A podcast about the surprising, and surprisingly relevant, stories in history you didn’t even know that you didn’t know about! Join Simone - bookworm, history teacher and astonished-face-emoji fact collector - for a new nugget in each episode. I’ll also be spotlighting history books, podcasts, TV shows, films and exhibitions guaranteed to intrigue and inspire. This is a show for curious minds who know that the past perpetually illuminates, spurs on and haunts today’s world - and that there i ...
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Simone Balani Podcasts
Once you spot the similarities between the Harry Potter universe and Nazi Germany, the parallels are endless. To close Season 1: a look at how Hogwarts is haunted by 20th-century history.Main Sources:Rowling, JK, The Harry Potter Series, Books 1-7 (London: 1997-2007).Arendt, H, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (London: 1963).…
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Although they wielded tremendous power in Spain for 184 years, all was not well within the mighty House of Habsburg. Its members were plagued by unusual maladies and physical deformities, including bulbous lower lips and the excessively protruding chins now known as the 'Habsburg Jaw'. What was going on, and what can we take away from their story o…
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Dreadnought, Defiance, Devastation and...Dwarf
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HMS Carcass, HMS Fairy, HMS Truant...over the centuries, the Royal Navy has chosen some peculiar names for its ships. From HMS Cherub to HMS Lucifer and everything in between, these are some of the most unforgettable, along with the weird and wonderful stories behind them. Main Source: The Terror, AMC (2021, USA). Additional Sources: Bacon, Admiral…
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Some of history’s most infamous prisons - Alcatraz, Robben Island, the Dry Guillotine - have been established on naturally beautiful but hopelessly desolate islands. How can their secrets help us to make sense of our experiences in 2020/21? Main Sources: Belbenoit, Rene, Dry Guillotine: Fifteen Years Amongst the Living Dead translated by Rambo, P. …
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Some of the most poignant questions, sage advice and heartrending pleas ever received by American presidents have come via children’s letters. These are some of the most memorable from over the last century - compelling reminders of the wit, wisdom and political power of youth! Main Source: Laskas, Jeanne Marie, To Obama With Love, Joy, Hate and De…
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Sir Thomas More, once Lord High Chancellor of England, was publicly executed in 1535 - but the fall of the axe only marked the beginning of the adventures of his severed head. What insight can this bizarre story give us into public shaming culture today? Thanks to William Weingarten for help with researching this episode. Main Sources: Mantel, Hila…
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It's not Japan. It isn't Germany. And it's not Vietnam, either. This is the story of the nation devastated by the so-called 'Secret War' - when it was relentlessly bombarded with 2 million tons of ordnance - and the people who are still living with the consequences today. Main Source: Rhodes, Ben, The World As It Is (London: 2018). Additional Sourc…
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The centuries-old tale of a creature moulded from clay and brought to life as an obedient servant and fierce protector - although that isn't how the story ends. What can the golem of Jewish folklore teach us about the ethics of artificial intelligence today? Thanks to William Weingarten for help with researching and fact-checking the information in…
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The story of the fabulous and forgotten Philippe I, Duke of Orleans - a royal son who was brought up as a daughter, and a complex figure who can teach us plenty about our modern-day understanding of masculinity. Main Source: Versailles, Canal+ (2015, France). Additional Sources: Harper, J. and von Goeth, A., Louis XIV, the Real Sun King (South York…
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The story of how pesky pigeons helped the Allies to victory in World War II - and why that's relevant to our approach to climate change today. Main Sources: Corera, G., Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Columba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe (Glasgow: 2018). Day, J., ‘Operation Columba’, London Review of Books Vol. 41 No. 7 (April 2…
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