June 2, 2026 • 11 mins
One curious aspect of history is that people oftem change the world by making some noise.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Off the coast of England, and to be exact, off
the coast of Frinton on Sea in Essex, a fairy
dropped anchor. Its pilot had taken special care to move
it into international waters. Its cruise intent was not strictly legal,
and they didn't want to be hassled by the British authorities.
It was Easter Sunday, March twenty eighth of nineteen sixty four.
(00:58):
A signal went out from the decks, cutting into the
British radio static, a clarion call and a protest. It
was rock and roll, and in this way Radio Caroline
announced itself to a pop and rock star England. It
became a beacon for pop music and forced the establishment
to finally accept the changing tastes of a new generation.
(01:19):
And along the way it utterly changed the landscape of
British broadcasting. You see, before nineteen sixty four, broadcasting was
completely controlled by the BBC. What went on the airwaves
was regulated by the government, who only begrudgingly played popular
music and limited its time on the airwaves. But this
wasn't enough for the British youth, who desperately hungered for
(01:41):
music from the country's growing pop and rock scene. They
wanted the Beatles, they wanted the Rolling Stones, they wanted
rock and roll. But the BBC wasn't listening. So when
an Irish businessman named Ronan O'Reilly saw what was happening
and realized that there was a great opportunity in the
establishment's stubbornness, he had an idea of how to exploit
that opportunity. A station at sea beyond English maritime borders,
(02:05):
a mere three miles from shore. If he weren't broadcasting
from inside Britain, he wouldn't be constrained by their broadcasting laws,
with their censorship and their scheduling constraints. He'd be able
to operate without a license. He could play anything that
he liked for as long as he liked. And mister o'rahi, well,
he really liked rock music, so he bought and converted
(02:28):
a ferry named the me Amigo to be his broadcast station,
and on March twenty eighth, Radio Caroline went live. It
was immediately a massive sensation. The music was exactly what
the younger generation had yearned for all day, every day,
and unlike the stodgy announcers of the BBC Radio Carolines,
DJs were like familiar friends, energetic and funny, and more importantly,
(02:52):
the same age as many of their listeners. This pirate
station built an audience in the millions who tuned in
on transistor radios and listened late into the night. O'rahlei's
gambit had paid off generously. Not only had he filled
a gap in the market, but he'd proven that the
BBC's monopoly on radio fell woefully short in the face
(03:13):
of the cultural wave of rock and roll Revolution. Radio
Caroline stood alone, but only for a short time. Overnight,
new pirate stations popped up as well. The sea seemingly
full of illegal broadcasters. Stations like Radio London, Radio Scotland
and Radio Atlanta were pumping the sounds of the swinging
(03:33):
sixties into the nation. They became so prominent that they
were impossible for the government to ignore, and so in
nineteen sixty seven, Parliament passed the Marine Broadcasting Offenses Act,
which made it illegal for citizens of Britain to work
for the pirate stations and for businesses to advertise on
their stations. With their supply of money and labor drying up,
(03:56):
the newest stations were decimated, but Radio Caroline kept rocking.
Miamigo was a symbol of resistance. The station began to
pull supplies from Dutch waters, worked with complex maritime laws,
and merged with Radio Atlanta to share resources and widen
their reach. They were adaptable, and they managed for years
(04:16):
to pardon the pun stay afloat. Finally, the British media
establishment had to concede that pirate radio had transformed the
media market forever, and as a response to the huge
cultural shift, in the autumn of nineteen sixty seven, the
BBC created Radio One, a station for pop and rock
music that not only tried to reproduce the success of
(04:39):
Pirate radio, but that also employed the very djays that
they had fought so hard against. Radio Caroline kept on
over the following decades, broadcasting, despite bankruptcies and shipwrecks, even
adapting as digital media overtook radio in popularity. It broadcasts
now legally from a new ship and can be heard
(05:00):
not only in Great Britain but all over the world
from its Internet live stream. And through it all, it
still retains its place in broadcast history for its ability
to shape culture. The era of true pirate radio stations
may be decades in the past, but Radio Caroline has
made an impact on it through profound change from the margins.
(05:21):
And when the Miamigo dropped anchor on that Easter Sunday
in nineteen sixty four, they may have only set out
to play a little bit of rock and roll, but
that signal they broadcast, well, it started a revolution. He
(05:46):
was a West African king who came to power in
thirteen twelve AD. At first, Mansa Musa essentially was a
regent of the Kingdom of Mali, ruling in his brother's
stead while his brother went on an Atlantic expedition. But
when his brother never returned, he became king. We'll let
you decide if that's the truth or if that's just
(06:07):
the story that he told to explain how he deposed
his brother. Historians are a bit divided. What we do
know is that Musa was a devout Muslim, he likely
would have been introduced to the religion through the trade
routes that ran east to west from Saudi Arabia, and
this contact exposed him to the wisdom and riches of
the Mediterranean and inspired him to expand his empire. He
(06:30):
focused on the non Muslim nations that surrounded Mali. This
included places like Senegal, Nijer, and Mauritania. At its heights
as kingdom spanned two thousand miles. It was essentially the
entire middle portion of the hump of West Africa that
round protruding upper half of Africa that you see when
you look at a map. It's unknown how exactly he
(06:52):
was so effective at conquest, but clearly he was inspired
by what he learned from the East. The most significant
part of his conquest was that many of these nations
were rich in the most important natural resource of the time, gold.
Musa's gold stores were so great that today he'd be
worth an estimated four hundred billion dollars, making him one
(07:13):
of the richest people to have ever lived. And with
all this wealth, he clearly wasn't just going to sit
back and do nothing with it. He attributed his success
to his faith in Islam, and as such he wanted
to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. But that was no
easy task in this time and place. It meant crossing
the Sahara desert by camel, but with four hundred billion
(07:34):
dollars in gold at his disposal, even this wasn't too
great of a challenge for Musa to overcome. He meticulously
planned the expedition, gathering sixty thousand enslaved people, soldiers and
advisers to travel with him. The caravan was really more
of a moving city, with a huge train of livestock
that could be used to sustain all of the people
(07:56):
on the journey, and of course Musa made sure that
they brought plenty of gold with them. There were as
many as one hundred camels loaded down with pure gold.
They made their way across the Sahara, enduring the ankle
twisting sands and intense heat. Sand particles got in their
eyes and mouths, a never ending irritation, but eventually they
(08:18):
arrived in Cairo, the largest city on the route to Mecca.
Musa wanted to show off his wealth, and so he
handed out gold to every major noble in the city.
In fact, he handed out so much gold that he
ruined the local economy. Gold basically became worthless, as there
was more of it than any other good. Undetereared, he
kept going somehow, loading his thousands of men and hundreds
(08:41):
of camels onto ships that crossed the Red Sea. Before
long they were in Mecca. Musa could finally show his
respects to the prophet and the religion that set him
on the path to being such a successful king. When
he returned to Mali, he brought back architects who would
help him build the Jingeraber Mosque in Timbuktu in Mali.
The mosque became instantly iconic for its detailed wood, straw
(09:04):
and mud walls. It's also known for its two slim
towers called minarets. Wood spikes jut out from the walls
and towers, which are a kind of scaffolding that allows
for regular maintenance. Musa also built a university in the city,
which attracted students from all over Africa. Timbuctoo became a
major trade hub for the region and remained that way
(09:25):
for centuries. Mansa Musa's curiosity about the world and his
desire to do more with his life than his predecessors,
led him to completely transforming the region. He died in
thirteen thirty seven, leaving his kingdom to his son. Musa's
descendants managed to hold on to the majority of the
empire throughout the fourteenth century, living up to his legacy
(09:47):
and maintaining their incredible wealth, but the two centuries after
that saw constant civil war among the various factions within
the kingdom. The ruling family in Timbuctoo seemed to lack
the military genius their legendary ancestor. The Kingdom of Mali
finally fell to the Moroccan Empire in fifteen ninety nine,
before eventually falling into the hands of colonizing French forces
(10:10):
in the early twentieth century. The people of Mali didn't
regain independence until nineteen sixty, and the nation has seen
a lots of conflict since then. It's a sad history,
but for those who are curious enough, we can look
back into history and find a time when Mali ruled
all of West Africa and one of the richest men
of all time handed out gold like candy. I hope
(10:37):
you enjoyed today's guided tour through the cabinet of Curiosities.
This show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership
with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and
Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about
the show and the people who make it over at
Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link
(10:58):
to the official Cabinet of Curiosities hardcover book, available in
bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And
if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining
our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without the
interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign
up over at patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until
(11:18):
next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Off the coast of England, and to be exact, off
the coast of Frinton on Sea in Essex, a fairy
dropped anchor. Its pilot had taken special care to move
it into international waters. Its cruise intent was not strictly legal,
and they didn't want to be hassled by the British authorities.
It was Easter Sunday, March twenty eighth of nineteen sixty four.
(00:58):
A signal went out from the decks, cutting into the
British radio static, a clarion call and a protest. It
was rock and roll, and in this way Radio Caroline
announced itself to a pop and rock star England. It
became a beacon for pop music and forced the establishment
to finally accept the changing tastes of a new generation.
(01:19):
And along the way it utterly changed the landscape of
British broadcasting. You see, before nineteen sixty four, broadcasting was
completely controlled by the BBC. What went on the airwaves
was regulated by the government, who only begrudgingly played popular
music and limited its time on the airwaves. But this
wasn't enough for the British youth, who desperately hungered for
(01:41):
music from the country's growing pop and rock scene. They
wanted the Beatles, they wanted the Rolling Stones, they wanted
rock and roll. But the BBC wasn't listening. So when
an Irish businessman named Ronan O'Reilly saw what was happening
and realized that there was a great opportunity in the
establishment's stubbornness, he had an idea of how to exploit
that opportunity. A station at sea beyond English maritime borders,
(02:05):
a mere three miles from shore. If he weren't broadcasting
from inside Britain, he wouldn't be constrained by their broadcasting laws,
with their censorship and their scheduling constraints. He'd be able
to operate without a license. He could play anything that
he liked for as long as he liked. And mister o'rahi, well,
he really liked rock music, so he bought and converted
(02:28):
a ferry named the me Amigo to be his broadcast station,
and on March twenty eighth, Radio Caroline went live. It
was immediately a massive sensation. The music was exactly what
the younger generation had yearned for all day, every day,
and unlike the stodgy announcers of the BBC Radio Carolines,
DJs were like familiar friends, energetic and funny, and more importantly,
(02:52):
the same age as many of their listeners. This pirate
station built an audience in the millions who tuned in
on transistor radios and listened late into the night. O'rahlei's
gambit had paid off generously. Not only had he filled
a gap in the market, but he'd proven that the
BBC's monopoly on radio fell woefully short in the face
(03:13):
of the cultural wave of rock and roll Revolution. Radio
Caroline stood alone, but only for a short time. Overnight,
new pirate stations popped up as well. The sea seemingly
full of illegal broadcasters. Stations like Radio London, Radio Scotland
and Radio Atlanta were pumping the sounds of the swinging
(03:33):
sixties into the nation. They became so prominent that they
were impossible for the government to ignore, and so in
nineteen sixty seven, Parliament passed the Marine Broadcasting Offenses Act,
which made it illegal for citizens of Britain to work
for the pirate stations and for businesses to advertise on
their stations. With their supply of money and labor drying up,
(03:56):
the newest stations were decimated, but Radio Caroline kept rocking.
Miamigo was a symbol of resistance. The station began to
pull supplies from Dutch waters, worked with complex maritime laws,
and merged with Radio Atlanta to share resources and widen
their reach. They were adaptable, and they managed for years
(04:16):
to pardon the pun stay afloat. Finally, the British media
establishment had to concede that pirate radio had transformed the
media market forever, and as a response to the huge
cultural shift, in the autumn of nineteen sixty seven, the
BBC created Radio One, a station for pop and rock
music that not only tried to reproduce the success of
(04:39):
Pirate radio, but that also employed the very djays that
they had fought so hard against. Radio Caroline kept on
over the following decades, broadcasting, despite bankruptcies and shipwrecks, even
adapting as digital media overtook radio in popularity. It broadcasts
now legally from a new ship and can be heard
(05:00):
not only in Great Britain but all over the world
from its Internet live stream. And through it all, it
still retains its place in broadcast history for its ability
to shape culture. The era of true pirate radio stations
may be decades in the past, but Radio Caroline has
made an impact on it through profound change from the margins.
(05:21):
And when the Miamigo dropped anchor on that Easter Sunday
in nineteen sixty four, they may have only set out
to play a little bit of rock and roll, but
that signal they broadcast, well, it started a revolution. He
(05:46):
was a West African king who came to power in
thirteen twelve AD. At first, Mansa Musa essentially was a
regent of the Kingdom of Mali, ruling in his brother's
stead while his brother went on an Atlantic expedition. But
when his brother never returned, he became king. We'll let
you decide if that's the truth or if that's just
(06:07):
the story that he told to explain how he deposed
his brother. Historians are a bit divided. What we do
know is that Musa was a devout Muslim, he likely
would have been introduced to the religion through the trade
routes that ran east to west from Saudi Arabia, and
this contact exposed him to the wisdom and riches of
the Mediterranean and inspired him to expand his empire. He
(06:30):
focused on the non Muslim nations that surrounded Mali. This
included places like Senegal, Nijer, and Mauritania. At its heights
as kingdom spanned two thousand miles. It was essentially the
entire middle portion of the hump of West Africa that
round protruding upper half of Africa that you see when
you look at a map. It's unknown how exactly he
(06:52):
was so effective at conquest, but clearly he was inspired
by what he learned from the East. The most significant
part of his conquest was that many of these nations
were rich in the most important natural resource of the time, gold.
Musa's gold stores were so great that today he'd be
worth an estimated four hundred billion dollars, making him one
(07:13):
of the richest people to have ever lived. And with
all this wealth, he clearly wasn't just going to sit
back and do nothing with it. He attributed his success
to his faith in Islam, and as such he wanted
to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. But that was no
easy task in this time and place. It meant crossing
the Sahara desert by camel, but with four hundred billion
(07:34):
dollars in gold at his disposal, even this wasn't too
great of a challenge for Musa to overcome. He meticulously
planned the expedition, gathering sixty thousand enslaved people, soldiers and
advisers to travel with him. The caravan was really more
of a moving city, with a huge train of livestock
that could be used to sustain all of the people
(07:56):
on the journey, and of course Musa made sure that
they brought plenty of gold with them. There were as
many as one hundred camels loaded down with pure gold.
They made their way across the Sahara, enduring the ankle
twisting sands and intense heat. Sand particles got in their
eyes and mouths, a never ending irritation, but eventually they
(08:18):
arrived in Cairo, the largest city on the route to Mecca.
Musa wanted to show off his wealth, and so he
handed out gold to every major noble in the city.
In fact, he handed out so much gold that he
ruined the local economy. Gold basically became worthless, as there
was more of it than any other good. Undetereared, he
kept going somehow, loading his thousands of men and hundreds
(08:41):
of camels onto ships that crossed the Red Sea. Before
long they were in Mecca. Musa could finally show his
respects to the prophet and the religion that set him
on the path to being such a successful king. When
he returned to Mali, he brought back architects who would
help him build the Jingeraber Mosque in Timbuktu in Mali.
The mosque became instantly iconic for its detailed wood, straw
(09:04):
and mud walls. It's also known for its two slim
towers called minarets. Wood spikes jut out from the walls
and towers, which are a kind of scaffolding that allows
for regular maintenance. Musa also built a university in the city,
which attracted students from all over Africa. Timbuctoo became a
major trade hub for the region and remained that way
(09:25):
for centuries. Mansa Musa's curiosity about the world and his
desire to do more with his life than his predecessors,
led him to completely transforming the region. He died in
thirteen thirty seven, leaving his kingdom to his son. Musa's
descendants managed to hold on to the majority of the
empire throughout the fourteenth century, living up to his legacy
(09:47):
and maintaining their incredible wealth, but the two centuries after
that saw constant civil war among the various factions within
the kingdom. The ruling family in Timbuctoo seemed to lack
the military genius their legendary ancestor. The Kingdom of Mali
finally fell to the Moroccan Empire in fifteen ninety nine,
before eventually falling into the hands of colonizing French forces
(10:10):
in the early twentieth century. The people of Mali didn't
regain independence until nineteen sixty, and the nation has seen
a lots of conflict since then. It's a sad history,
but for those who are curious enough, we can look
back into history and find a time when Mali ruled
all of West Africa and one of the richest men
of all time handed out gold like candy. I hope
(10:37):
you enjoyed today's guided tour through the cabinet of Curiosities.
This show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership
with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and
Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about
the show and the people who make it over at
Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link
(10:58):
to the official Cabinet of Curiosities hardcover book, available in
bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And
if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining
our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without the
interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign
up over at patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until
(11:18):
next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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