Blind History

Charles Martel

Charles Martel was born in the palace of Austrasia - which it turns out is neither in Australia nor Austria. If you’re confused, just imagine being French without a France. Austrasia was one of four provinces of what would eventually become medieval France, and Charles Martel would be its first…

2 Mar 2022 22 min

Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth Bathory might not be the most famous Hungarian in history, but once you hear her story, you’ll never forget her name. A tale of sadism, torture, cruelty and murder awaits you in this episode of Blind History…

23 Feb 2022 16 min

Hideki Tojo

Coming hot on the heels of last week’s episode, the villains can add another ugly monster to their number. Hideki Tojo was Japan’s fascist, genocidal answer to Himmler in Germany. Throughout his career, only Imperial Japanese priorities would matter, and if people got in the way, he treated them as…

9 Feb 2022 23 min

Heinrich Himmler

If you were to compile a list of the most evil men in history, Heinrich Himmler would undoubtedly be near the top of it. Hitler’s chief executioner and the mastermind behind the genocidal concentration camps, Himmler was obsessed with racial superiority, the occult and killing people efficiently. With his round…

2 Feb 2022 23 min

Picasso

Probably the most famous and successful artist of all time, this Spanish creative genius founded Cubism, produced thousands of works, and bedded many women. Perhaps his talent allowed us to see the world differently, but it is indisputable that his influence went much further than beautiful pictures.

26 Jan 2022 27 min

Hannibal

When we think of Ancient History, we think of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Undoubtedly the greatest and most well-understood of these civilisations was Rome, but who were the ancient Romans frightened of? The answer is Carthage, and their most famous leader was Hannibal. One of the greatest strategic military thinkers…

19 Jan 2022 19 min

Karl Marx

The father of communism and socialism, to some a wicked ideologue with the worst plans for social engineering; to others a heroic thinker who conceived of a freer, fairer world order. No matter what you think of him, Karl Marx’s shadow looms large in modern politics, in history, and in…

15 Dec 2021 19 min

William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror was one of the great medieval warrior-kings. In fact, he set the standard for the next 500 years of English kingship. In war, he was undefeated, but in many ways he was unconventional, and plagued by family troubles and constant rebellion. His talent for administration produced a…

8 Dec 2021 20 min

The Great Inventors

Between Edison and Tesla there are some 1,200 patents for inventions and innovations that birthed the modern world. To fully appreciate their contribution, you would have to remember that at the time of their birth, technology was steam-powered locomotion, and candlelight. Over the course of their years of discovery and…

1 Dec 2021 20 min

Margaret Thatcher

Though equally loved and vilified by modern historians and analysts, it is beyond question that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain remains one of the most audacious women of history. This Iron Lady, who came to be respected by her enemies and friends alike, held firm in the face…

24 Nov 2021 18 min

Peter the Great

The story of Pyotr Alekséyevich is the story of Russia emerging from the cold. It is a story which continues to play out in the centuries which followed, and which galvanised the character of not just a new nation, but a nascent empire. Join us on the bewildering journey of…

17 Nov 2021 25 min

Royals Behaving Badly

Kings and Queens aren’t always the best of us. Sometimes they’re weak, pathetic, unimpressive or downright evil! Just as history has shown us a range of glorious and exemplary monarchs, it is also full of examples of the kinds of men and women who might have been better suited to…

6 Jul 2021 37 min

Constantine the Great

The Romans were a decaying bunch, with not very much to boast about and a rotten empire that was divided in half, ruled by four weak emperors. The only thing that arrested its slide into ignominy was the character and action of an ambitious, military, pious man called Constantine, whom…

29 Jun 2021 20 min

Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu was the most powerful man in France, and the architect of absolute monarchy. His strategic mind and dedication to French interests made it possible for Louis XIV, and later Napoleon, to make France the envy of the world. Join us as we transport you back to the early…

22 Jun 2021 15 min

Hedy Lamarr

Women in 2021 talk about sexism and not being taken seriously by the scientific, corporate or engineering world. Imagine what that was like during World War Two? Hedy Lamarr was called the most beautiful woman in the world, but in her own words, she wished they’d been more interested in…

15 Jun 2021 19 min

Nostradamus

Nostradamus was either a genius with magical powers, or a very lucky bullshitter. In 16th century France, there may have been many mysterious men with the ability to convince the mighty they could foretell the future, but only one name survived down the ages. Even now, books about him and…

8 Jun 2021 20 min

Jesse James

The most famous bandit of the Wild West, Jesse James and his gang terrorised many American cities for more than a decade. Apart from a treacherous death, a crazy mom and many crimes, we’ll tell you all about one of the most dangerous men the USA ever knew…

1 Jun 2021 17 min

Hernán Cortés

To the Spanish he was a conquering hero, a conquistador, spreading Christianity to the 'savage tribes' of the new world. To the Aztecs and the native people of Central America, he was a harbinger of death, a destroyer of culture, and a frightening apparition that heralded the end of their…

25 May 2021 21 min

Leopold II

We know you love the bad guys, but this one is close to impossible to like. The fact that he perpetrated his crimes against humanity only three generations ago makes it somehow more monstrous. When the story of humanity is told, King Leopold II of the Belgians will not find…

18 May 2021 18 min

Vikings

The fearsome northmen in all their violence, strength, courage and ferocity probably shouldn’t be summarised in one lowly episode, but we’ll tell you how much more they gave us, and not just words like pillage and ransack. Their gods, society, women and sophistication were every bit as crucial as their…

11 May 2021 18 min