Oh What A Time...
It’s time to embark on a journey through history with "Oh What A Time…" a comedy history podcast hosted by renowned comedians Elis James and Tom Craine along with award winning podcaster Chris Scull. Tackling a brand new subject each week, (from ‘childhood’ to ‘a life at sea’, ‘marriage’ to ‘holidays’) your hosts will dive into the very weirdest and worst that history has to offer, in an effort to answer the question… "Was the past as awful as it sounds?" For all the links, including our Patreon, head to" ohwhatatime.com You can get in touch with the show by emailing: hello@ohwhatatime.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
We’ve got a brilliant episode this week: we’ve turned to history to find the worst jobs we can. We’ve got tanning (leather, not the sun beds), bridge painting, and the Victorian workhouse.. and take our word for it, they are all absolutely awful.
Elsewhere, Elis’ grandad had tools for a career down the mine whilst Elis has 3x microphones for his career down t...
We’ve got a brilliant episode this week: we’ve turned to history to find the worst jobs we can. We’ve got tanning (leather, not the sun beds), bridge painting, and the Victorian workhouse.. and take our word for it, they are all absolutely awful.
Elsewhere, Elis’ grandad had tools for a career down the mine whilst Elis has 3x microphones for his career down the audio mine. If you’ve got anything to ...
** We're 'off' this week due to half term, so please enjoy these old subscriber episodes in the mean time! And for more bonus episodes (and next week's episode) head to: patreon.com/ohwhatatime **
Once again, you’ve been hitting up our inbox with all your fantastic correspondence; so here we are, another special to clear up and correct as much as we can.
If you want to send us a letter you can do so via: hello@ohwhatati...
** We're 'off' this week due to half term, so please enjoy these old subscriber episodes in the mean time! And for more bonus episodes (and next week's episode) head to: patreon.com/ohwhatatime **
For one of this month’s subscriber specials, we’re looking at Ian Kershaw’s biography of Adolf Hitler; a man Ian describes as “the embodiment of modern political evil”.
We’ll trace the book throug...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
This week we’re looking at commercial entities that went bigger than their wildest dreams. We’ve got for you: Japanese consumer electronics firm Casio, how did Cadbury make that chocolate money and lastly, how Andrew Carnegie acquired insane wealth and then, incredibly, went about giving it away!
And isn’t the world a better place for mass sporting events? AND IS T...
This week we’re looking at commercial entities that went bigger than their wildest dreams. We’ve got for you: Japanese consumer electronics firm Casio, how did Cadbury make that chocolate money and lastly, how Andrew Carnegie acquired insane wealth and then, incredibly, went about giving it away!
And isn’t the world a better place for mass sporting events? AND IS THE WORLD TALKING ENOUGH ABOUT ELIS RUNNING THE ...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
For the eighteenth-century gentleman few things marked a rite of passage more than the grand tour - so this week we’re seeing what exploring Europe, the UK and North America was like in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Elsewhere, Elis has been dreaming about Chris’ fictional children being good at football. If you’ve got any dreams to share, you know what to do: hello@...
For the eighteenth-century gentleman few things marked a rite of passage more than the grand tour - so this week we’re seeing what exploring Europe, the UK and North America was like in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Elsewhere, Elis has been dreaming about Chris’ fictional children being good at football. If you’ve got any dreams to share, you know what to do: hello@ohwhatatime.com
And from now on Part 1 is re...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
**THIS EPISODE CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND THEMES OF AN ADULT NATURE**
Our guest this week is British historian and author Dr Kate Lister who is here to discuss her new book ‘Flick’ which explores female pleasure throughout history; from Ancient Mesopotamian sex goddesses to the contraceptive pill.
The book itself is fascinating and you can get it here: https://www.p...
**THIS EPISODE CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND THEMES OF AN ADULT NATURE**
Our guest this week is British historian and author Dr Kate Lister who is here to discuss her new book ‘Flick’ which explores female pleasure throughout history; from Ancient Mesopotamian sex goddesses to the contraceptive pill.
The book itself is fascinating and you can get it here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/463104/flick-by-lister-dr-ka...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
This week we’re chatting education: what did schooling look like in Ancient Greece and Rome? What has corporal punishment looked like in schools through history? And how has the concept of the ‘school meal’ evolved over time?
Elsewhere, why did pirates pick hooks for hands above all other options?! We think we have the answer, but if you’ve got anything to ad...
This week we’re chatting education: what did schooling look like in Ancient Greece and Rome? What has corporal punishment looked like in schools through history? And how has the concept of the ‘school meal’ evolved over time?
Elsewhere, why did pirates pick hooks for hands above all other options?! We think we have the answer, but if you’ve got anything to add, you know what to do: hello@ohwhatatime.com
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
We are truly honoured this week to be joined by one of our favourite historians in the world; it’s German-British author, who penned of one of Elis’ favourite ever books (Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949–1990), it’s Katja Hoyer!
Katja is here to discuss her brand new book ‘Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe’ which details the collapse of G...
We are truly honoured this week to be joined by one of our favourite historians in the world; it’s German-British author, who penned of one of Elis’ favourite ever books (Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949–1990), it’s Katja Hoyer!
Katja is here to discuss her brand new book ‘Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe’ which details the collapse of German democracy as the Nazi’s tighten the...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
This week on the show we’re talking about the sporting prowess of history’s most well-known revolutionaries; we have baseball-loving Fidel Castro, Chairman Mao’s love of ping pong and we’ve got Vladimir Lenin and his love of the bicycle.
Elsewhere, Tom Craine got stuck up a rollercoaster. Has this ever happened to you? Why does this sort of thing keep happeni...
It's a special bonus episode! This one from June 2025, never heard before on the main feed!
If you want more Oh What A Time and both parts at once, you should sign up for our Patreon! On there you’ll now find:
•The full archive of bonus episodes
•Brand new bonus episodes each month
•OWAT subscriber group chats
•Loads of extra perks for supporters of the show
•PLUS ad-free episodes earlier than everyone else
Join us at 👉 pat...
This week on the show we’re talking about the sporting prowess of history’s most well-known revolutionaries; we have baseball-loving Fidel Castro, Chairman Mao’s love of ping pong and we’ve got Vladimir Lenin and his love of the bicycle.
Elsewhere, Tom Craine got stuck up a rollercoaster. Has this ever happened to you? Why does this sort of thing keep happening to Tom? If you know, please do inform us: he...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
This week we’re looking at attempts through history at mass observation; we have Britain in the late 1930s, American culture after the Great Depression and the Soviet diaspora in Europe in the 1950s.
Elsewhere, is looking at a picture of a coffee every bit as good as actually drinking one? If you’ve got anything to add on this or anything else please send us an email: he...
This week we’re looking at attempts through history at mass observation; we have Britain in the late 1930s, American culture after the Great Depression and the Soviet diaspora in Europe in the 1950s.
Elsewhere, is looking at a picture of a coffee every bit as good as actually drinking one? If you’ve got anything to add on this or anything else please send us an email: hello@ohwhatatime.com
And from now on Part 1 i...
This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!
This week we’re discussing that wonderful land of Australia! We’ll be finding out what was suspected about a land down under in Antiquity, south-east Asia’s Australian mythology and we’ll answer the age-old and quite complex question: who discovered Australia?!
Elsewhere, Chris has barely survived a bout with Norovirus and Tom finally admits what he’s t...
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.