Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all. Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. His published books include: • Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003). • Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017). • Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015). • The Habitat Penang Hill: a pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021) • Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
Episodes
William Wallace and Robert the Bruce are towering figures in Scottish history, renowned for their fierce resistance against English domination during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Wallace, known for his unyielding spirit and tactical genius, led the Scots to a legendary victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, embodying the nation's struggle for freedom.
His martyrdom in 1305 only...
The Battle of Stirling Bridge, fought on September 11, 1297, was a pivotal clash in the First War of Scottish Independence, showcasing the military genius of William Wallace and Andrew Moray. These two Scottish generals led a vastly outnumbered Scottish force against the English.
The Scots strategically used the narrow, wooden Stirling Bridge to their advantage, allowing only a small number of the E...
The Scottish War of Independence was a dramatic and fierce struggle for national sovereignty, and is a captivating chapter in history, marked by legendary figures and heroic battles. It began in 1296 when Edward I of England invaded Scotland, seeking to subjugate the fiercely independent Scots.
Join Keith as he takes you through the circumstances that leads to Edwards bloody invasion of Scotland, to ...
Harry Potter has captivated the imagination of children from all over the world for decades. A fantasy series inspired by a long lineage of stories, from Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit and Narnia, all committed to the importance of the building of moral character. Join Keith as he traces the roots of J.J Rowling's novels, uncovering Tom Brown's Schooldays in the process, all the while demystifying th...
The Massacre of Glencoe, a dark and chilling event in Scottish history, unfolded on the snowy morning of February 13, 1692. Amid the serene beauty of the Glen, the MacDonald clan awoke to the horror of betrayal. Soldiers they had hosted with Highland hospitality for almost two weeks turned on them with ruthless precision.
Under orders from the government, these men slaughtered the unsuspecting MacDon...
From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman Empire, down through the Black Death in the Middle Ages and on through the 1918 flu epidemic which killed between 50 and 100 million people, to SARS and COVID 19, plagues have been been a much more relentless fact of life than many realise.
Join Keith as he discusses the ...
I’m always worried about my listeners staying up late at night to listen to my podcasts – and falling asleep by them…and there are some serious topics there that I wouldn’t want you falling asleep to– so I decided to create DreamReads, stories that will lull you to sleep, that won’t have you worrying about the world and it’s problems. And in the process maybe just enlighten and entertain you with some of my ...
The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, marked the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was a pivotal confrontation between the French army, led by Napoleon, and the Allied forces, commanded by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The battle saw intense fighting throughout the day, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties. Ultimately, We...
The Ark of the Covenant has fuelled stories for millennia, whether as a weapon of mass destruction, an elaborate filing cabinet for sacred laws, or as the very location where God and man meet. Join Keith as he delves into the mysteries surrounding the Ark of the Covenant, its creation, its importance and its eventual disappearance...
For this second episode I'm introducing you to Oscar Wild, and "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The Picture of Dorian Gray" tells the story of a young and handsome man named Dorian Gray who becomes the subject of a portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. Dorian becomes increasingly influenced by the hedonistic philosophy of Lord Henry Wotton, leading him to indulge in a life of pleasu...
"To be a boy at one of these schools was to be both tyrant and slave"
18th century British Public Schools were hotbeds of violence and uproar, despite their deeply Christian origins. From raucous rebellions featuring students fighting armed militias, and building barricades and taking hostages and firing pistols, to animal assassinations, abysmal teaching and gruesome hazing rituals, their ...
I’m always worried about my listeners staying up late at night to listen to my podcasts – and falling asleep by them…and there are some serious topics there that I wouldn’t want you falling asleep to (lol) – so I decided to create DreamReads, stories that will lull you to sleep, that won’t have you worrying about the world and it’s problems. And in the process maybe just enlighten and entertain you with some...
Who was Lawrence of Arabia? Born Thomas Edward Lawrence, he was a British archaeologist, military officer, diplomat and spy who became famous for his pivotal role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. His extraordinary leadership and strategic acumen, combined with his deep understanding of Arab culture and language, enabled him to unite disparate Arab tribes and orchestrate guerri...
In 1857 tensions in Company controlled India came to a head in what the British called 'The Indian Mutiny', now referred to in India as the First War of Independence. The uprising and the bloody reprisals sent shockwaves through the British Empire and ended the rule of the East India Company, and led to the creation of the Raj.
Join Keith as he uncovers the causes of an event that couldn&ap...
Emerging victorious from the battles of Plassey and Buxar, The East India Company under Sir Robert Clive cements its grip on power in India.
Join Keith as he discusses the nature, the horrors and the key figures of "Company Rule" in India at its height in the early 19th century.
Join Keith as he discusses the rise of The East India Company, exploring how a small start up, a corporation founded in Tudor England, with only a handful of employees, came to rule India.
In this podcast Keith asks is Donald Trump a modern day Caesar, willing to do anything to stay in power, or is Trump the natural successor to the disgraced Richard Nixon? Keith draws parallels between the modern White House of the 1970's and ancient Rome and comes to a stunning conclusion.
The man whom sadism was named after, a prophet of totalitarianism, the Marquis de Sade was a french aristocrat and writer, an uncompromising and unashamed libertine with the weird ability to completely corrupt those around him. Arrested by the French monarchy, the revolutionaries and then Napoleon he spent most of his life in jail, narrowly avoiding the guillotine thanks to Robespierre's disposition on t...
The gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece have been written about for thousands of years. From their home atop Mount Olympus, they reigned over the land, the sea and the sky. The course of human history was shaped by the whims and the wishes of these deities, and the Furies were no exception.
Join Keith as he talks about the Greek goddesses of vengeance, who they were, where they came from and how th...
What comes to mind when you think of Pythagoras? His triangle, his theorem and a foundational principle of mathematics? Absolutely, but he was also the enigmatic founder of Pythagoreanism, a mysterious secret society that strove to create a Utopia on earth.
Today Keith delves into this ancient social experiment, and talks about other attempts at paradise in the millennia since, and comes to a conclu...
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