Half-Arsed History
Half-Arsed History's first book, History's Strangest Deaths, is now available: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Welcome along to Half-Arsed History! It's a weekly podcast highlighting absurd and entertaining stories from history. Three times a week, it helps host Riley Knight feel as though his useless history degree has some kind of real-world relevance. Get in touch: halfarsedhistory@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/halfarsedhistory Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/halfarsedhistory Buy Half-Arsed History merch: https://halfarsedhistory.theprintbar.com If you've just discovered the show and aren't sure which of the 350+ episodes to start with, here are some suggestions: Episode 139: The History of the Toilet - https://sptfy.com/PK3J • https://apple.co/3Giftt3 Episode 75: The Great Emu War - https://sptfy.com/PK3K • https://apple.co/4jKCvr7 Episode 197: The History of Nuclear Weapons - https://sptfy.com/PK3L • https://apple.co/4jygYlc Episode 233: The 1930 FIFA World Cup - https://sptfy.com/PK3M • https://apple.co/4iltL9P Episode 106: The First Circumnavigation - https://sptfy.com/PK3N • https://apple.co/4jewsLj Half-Arsed History acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the unceded Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) Land on which the podcast is written and recorded, and pays respect to First Nations Elders past, present, and emerging. Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. This continent always was, and always will be, Aboriginal Land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
TL;DL: No episodes for the next week or so. I'm a little bit burnt out after a huge year, so I've been struggling to get episodes out on time. Solutions for 2026 forthcoming; apologies for the disruptions in the meantime.
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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.
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The pill brought about a huge shift in the history of human civilisation, revolutionising the role of women in society, culture, politics, and economics.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of the Mad Trapper of Rat River, a mysterious figure who led the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a month-long manhunt through the frozen wilderness.
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In this week's episode, hear about the history behind the names of five nations, all named after real historical figures.
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Velcro - or, officially, the hook-and-loop fastener - is a useful little invention that we all still use today, and one that was popularised after helping us get to the Moon.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of W.G. Grace, one of the most famous cricketers from the 19th century, famous for his immense skill which helped to revolutionise the game.
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In this episode, get across the origin and history of a fierce century-and-a-half sporting rivalry, brought to life whenever Australia face off against England in Test cricket: the Ashes.
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The microwave oven came about due to a very lucky accident involving an electrical engineer and chocolate bar, and today is found in billions of homes worldwide.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Petrov Affair, when two Soviet spies caused a major political upheaval by defecting to Australia in the 1950s.
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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.
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The ballpoint pen may not have ushered in a technological revolution as so many other inventions in this series did, but it nonetheless played a significant role in making everyday writing simple, cheap, and relatively smudge-free.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of Robert Curthose, who managed to cause all sorts of headaches for his two kingly brothers, despite being older than both of them.
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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.
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Penicillin was a miraculous, marvellous discovery that revolutionised modern medicine and saved millions upon millions of lives, ushering in the age of antibiotics, where a little scratch doesn't result in amputation or death.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of the Venus de Milo, the most famous ancient statue in the world, and perhaps second-most famous artwork in the Louvre.
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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.
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Plastic is everywhere - these days, it's impossible to live a completely plastic-free life; but that's not necessarily entirely a bad thing, as even with all its environmental ills, plastic has nonetheless ushered in an age of material abundance.
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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Lake Nyos Disaster, when over 1,700 people living around Lake Nyos mysteriously perished one night in 1986.
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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.
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