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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 Oct 02, 2019
Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Order! Listen in the name of the law!
We're discussing all things legal this week. Sam kicks us off with a follow on from last week's Papacy special with a look at all the times God has ended up in the dock - as a defendant, as a plaintiff, and as a witness. He looks at just a few of the times people have been punished for offending God, have sued God, or have used God to get out of jail...
Next, Tom examines a dark story from Australia with the cases of John Button and Darryl Beamish, two men wrongly imprisoned for murder. Their victims had, in fact, been killed by serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke, who even confessed to the crimes... But the innocent men weren't cleared for decades.
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 Sep 25, 2019
Wednesday Sep 25, 2019
Bless you my child, it's Popes week! And we've avoided almost all the obvious jokes!
Tom's been learning about the Malleus Maleficarum or 'Hammer of Witches', a hideous medieval treatise on how to spot witches, how to deal with them, and, erm... quite a lot of detail about their supposed sex lives. Lovely.
Meanwhile, Sam heads down into the crypt of the Cadaver Synod - the gory and highly political trial of the already dead pope Formosus in the 9th Century. And yes, the dead pope was there in the room.
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.
Thursday Sep 19, 2019
Thursday Sep 19, 2019
We've got a new and exciting side project!
Welcome to That Was Genius' "the Other Genius", a little side-hustle in which we catch up with other history creators and fanatics and talk about why they love history, what they get out of it, and their favourite quirky stories from the past.
In episode one Sam catches up with History with Hilbert, creator of YouTube 'explains' videos and Facebook historical memelord, to discuss ancient forgeries, the highs and lows of the Dutch navy, and how legends are written by Dads trying to entertain their kids.
Hilbert's studying Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge and has been making videos since 2016. But whilst the Vikings and the early British kingdoms are his forté, he makes videos on everything from the Wars of the Roses, to the Spanish Civil War, to Korea, flags, the evolution of languages and everything in between. Do check him out!
You can find Hilbert on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Zc6_BhPXiCWZlrZP4EsEg
Or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistorywHilbert
Or on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/HistorywHilbert
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 Sep 18, 2019
Wednesday Sep 18, 2019
Ahoy there shipmates, and all aboard for a nautical-themed adventure.
Tom kicks us off by looking at the odd nautical origins of some well known phrases. And there are a lot of them: Mostly about drinking and occasionally about the, er... Ladies of the port. Which won't come as a surprise to anyone. You'll never look at the phrase Hunky Dory the same way again.
Meanwhile, Sam takes a look at the brief period in history when cruise ships became battleships and why that was an absolutely terrible idea, culminating in the WW1 Battle of Trindade, when the cruise ship RMS Carmania fought and sunk... The cruise ship RMS Carmania (or rather, the German luxury liner/battleship SMS Cap Trafalgar in disguise).
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.
Friday Sep 13, 2019
Friday Sep 13, 2019
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 Sep 11, 2019
Wednesday Sep 11, 2019
Let us take you on a journey to the mysterious East. Or the equally mysterious West. Whatever. It's silk road week!
Yes, this week we're taking a trip down the original information superhighway, the silk road. For centuries, the only route linking the West with the mysterious East, and the East with the mysterious West. A place of luxurious goods beyond your wildest imagination, new ideas that will blow your mind, barbaric hordes, and a bit of plague.
Tom kicks us off by looking at the Lost Legions of Carrhae in 56BC, the theory that ten thousand Roman soldiers, captured in battle against the Parthians, eventually found their way into China where they established a city. It's a controversial theory, but a very fun one!
Next, Sam looks at Rabban Bar Sauma, the Eastern Marco Polo - a monk who travelled from China to Baghdad in the 13th Century, then got sent on an even stranger mission, to form a military alliance between the French and the Mongol Empire. And it very nearly worked...
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 Sep 04, 2019
Wednesday Sep 04, 2019
It's Japan week! So we've not exactly been short of fun things to talk about.
First up, we've got special guest, That Was Genius fan and Japanese resident Stephanie, to talk about the mythical Tanuki and their incredible testicles.
Next, Sam's been desperately trying to find a positive story from Japan in WW2, and has come up with 'The Japanese Schindler' Chiune Sugihara, also known as Sempo. A diplomat with a conscience, he saved over 6,000 Jewish refugees from the holocaust.
Tom then brings it back to silliness with 'Journey to the West', a Chinese folk tale which has become incredibly popular in Japan and features rolling monkeys, half-pig half-man muck-ups in the reincarnation wheel, and lots of other Buddhist mythical fun!
Then, to top it all off, we've got a couple of urban legends from Japan's public toilets. Quite a lot for one hour then!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 Aug 28, 2019
Wednesday Aug 28, 2019
It's vegetables week! No, we're not sure why either.
Tom kicks us off by looking at Priapus (and his collection of poems The Priapeia), Rome's bad-tempered and EXTREMELY well endowed garden-protecting gnome-God. His poetry is really quite something, and leaves very little to the imagination.
Meanwhile Sam's been learning about the vegetable lamb of Tartary, a stupid medieval monster that's about as threatening as it sounds, and which people believed in for far, FAR too long.
Mentions in this episode... We talk briefly about the film pumping iron, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's bizarre rant about coming.
Aaand here's a Google image search of Alan Titchmarsh. You're welcome?!
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 Aug 21, 2019
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
Episode 30, can you believe it? And to celebrate, this week's episode is particularly silly. We've been looking at rivers.
Tom dives right in with a (quite roundabout) look at the ferrymen of folklore, from Ireland's speedboat-driving Manannán mac Lir and his sword of truth (he doesn't actually have a speedboat), to a battle of wits over a ferry ride between Thor and Odin.
Meanwhile, Sam's gone to Japan to explore the dark and deeply funny folklore of the Kappa, the farting, childish, but deadly imps which haunt Japanese waterways drowning unsuspecting passers by. Unless, of course, you throw them a cucumber. Some of the artwork surrounding the Kappa is brilliant, so do check out our social media to see more (links below)
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 Aug 14, 2019
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Fasten your seatbelts and put up your tray tables, because this week we're talking all things plane crash.
From the world's luckiest man to several very unlucky victims, we've been looking at what happens when the sh*t hits the propeller. Tom examines the war time flying record of a certain WW2 RAF ace and famed children's author, who he keeps a surprise but we have to mention for SEO (so his name's at the bottom of this description).
Meanwhile Sam takes a look at Marcus Schrenker, the Indiana businessman and stunt pilot who faked his own death by leaping from his plane high above Alabama in a spectacularly stupid and very unsuccessful attempt to escape the law.
Special shoutout to 10ish podcast - A comedy and edutainment podcast covering a different Top 10 list every week. We really like them and we think you will too. Find them at https://www.10ishpod.com/ or via your favourite podcast app.
Sorry about the sound quality in this episode, Tom's been on holiday so had to record through his laptop microphone this week. Normal service will resume shortly!
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.
*Spoiler alert: It's Roald Dahl, who wrote James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory etc.