Blind History

The Kray Twins

Criminals can be great criminals. They can influence history, change cities and become the story themselves. Robin Hood, Al Capone, Bonnie & Clyde... they all ended up the stuff of legend. So would it be with the Krays, two London brothers who ended up owning the city and bending it to their…

28 Oct 2019 19 min

Napoleon Bonaparte

From artillery officer in the revolutionary army to Emperor of the French, Napoleon’s life is one of the great success stories of humanity. But it all ended in lonely exile on an island in the Atlantic, ignominy and possibly poison. The tremendous life of Napoleon’s rise and fall in Blind…

22 Oct 2019 21 min

Pixley ka Isaka Seme

The man who encouraged black farmers to buy land in the early 1900s, became one of the first black lawyers in South Africa, and attended Columbia and Oxford Universities before founding the ANC, has almost been forgotten to history, but part of the reason Blind History is here is to…

15 Oct 2019 18 min

Queen Victoria

A tiny little Queen with enormous power - reputed to have had no sense of humour. That’s how most people know Queen Victoria, but in fact she was a progressive, sensitive and quite strident woman in an age where those things were mostly frowned upon. Let’s see if you’re amused…

7 Oct 2019 16 min

Saladin

Saladin was the greatest Muslim warrior of the Middle Ages, and a man who recaptured Jerusalem from the Christians. He was also full of contradictions - honourable, yet cruel; warrior, yet peacemaker. Find out about this mysterious and powerful character in our latest episode of Blind History... proudly brought to…

30 Sep 2019 11 min

Vlad the Impaler

Dracula is a fictional character... a satanic creature that drinks the blood of its victims. Bram Stoker made that creature up, but the real-life inspiration of Vlad Dracul is much more sinister - a cruel, sadistic monster that put thousands of people to death in the most unimaginably vicious ways…

16 Sep 2019 12 min

Martin Luther King, Jr

The great leader of the US Civil Rights Movement. An iconic figure who was both deeply spiritual and practical. A pacifist, orator, family man and preacher. There are few who would say he lived long enough to achieve all his bold ambitions, but he lived long enough to make an…

9 Sep 2019 14 min

Bonus episode: Why History?

In this bonus teaser for season two, Gareth Cliff and Anthony Mederer talk about why they love history, and how they choose their subjects for the podcast. Season two of Blind History is coming soon!

27 Aug 2019 3 min

Ep 13: Confucius

The Chinese claim him, but all the world still refers to him - all the time. Confucius, the great philosopher and teacher continues to inspire and inform so many conversations and ideas in modern society. The Golden Rule, a criticism of crass materialism and so many wise sayings were the…

7 May 2019 12 min

Ep 12: Queen Elizabeth I

The Golden Age was named for Elizabeth I, the great virgin queen of England. During her reign, Shakespeare and Marlowe wrote masterpieces, Sir Francis Drake sailed across the world, the Spanish Armada was defeated, and England reached its apogee. At the centre of it all was Elizabeth, resplendent in jewels,…

30 Apr 2019 16 min

Ep 11: John Gotti

His name is synonymous with gangsters, the mob, drugs, organised crime and flashy suits. John Gotti was the godfather and his life unfolded like a tragic movie script. His story starts with petty theft and ends with death in prison, but that’s just scratching the surface. Blind History brought to…

23 Apr 2019 13 min

Ep 10: Joan of Arc

She was variously called the 'Maid of Orleans', Saint Joan, and the heroine of France. Ultimately she was burnt at the stake and condemned by her enemies as a heretic and lunatic. Joan died before her 20th birthday, but in that short life she succeeded in bringing France together, beating…

15 Apr 2019 14 min

Ep 9: Mother Teresa

She is revered the world over as a saint, but is there more to her story? Mother Teresa devoted her life to the poorest of the poor in a country that wasn’t even the one of her birth. Intensely pious and dogmatic, she has been criticised in the years since…

9 Apr 2019 13 min

Ep 8: Julius Caesar

Most people think of Caesar when they think of Rome - whether that’s because of Asterix, the famous bust with the laurel wreath, or the story of Brutus’ ultimate betrayal. He has become more myth than man, and his actual story is as fascinating as the stories told in fiction…

2 Apr 2019 18 min

Ep 7: Pharaoh Ramesses II

Stretch your understanding of time back 2000 years - to the time of Jesus and Augustus. Now go back another 1300 years. If you can even imagine such a vast expanse of history, then you might be able to see more than ruins, stones and statues in the reign of…

26 Mar 2019 16 min

Ep 6: Jan Smuts

His reputation has been downplayed by both the Nationalist Afrikaner regime that succeeded him, and the free South Africa that succeeded that, but for those prepared to dig a little deeper, Jan Smuts may well have been one of the greatest people to emerge from our continent. A brilliant mind,…

19 Mar 2019 12 min

Ep 5: Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the archetypal philosopher-king, a man of extraordinary talent and ability. He also had those rare qualities of introspection and self-awareness. He ruled when the Roman Empire was at its most powerful and after him, the world fell to pieces. Next time you see some profound thing on…

12 Mar 2019 15 min

Ep 4: King Edward III

Edward III was England’s greatest medieval king. When you think of King Arthur’s round table, jousting, feasts, battles, armour and castles - Edward had all of that, but he also had a dark side, and a reign filled with tragedy... including the Black Death which killed millions of his people…

5 Mar 2019 13 min

Ep 3: President John F Kennedy

John F Kennedy is one of the most well-known and best loved Presidents of the United States. Most people know more about his assassination than anything else, but he had a really incredible (and unlucky) family, many affairs and a crisis or two of global proportions to deal with during…

26 Feb 2019 17 min

Ep 2: Shaka Zulu

Shaka kaSezangakhona was Africa’s first imperialist. Before Shaka, there were tribes... after Shaka there was a kingdom. In this episode we trace the story of Shaka the warrior, the madman and the leader - because he was all three and more. The soil of our country is stained with the…

19 Feb 2019 15 min