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A comedy history podcast looking at the forgotten side of the past. The jokes are silly, the accents are terrible, and the history will amaze you.
Episodes
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Here's a free trial you definitely don't want to sign up to... This week we're covering arcane laws, from trial by fire and water, to dealing with ancient arsonists.
Tom kicks us off with a look at some of the medieval ordeals - religious trials against adversity involving fire, water, or sometimes just hanging around a murder victim to see if they'd wake up. The idea was that if they were innocent, God would usually save them. Or sometimes let them die so they could enter heaven. It really was pretty much down to whoever was conducting the trial, to be honest.
Meanwhile Sam takes a look at the Nesilim law code - the laws of the ancient Hittite empire in the Middle East - which covered everything from your sex life (be that with relatives, slaves or pigs) to what to do with someone who burns down your house, and how much you should be paying for shoes. And like all good law codes, it shows that the Hittites had some very specific and slightly disgusting problems.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
This week we also gave a shout out to The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong - they are a great podcast and you can find them here or on your app of choice: https://www.constantpodcast.com/
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
Wednesday Dec 04, 2019
What if the real treasures are the friendships we make along the way?
Nah. Gold is much more valuable. Gold and cheese.
This week we're discussing buried treasure, from the sublime to the slightly ridiculous. Tom kicks us off with a look at Samuel Peyps' diary - the world famous musings of a man equally interested in bureaucracy, great fires of London, and his own bowel movements. We explore the lengths he went to in order to keep his gold, wine and, erm, Parmesan cheese safe from a fiery inferno. And also the Dutch.
Next, Sam takes us to Afghanistan for the incredible story behind the Bactrian Hoard, a one-in-a-lifetime ancient treasure trove of gold that was found, lost, and found again hidden under the noses of the Taliban - a story with a particularly Indiana Jones-esque twist.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
This week we're celebrating badass women through history. With a series of sources written by men, because history. Sigh.
Tom's giving us a whistlestop tour of The Moralia, Greek/Roman historian Plutarch's account of even older Greek and Roman women. Condescending and sexist? Yes. But there's still plenty of fierce women and rebels to enjoy.
Next, Sam takes us to Mongolia for a look at Khutalun: 13th Century Mongol princess, champion wrestler, incredible archer and superb kidnapper... Who very nearly inherited the mongol empire whilst breaking the noses of every good looking bachelor in 1000 miles in her search for love.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
"Doctor Doctor, give me the news, I've got a bad case of loving you": Sounds serious, try rubbing this cream made out of seeds and good energy on it.
Yes, this week we're abandoning responsible medicine, not reading the label, and diving into the world of quacks, frauds and charlatans. Tom kicks us off with a look at the history of piss prophecy, or examining people's urine to determine what's wrong with them. In reality, it's more asking someone questions whilst looking at their wee and taking a wild stab, but hey, the ancient Greeks were into it so it must be good, right?
Next up, Sam heads to Brazil for the strange story of Dr Adolf Fritz, the German surgeon who died in WW1 and now (apparently) inhabits the bodies of completely unqualified Brazilian conmen, allowing them to perform miraculous surgery on thousands of sick people. It's one of Brazil's most believed - and bizarre - urban legends.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Cor Blimey Guv'nor, it's a Holy Ghost! Which, fact of the day, is Cockney rhyming slang for, erm... Toast.
Yes, it's Spooky week, which has absolutely nothing to do with that other scary holiday a couple of weeks back. In a horrifying twist, Sam goes first this week, with a look at the Hammersmith Ghost Murder of 1804 - the hunt for a spook haunting a graveyard that left one very much alive painter and decorator very much actually dead.
Next, Tom takes a look at some of the ridiculous Mediums of Victorian Britain - oddballs and con artists like Helen Duncan and Eva Carriera who claimed to be communicating with the dead, whilst actually just lightly assaulting their victims with paper maché heads, fake arms, their real toes, and ectoplasm made of old rags which were hidden somewhere very, very scary indeed.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
Yes, the topic this week is the number 40. Yes, it's episode 41. What can we say. We're historians, not mathematicians.
Obvious stupidity and working ourselves into a corner aside (genuinely, we - specifically Sam - are absolute idiots) we've got a cracker this week. Tom's started from the beginning, that is, 40AD. Which just happens to be when Agricola, Roman Governor of Britain and subject of the book with the imaginative title 'Agriocola' was born. We take a whirlwind trip through Tacitus' history of the apparently quite nice (but still quite murderous) Roman leader.
Next, Sam given an honourable mention to ancient Egypt and the Tessarakonteres (which means 40), the largest human-powered ship ever built. Just a shade smaller than Noah's Ark, it had 4,000 rowers and a total crew of nearly 10,000. And was utterly useless as anything except a fancy garden ornament.
After that, we head to Britain in the 1840s and railway mania, with some of the ridiculous stories of madness, rioting, stealing trains and literal locotmotive tugs of war that characterised Britain's Victorian transport fever.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
History is all about discoveries. From scientific breakthroughs, to new philosophies and ideas, to finding out what women get up to in sleepovers and finding wads of classic work used as loo roll.
And yes, the last two are our stories for this week, as we explore the topic of discovery. Tom kicks us on with a look at the Oxyrhynchus papyri (good luck spelling that drunk), an incredible archaeological horde of classical and lost texts from Egypt, which over the centuries found themselves thrown away, and even used as toilet paper.
Meanwhile, Sam discovered the Bona Dea incident this week - an ancient Roman sex-scandal which saw a randy, cross-dressing young senator sneak into a top-secret, women only festival in order to try and get off with Julius Caesar's wife. Which didn't go well.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Oct 23, 2019
Wednesday Oct 23, 2019
It's badass week. From the good badass, to the bad badass, to the ugly badass.
And yes, it's a rare triple billing as well, since Sam couldn't decide and bought two stories to the table. He kicks us off with a look at Franceska Mann, the celebrated Jewish-Polish ballerina and holocaust victim who in a final act of defiance, did a strip-tease and started a riot. At Auschwitz.
Next, Tom takes us to Afghanistan and the disasterous retreat of the British from Kabul under General Elphinstone in 1842 - in which a force of 4,500 British troops and thousands of civilians was completely wiped out in an act of unbelievable military incompetence. So more of a bad ass than a badass.
Finally, it's back to Sam and the story of 'Iron' Mike Malloy, the murer victim who refused to die. In 1930s New York, Mike was the victim of a cruel insurance fraud in which five of his friends tried to murder him... Nine times. And every time, Mike bounced back for more. Like a badass.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Oct 16, 2019
Wednesday Oct 16, 2019
I mean honestly, it's amazing it's taken us this long to tackle revenge. That's basically what history is all about.
And we've no shortage of things to talk about. Tom kicks us off with the bizarre and brutal true story behind Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo - as well as a look at the incredible history of the Dumas family themselves (did you know the three musketeers was based on the real-life adventures of his Dad?)
Next, Sam takes us to Soviet Russia, Mariya Oktyabrskaya and 'The Fighting Girlfriend'. It's a classic love story: Woman meets man, man dies on WW2 Eastern Front, woman sells worldly possessions, buys tank, and gets permission from Stalin to use it to kill Nazis. A tale as old as time.
Incidentally, Sam talks about Olga of Kiev today: she features in Episode 15, which you can find here. The link goes to our website. Now that's a properly brutal story of revenge.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Say aah please, it's health week! From conspiracies to the Charleston, we've got it covered.
Tom kicks us off with a look at the conspiracy theories surrounding the Pineal gland, a completely normal part of the brain which has been the source of some completely mad conspiracy theories and quackery over the years, and still is today.
Next, Sam takes a look at the dance marathons of depression-era America. Part Dancing with the Stars, part grotesque survival epic, these competitions were freak shows riddled with corruption, rigging, staged storylines and very, very little sleep. And the public loved them.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.