in the Tower in 1483? We apply modern analysis and scientific rigour to question whether it really was Richard III (and conclude that he's obviously guilty - just look at the hump). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-03-1452 min
We Are HistoryThe Scottish Witch PanicWhy was the persecution of witches in the 17th century so much more severe than in other parts of the British Isles? How did the accusations and trials play out? How was it used to suppress so-called 'difficult' or 'argumentative' women. And would Angela have been burned as a witch? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2022-02-1449 min
We Are HistoryA History of ContraceptionThe last episode of the series looks at the embarrassing business of contraception down the ages. Can you avoid pregnancy by eating a bee? Would you use a sheep’s intestine as a condom? And what is the Latin for coitus interruptus? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-06-071h 01
We Are HistoryThe Thorpe AffairHow the 1970s Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe attempted to hide his longstanding gay affair by having his lover shot. But the British public felt he'd gone too far when a dog got shot instead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-05-3133 min
We Are HistoryThe Bay of Pigs - Cuba 1961When America was shocked to see their neighbour Cuba going socialist, they trained and armed a group of Cuban exiles to invade, confident in the knowledge that this would spark a popular uprising against all that free healthcare and universal education. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-05-241h 02
We Are HistoryThe Campaign Against Women's SuffrageMeet the men and women who worked hard to try and stop women having the vote. Learn all about their fascinating arguments and deep concerns. And when the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League merged with the Men's League, find out which gender put themselves in charge of it all... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-05-1743 min
We Are HistoryThe Agapemonites - the Victorian religious love cultThe Victorian English gentleman who announced he was the Son of God, and proceeded to have carnal relations with various attractive young ladies in his secretive religious cult. The 'Abode of Love' is an important chapter in British history, and not at all an excuse for John and Angela to giggle at a load of saucy Victorian hypocrites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-05-101h 10
We Are HistoryThe Scopes Monkey TrialTennessee in 1925, and a young school teacher is put on trial for teaching his students about evolution. The dramatic trial grips the whole of America and beyond; pitting science against religion and freedom of speech against the rule of law - while the locals are deeply offended at the suggestion that they are descended from monkeys. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-05-0341 min
We Are HistoryA History of MarriageHow did the institution of marriage evolve down the centuries in Britain? With Angela getting married this year, she thought she would make her fella feel really secure by reading lots of books about divorce law. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-04-261h 01
We Are HistoryThe fall of Thatcher - 1990John and Angela examine the rapid chain of events that led to the shock resignation of Margaret Thatcher, in their most balanced and even-handed podcast to date. (Includes John playing The Red Flag on a kazoo). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-04-1953 min
We Are HistoryElizabethan child actorsIn a time when women were not allowed to perform on the stage, children were sometimes kidnapped and forced to become actors against their will. (Warning; episode contains John re-enacting some of his worst childhood performances.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-04-1250 min
We Are HistoryThe Abdication Crisis - 1936Back in 1936 the newspapers were utterly scandalised by a British royal abandoning his stately duties to run off with a controversial divorced American. Hard to imagine today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-04-0546 min
We Are HistoryOperation Mincemeat - 1943How a homeless Welsh alcoholic helped transform the fortunes of the British Army in the Second World War, despite already being dead. (Warning, podcast contains bad Churchill impressions.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-03-291h 05
We Are HistoryProhibitionWhen the United States banned alcohol in the 1920s, they unleashed a huge wave of illegal alcohol production and smuggling that turned honest drinkers into criminals, and small time crooks into millionaire gangsters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-03-2149 min
We Are HistoryZoo WarsWhen post-war Berlin became divided between East and West, both sides resolved that their political system would be able to boast having the the very best zoo. Pandas, hippos and bears became the unlikely players in this escalating propaganda battle of the Cold War. (No pandas were harmed in the making of this podcast.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-03-151h 07
We Are HistoryLesbian Pirates!?The incredible story of Ann Bonny and Mary Read, both illegitimate and raised as boys in the early 18th century, they brought terror to the Caribbean after meeting on a lesbian pirate website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-03-0838 min
We Are HistoryThe Aids CrisisHow the historical prejudice against homosexuals was given fresh impetus in the 1980s by a mysterious illness which seemed to target gay men. And John struggles to admit that the Tory minister did "a good thing". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-03-0150 min
We Are HistoryWhen Britain was a Republic 1649-60Britain under Oliver Cromwell's Puritan dictatorship; no theatres, no Christmas and no music - so a tough old decade for Catholic panto stars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-02-221h 08
We Are HistoryCeltic Britain v Roman Empire (away win)The Roman Empire decides to take on the lads from Kent, and it all kicks off down by the Isle of Thanet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-02-1545 min
We Are HistoryThe Big Stink - 1858How the River Thames became one massive open sewer, forcing Parliament to close the windows and do something about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2021-02-0858 min
We Are History2020 (Thank God it's history)For our last podcast of the year we attempt our own first draft of history; looking back at the year that has just been, when Covid-19 meant a complete change of behaviour for us all (except the people telling us to completely change our behaviour). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-12-2859 min
We Are HistoryThe History of ChristmasHow the ancient midwinter festival evolved into our modern day Christmas, despite the Puritans banning it because Cromwell forgot to get his missus a present. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-12-2159 min
We Are History1989 - Revolutions across Eastern EuropeHow the Cold War ended in an incredible few months across Eastern Europe in 1989. (And Angela remembers Kylie's duet with Jason) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-12-141h 00
We Are HistoryAn Explicit History of SwearingA potty-mouthed history of swearing, in which John blushes and stammers and Angela just talks like she always does. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-12-071h 03
We Are HistoryA Thoroughly Researched History of BeerHow beer became the every drink of ordinary Britons, and the healthy option to give to your kids to stop them dying from cholera. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-11-301h 04
We Are HistoryMurder at Road Hill House - 1860What the original English country house murder-mystery teaches us about Victorian hypocrisy, the class system and the subjugation of women. (Plus it led to John spending a week in a hotel with Ann Widdecombe.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-11-2342 min
We Are HistoryGerman Resistance to the NazisA lot is heard about the French Resistance or the Warsaw Uprising, but what about the Germans who resisted Hitler? Was it historically insignificant, or have we chosen to ignore them? Between them, John and Angela have A' Levels in History AND German, so who could be more qualified to explain it all... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-11-161h 04
We Are HistoryThe Battle of Hastings - 1066John attempts to persuade Angela that the most famous date in English history still matters, but they end up talking for ages about beer versus wine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-11-0943 min
We Are HistorySealand - the Essex family that declared independence from BritainHow one eccentric Englishman seized an abandoned offshore gun platform, launched a 1960s pirate radio station and then decided to create his own country instead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-11-021h 05
We Are HistoryThe Bristol Bus Boycott - 1963How a handful of young Black campaigners challenged racist employment practises in Bristol and against all odds won their case and changed the law. (Not to be confused with the 1969 sit-com 'On The Buses' where Reg Varney made lots of jokes about 'lovely Bristols'.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-10-2633 min
We Are HistoryThe cult of Jack the RipperA 'We Are History' first, as we welcome a PROPER historian on the show. Hallie Rubenhold, award winning author of 'The Five' joins us to discuss why one particular serial killer has been fashioned into a dastardly pantomime villain, while his victims 'Polly' Nicholls, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly were misrepresented or simply forgotten. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-10-1959 min
We Are HistoryIreland 1916 - the Easter RisingHow a suicidal plan to try and overthrow the British Empire in the middle of a world war was always doomed to failure, and yet somehow did the job. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-10-1251 min
We Are HistoryWatergateHow a 1970s burglary and the clumsy cover up brought the American Presidency to an all-time low. (Until now). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-10-0558 min
We Are HistoryThe Origins of Homo SapiensHow one species of hominid outlived all the others, despite an embarrassing one night stand with a Neanderthal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-09-2841 min
We Are HistoryEurovisionThat's enough plague and war - for the last show of the series we talk about the really serious stuff - the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-07-2054 min
We Are HistoryKim Il Sung and the creation of North KoreaHow the cult of the Kim family turned North Korea into a dynastic Communist dictatorship, where public displays of love for the leader are compulsory and laughing at his haircut is not recommended. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-07-1354 min
We Are HistoryHarold Moody and the League of Coloured PeoplesHow one Jamaican man living in Peckham in the 1930s set about fighting institutional racism, when only the entire British Empire depended on it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-07-0646 min
We Are HistoryStonehengeWhy was Stonehenge built? Who worshiped there and why did they stop? (Answer; No one knows, so this is a very short episode.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-06-2846 min
We Are HistoryTulip Fever - Amsterdam 1637; the first financial crash?How tulips from Amsterdam became the first get-rich-quick scheme, until it turned out that the early Dutch capitalists had invented the financial crash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-06-2257 min
We Are HistoryRailway ManiaHow the railways meant that after thousands of years being stuck in the same village, the British could suddenly go anywhere and everywhere - until one day tragedy struck; leaves on the line at Didcot Parkway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-06-1552 min
We Are HistoryAble Archer '83 - the Almost Nuclear ApocalypseHow all out nuclear war was nearly launched in 1983 and Ronald Reagan said 'Oh well, it's not the end of the world.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-06-081h 00
We Are HistoryThe Nazi Occupation of the Channel IslandsHow one part of the United Kingdom suddenly became part of the Third Reich, prompting extreme reactions from the local Brits such as tutting and looking skywards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-06-011h 01
We Are HistoryThe Miners' Strike 1984-5The longest industrial dispute in British history, as bitter division, violence and incredible hardship divided the country, while John did his bit, by wearing a 'Coal Not Dole' sticker on his anorak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-05-251h 01
We Are HistoryThe Rise and Fall of the Council HouseHow the British state took it upon itself to provide millions of decent, affordable homes until Mrs Thatcher flogged them all off at massive discounts, so that housing would never be a problem for the young and low-waged ever again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-05-181h 01
We Are HistoryThe Spanish Civil WarHow Hitler and Mussolini held a dress rehearsal for the Second World War, using troops, weapons and money to help a fellow fascist dictator seize power, while Britain and France stood back and watched hoping that might get it out of their system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-05-1156 min
We Are HistoryEthelred the UnreadyHow one Saxon King ruled for 37 years, battled with the Vikings, helped create the jury system and all anyone said was 'I bet he hasn't packed yet''. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-05-0453 min
We Are HistoryThe British Invasion of Iceland 1940On the very day that the Nazis struck west against Holland, Belgium and France, Britain launched the politest invasion in the history of the warfare, waking up the Icelandic army (and his friend). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-04-2739 min
We Are HistoryBoudicaBritain's original warrior queen, who burned down London and nearly drove the Romans out of Britain, and all because they called her a 'feisty redhead'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-04-2038 min
We Are HistoryThe Suez Crisis 1956How a Conservative Prime Minister, off his head on amphetamines, attempted to assert Great Britain's proud global superpower status by invading Egypt and then changing his mind when the Americans told him to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-04-1345 min
We Are HistoryThe Siege of Paris 1870-71How besieged Paris went into lockdown and the French were forced to survive by eating all the animals in the zoo, then their dogs and then the rats. But all beautifully cooked. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-04-0645 min
We Are HistoryThe Opium WarVictorian Britain versus Imperial China in the very first 'war on drugs' (when Britain was on the side of drugs). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-03-2944 min
We Are HistoryNuclear fall-out sheltersHow Britain prepared for the advent of nuclear war by not building enough fall-out shelters but having enough tea bags in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-03-231h 00
We Are HistoryMcCarthyism and America's Red ScareHow post-war America became so paranoid about Communists, they organised show trials and exiled enemies of the state just like the Communists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-03-1646 min
We Are History'The Cycling Suffragettes''The Cycling Suffragettes" - how young women shocked Victorian society by finding freedom on bicycles and wearing weird trousers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-03-0844 min
We Are HistorySons of Africa - the black British who campaigned against slaveryHow former slaves campaigned in Georgian Britain, recounting how they were ripped from their families in Africa and sold into a brutal life of slavery, which you're not allowed to do since political correctness went mad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-03-0247 min
We Are HistoryMosley and the BlackshirtsIn the 1930s, as Germany succumbed to the Nazis and Mussolini ruled Italy, Sir Oswald Mosley created the British Union of Facists, supported by the Daily Mail who famously declared 'Hurrah for the Blackshirts!' Why did he fail? Could Britain have succumbed to a facist dictatorship? And did his teenage kids say 'Honestly Dad, you're such a facist!' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-02-2445 min
We Are HistoryThe Black DeathHow the Black Death killed half of Europe, swept away serfdom, nudged Europe into the Rennaisance and made it much harder for spotty teenagers to get invited to parties. (This episode was recorded before the Coronavirus outbreak.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-02-1734 min
We Are HistoryTelevangelismIn the 1970s and '80s, the rise of TV evangelism in America made multi-millionaires of the most ruthless and ambitious self-styled preachers, who used the money they extorted from vulnerable Christians for a variety of good causes - such as private jets, right-wing politics and prostitutes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-02-1041 min
We Are HistorySpy PigeonsHow homing pigeons were dropped behind enemy lines to acquire secrets from Nazi occupied Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-02-0342 min
We Are HistoryThe 1975 Referendum on the Common Market1975 - the first time Britain had a referendum on being in Europe and the ugliest things ever got was the fashion for flares, tank-tops and mullet haircuts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-01-2749 min
We Are HistoryVlad the Impaler, the original 'Dracula'How Vlad the Impaler got his nickname. (Was it just the main thing people noticed about him?) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-01-2041 min
We Are HistoryNudism in East GermanyMaking the Cold War even colder. Communist East Germany and the cult of nudism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-01-1355 min
We Are HistoryThe Profumo Scandal1963 and the ultimate British scandal; complete with naked showgirls, hypocritical politicians, a grand stately home, a Cold War sub-plot and lots of people pretending they were very concerned about national security when they really just wanted to read about all the sex. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2020-01-0840 min
We Are HistoryTrailerA laughable attempt at a history podcast with Angela Barnes and John O'Farrell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices2019-12-3102 min