Half-Arsed History
History Podcasts
This is the OLD, defunct Half-Arsed History feed - if you're reading this message, please get in touch with me through the contact form at halfarsedhistory.net and let me know which platform you're using, so I can fix the problem for you! For Podcast Addict listeners: unfortunately, the new feed is inaccessible on Podcast Addict ):
Location:
United States
Description:
This is the OLD, defunct Half-Arsed History feed - if you're reading this message, please get in touch with me through the contact form at halfarsedhistory.net and let me know which platform you're using, so I can fix the problem for you! For Podcast Addict listeners: unfortunately, the new feed is inaccessible on Podcast Addict ):
Language:
English
Website:
https://halfarsedhistory.net
Episodes
Episode 399: Nicolaus Copernicus and Copernican Heliocentrism
2/15/2026
In this week's episode, get to know Nicolaus Copernicus, the 15th-century astronomer who brought about a historical paradigm shift with his radical proposal that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the centre of the solar system.
Duration:00:58:55
Episode 398: The Foundation of Modern Singapore
2/8/2026
In this week's episode, discover how, why, and perhaps most importantly where modern Singapore was founded, back in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles.
Duration:01:01:23
Episode 397: Catherine the Great, the Enlightened Empress
2/1/2026
In this week's episode, meet Catherine the Great, the empress who successfully ruled Russia for almost 35 years despite usurping a throne she had no claim to.
Duration:01:19:08
Episode 396: The Horrors of Sarah Island
1/25/2026
In this week's episode, become acquainted with Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, known as Sarah Island, which was one of the cruellest and most brutal convict settlements in Australia's history.
Duration:01:08:00
Episode 395: The Raft of the Medusa
1/18/2026
In this week's episode, head the gruesome and tragic tale of the Raft of the Medusa, when almost 150 people were set adrift and abandoned on a rickety raft, resorting to murder and cannibalism to survive.
Duration:00:55:16
Episode 394: Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Great Engineer
1/11/2026
In this week's episode, meet Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous and immensely influential engineer, whose work encompassed bridges, tunnels, railways, ships, and much more besides.
Duration:01:08:33
Episode 393: Operation Just Cause
1/4/2026
In this week's episode, get across the story of Operation Just Cause, when the US staged an invasion of Panama in 1989, capturing and airlifting its leader back to the US to face drug-related charges.
Duration:00:54:32
Episode 391: History’s Weirdest Epithets – Part 2
12/21/2025
In this week's episode, meet five more historical figures with strange epithets: Æthelred the Unready, Constantine V Koprónymos, Louis Do-Nothing, Malcolm the Maiden, and Piero the Unfortunate.
Duration:00:46:23
Episode 390: The Miracle Landing of the Gimli Glider
12/14/2025
In this week's episode, hear the incredible tale of Air Canada Flight 143, when a Boeing 767 ran out of fuel mid-flight and so had to be flown and landed as a glider on a not-quite-abandoned airfield in the Canadian town of Gimli.
Duration:01:04:19
Episode 389: The First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
12/7/2025
In this week's episode, hear about the series of ridiculous setbacks and disasters that took place as part of the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, a revolutionary step forward in global communications.
Duration:01:12:13
Episode 388: Beatrix Potter, the Enterprising Author
11/30/2025
In this week's episode, get to know the remarkable Beatrix Potter, whose historical legacy goes a lot further than just the authorship of an immensely successful series of children's books.
Duration:00:55:05
Episode 387: Nations Named After People
11/23/2025
In this week's episode, hear about the history behind the names of five nations, all named after real historical figures.
Duration:00:56:26
Episode 386: The History of the Ashes
11/16/2025
In this episode, get across the origin and history of a fierce century-and-a-half sporting rivalry, played whenever Australia face off against England in Test cricket: the Ashes.
Duration:00:58:43
Episode 385: The 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis
11/9/2025
In this week's episode, hear the story of the Dismissal: the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was turfed out by the governor-general.
Episode 384: History’s Problematic Princes
11/2/2025
In this week's episode, apropos of nothing, meet three historical younger-born princes who nothing but a royal pain in the arse for their older brothers.
Duration:00:53:34
Episode 383: That Time the Mona Lisa Was Stolen from the Louvre
10/26/2025
In this week's episode, learn about the Louvre's most infamous heist: the time that the Mona Lisa itself was stolen by an Italian carpenter named Vincenzo Peruggia.
Duration:01:00:18
Episode 382: The Tichborne Claimant
10/19/2025
In this week's episode, get stuck into the mystery of the Tichborne Claimant, when a butcher from Wagga Wagga claimed to be the long-lost heir to a British noble family's fortune.
Duration:00:56:47
Episode 381: Matthew Flinders, the Man Who Named Australia
10/11/2025
In this week's episode, get to know Matthew Flinders, the explorer and navigator who was the first person to circumnavigate Australia - and later popularised the name we all use to refer to it today.
Duration:01:07:12
Episode 380: History’s Biggest Misconceptions – Part 3
10/5/2025
In this week's episode, uncover the truth behind five more historical misconceptions: what Roman vomitoriums were used for, mediaeval life expectancies, Dom Perignon inventing champagne, Mussolini making the trains run on time, and chloroform knocking you out instantly.
Duration:00:58:33
Episode 379: Matilda of Tuscany, the Great Countess
9/28/2025
In this week's episode, meet Matilda of Tuscany, also known as the "Great Countess", a woman who played a very important role in the politics of the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire at the outset of the Investiture Controversy.
Duration:01:10:55