Oh What A Time...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re talking Dragons from down the ages! They’ve come in all different forms through the annuls of history, we’ve got; what the ancient Romans referred to as the ‘Draco’, the Asian Dragon and the featured servants of ancient Central America. Elsewhere, has THE INTERNET made a historians life far easier? The internet has ALL THE INFORMATION EVE...

This week we’re talking Dragons from down the ages! They’ve come in all different forms through the annuls of history, we’ve got; what the ancient Romans referred to as the ‘Draco’, the Asian Dragon and the featured servants of ancient Central America. Elsewhere, has THE INTERNET made a historians life far easier? The internet has ALL THE INFORMATION EVER - surely Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper would’v...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re taking a look at the curious process through which some countries were created. We have for you: the Netherlands, Canada, and Uruguay. Plus, there's a bit of an interlace of Elis's curiosity about Empire, some football references, a bit of American-Canadian rivalry, and even a nod to (erm) currant based biscuits. Elsewhere, did th...

This week we’re taking a look at the curious process through which some countries were created. We have for you: the Netherlands, Canada, and Uruguay. Plus, there's a bit of an interlace of Elis's curiosity about Empire, some football references, a bit of American-Canadian rivalry, and even a nod to (erm) currant based biscuits. Elsewhere, did the world feel smaller in the past? What makes...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! Here it is: our 200th episode and we’ve chosen to mark the occasion by celebrating you, our listeners, via the medium of your wonderful letters. It’s a special episode dedicated purely to a special set of correspondence we’ve been holding back for the big one. In this episode: More on tobacco-bum resuscitation! Isy’s alleged GWR-based affair! The Byford-...

Here it is: our 200th episode and we’ve chosen to mark the occasion by celebrating you, our listeners, via the medium of your wonderful letters. It’s a special episode dedicated purely to a special set of correspondence we’ve been holding back for the big one. In this episode: More on tobacco-bum resuscitation! Isy’s alleged GWR-based affair! The Byford-Dolphin accident! And if you’re in the marke...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week on the show we’re looking at the greatest book collections history has to offer as well as the historical figures who themselves loved to read. We have for you this week; Maximilien Robespierre and what he had on his shelf, William Gladstone’s library in North Wales and finally, one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, Richard Burton and...

This week on the show we’re looking at the greatest book collections history has to offer as well as the historical figures who themselves loved to read. We have for you this week; Maximilien Robespierre and what he had on his shelf, William Gladstone’s library in North Wales and finally, one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, Richard Burton and his literary obsessions. Elsewhere, before...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re taking a historical audio holiday to some of our favourite French towns. We’ll head to the very Roman Nîmes, we’ll dine out in Dinan and finally we’ll get the true story of Deauville/Trouville. And elsewhere this week we’re asking: what’s better? Blagging it? Or pure honesty that you have absolutely no idea what’s going on? And do you kno...

This week we’re taking a historical audio holiday to some of our favourite French towns. We’ll head to the very Roman Nîmes, we’ll dine out in Dinan and finally we’ll get the true story of Deauville/Trouville. And elsewhere this week we’re asking: what’s better? Blagging it? Or pure honesty that you have absolutely no idea what’s going on? And do you know much about The Kooks and their burger habi...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re travelling through time to see how surgery has been performed through the ages! We’ll head to 990AD to see what surgical innovation followed a monkey eating some musical instruments, the amazing (and odd) history of artificial resuscitation, and a brief history of how humans have reset and healed broken bones. Elsewhere, we’re just so ple...

This week we’re travelling through time to see how surgery has been performed through the ages! We’ll head to 990AD to see what surgical innovation followed a monkey eating some musical instruments, the amazing (and odd) history of artificial resuscitation, and a brief history of how humans have reset and healed broken bones. Elsewhere, we’re just so pleased to live in the iPad age of child entert...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re discussing some classic hymns and all round total anthems through history. We’ll discuss a favourite on the UK football terraces: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The true story of that absolute banger ‘Jerusalem’. And from down under, we’ll have that Aussie smash hit ‘Advance Australia Fair’. Elsewhere, there’s a Greggs on Pudding Mill L...

This week we’re discussing some classic hymns and all round total anthems through history. We’ll discuss a favourite on the UK football terraces: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The true story of that absolute banger ‘Jerusalem’. And from down under, we’ll have that Aussie smash hit ‘Advance Australia Fair’. Elsewhere, there’s a Greggs on Pudding Mill Lane.. Which other areas have stayed true to...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! Ahoy captains! We’re back after our summer break and this week we’re discussing Captains! We have for you this week, the big one: Captain Cook. Another huge captain in Captain Scott. And finally, then unbelievable true story of Captain Anderson. Elsewhere, so much going on. How longs have humans been around? How clammy are Tom’s hands? Wasn’t there a lot...

Ahoy captains! We’re back after our summer break and this week we’re discussing Captains! We have for you this week, the big one: Captain Cook. Another huge captain in Captain Scott. And finally, then unbelievable true story of Captain Anderson. Elsewhere, so much going on. How longs have humans been around? How clammy are Tom’s hands? Wasn’t there a lot of walking in the past? If you’ve got anyth...

We're on our annual two-week summer break, but don't worry! Please enjoy these subscriber episodes from last summer while we're away! From September 2025, this is.. It's another subscriber special and this time, Tom has been reading Erich Maria Remarque's harrowing 1928 semi-biographical novel on the First World War: All Quiet on the Western Front. Elsewhere, Elis and Chris have realised Tom doesn...

We're on our annual two-week summer break, but don't worry! Please enjoy these subscriber episodes from last summer while we're away! From September 2025, this is.. Following Chris’ trip to Stonehenge over the summer we thought the time was right to finally dedicate a whole episode to those neolithic stones that have blown minds for thousands of years. And if you want more Oh What A Time and both...

We're on our annual two-week summer break, but don't worry! Please enjoy these subscriber episodes from last summer while we're away! From August 2025, this is.. #129 Fascism: The Story of an Idea by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt It’s time for another (fairly bleak) book review by our resident bleak-book expert Elis James. In this subscriber special, El shares what he’s learned by reading ‘Fascism:...

We're on our annual two-week summer break, but don't worry! Please enjoy these subscriber episodes from last summer while we're away! From July 2025, this is.. #124 Mummies Tom has extensively researched the process by which the ancient Egyptians prepared their mummies for the afterlife and - I’m sure you won’t be surprised by this - it’s not my idea of a spa day. Elsewhere, is it acceptable to be...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re discussing some of the greatest mysteries that history has to offer: we’ve got the infamous tale of The Princes in the Tower, and the big one - Who Shot JFK? Plus we have a brief history of the literary true crime genre. This week we’re chatting embarrassing injuries - if you’ve got one to share, you know what to do. Email us about anythi...

This week we’re discussing some of the greatest mysteries that history has to offer: we’ve got the infamous tale of The Princes in the Tower, and the big one - Who Shot JFK? Plus we have a brief history of the literary true crime genre. This week we’re chatting embarrassing injuries - if you’ve got one to share, you know what to do. Email us about anything you’d like right here: hello@ohwhatatime....

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re joined by one of our favourite historians in the whole world, it’s Dan Snow! We treat this episode like we’ve cornered Dan at a BBQ and just ping him with questions: how gruesome was the Battle of Waterloo? What was the worst job on a ship? Did the Nazi Gold Train actually exist? We cover a lot on this pod, but if we’ve missed anything, y...

This week we’re joined by one of our favourite historians in the whole world, it’s Dan Snow! We treat this episode like we’ve cornered Dan at a BBQ and just ping him with questions: how gruesome was the Battle of Waterloo? What was the worst job on a ship? Did the Nazi Gold Train actually exist? We cover a lot on this pod, but if we’ve missed anything, you know what to do: hello@ohwhatatime.com Pa...

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed! This week we’re joined by friend of the show, producer, writer and actor (and proud Welshman), Jonny Owen to discuss the golden age of Industrial Revolution era Wales! We’ll chat copper in Swansea, the iron town of Merthyr Tydfil, and the sheer volume of steam coal dug out of the Cynon Valley, the Rhondda Valley and the Taff Valley. Jonny is heading to H...