Half-Arsed History

Half-Arsed History

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

May 7, 2025 18 mins
Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Cadaver Synod, the time a dead pope was dug up out of the ground and put on trial as a corpse.

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In this week's episode, hear about five of the most ridiculous stories to emerge from the history of papal conclaves - from foul-mouthed brawling, to papier-mache crowns, to the time there were four popes in a single year.

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Clocks are everywhere - we are more or less always surrounded by timekeeping devices of all different kinds, but it was the mechanical clock, specifically, that ushered in an era of accurate, reliable horology.


Marshall Sutcliffe from Wristwatch Revival working on the watches I wear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJFNcfT-7HQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5ziU2-9yOo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQp4VAjZ00


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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Defenestrations of Prague, an account of the multiple time that angry Bohemian Protestants have hurled Catholics out of windows as acts of political protest.

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In this week's episode, learn all about the papal conclave: what preceded it, its origins, its centuries of history, and all that we know about how it elects popes today, in the 21st century.

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April 25, 2025 21 mins
Eyeglasses, as a very important invention, have evolved from an expensive and somewhat unreliable piece of specialist equipment to something that half the world's population makes daily use of. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the (somewhat unverified) tale of Timothy Dexter, who amassed a vast fortune by making some of the most ludicrous business decisions you'll ever hear. 

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In this week's episode, learn all about Australian elections - how they originated, how they've changed, how they work today, and how their results lead to parliamentary governments being formed.

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April 18, 2025 25 mins
The compass has been used as a navigational tool for a thousand years, guiding ships and aeroplanes around the world - but for a thousand years before that, it served a different (and slightly less useful) role.

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Quarter-Arsed History present: the tale of the 14th-century noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson, who, after the execution of her husband at the hands of the French king, turned to a life of piracy and terrorised French shipping in the English Channel.

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In this week's episode, get stuck into another tragic chapter in Scottish history with the stories of the Jacobite Risings and the famous Battle of Culloden.

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April 11, 2025 25 mins
Gunpowder revolutionised human warfare, ushering in a new chapter in the history of our species as we left behind swords and shields to fire guns and cannons instead. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of the event that triggered the First World War - the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, complete with all the ludicrous misadventure that came with it. 

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In this week's episode, meet Captain William Kidd, the only pirate in history known to have actually buried treasure - something that gave rise to one of the most common and popular pirate-themed tropes.

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April 4, 2025 22 mins
The toothbrush is yet another simple but very important invention that has been a part of everyday life for people for over a thousand years, helping in keeping our choppers clean and in good health. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: another telling of the War of the Oaken Bucket, one of the shortest episode topics ever covered by this tinpot history podcast. 

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In this week's episode, learn the origins of five sayings that all have a nautical origin: logbook, not enough room to swing a cat, grog, three sheets to the wind, and average. 

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March 28, 2025 22 mins
Toilet paper is something we have been wiping our bums with it for almost 1,500 years - an old invention with quite a few interesting details in its story.

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: a retelling of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, when a French con woman scammed a rich cardinal in a truly scandalous manner.

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March 23, 2025 67 mins
In this episode, learn all about the origin and history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and the uncertain future it faces in the current global political landscape. 

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