Fascinating People Fascinating Places

The 1956 Hollywood version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, popularized King Mongkut of Siam, who from a Western perspective was a hitherto obscure figure. In the musical, an English teacher played by Deborah Kerr, drags the monarch of a seemingly insulated and somewhat backward country into the modern world. As is so often the case. The Hollywood version of history was far f...

In July 1952, some 3 million people gathered in the heart of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. They had come to pay their last respects to Eva Peron the President’s wife. Overcome by emotion, the frenzied crowd poured forward leading to a crush in which 8 people were killed and thousands injured. Despite the huge crowds, Eva Peron or Evita as she was known was a divisive figure and her death was...

By June 1944, the winds of war had changed. The German High Command was bracing for an invasion of mainland Europe by a liberating multi-national force. Kansas native, Dwight D Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander of Operation Neptune (D-Day). The successful operation was a turning point in the war, and in Eisenhower’s life. Less than a decade later he made the switch from civilian to milit...

On 8 August 1974, US President Richard Nixon announced his intention to resign from office. This signaled the end of a scandal-plagued period in office. The release of the so-called “smoking gun” audio recording had implicated Nixon in attempts to cover-up his surrogate’s illegal break-in at the DNC national headquarters two years earlier. But why did Nixon do what he did? What was the role, if an...

Boko Haram (Arabic: جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد) is a Nigerian-based Islamic militant group founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002. The group seeks to impose its strict version of Islam across a swathe of Africa. Primarily active in the border area around Lake Chad, its violent insurgency has led to millions being displaced and the deaths of over 300,000 children. More recently, the failure of centr...

Kenneth Dukofsky is an exorcist. Raised in the Jewish faith, his experiences with the seemingly supernatural led him to adopt a scientific approach to the supernatural. He also became ordained in the Universal Life Church though he no longer participates in what he refers to as “man-made religions.” In this episode, I talk to Kenneth about his work as an exorcist. I also speak with Father Vincent...

In 1945, the Allied powers prepared to hold the Nazi leaders accountable for the crimes committed during world war II. Richard Sonnenfeldt sat down with a man whose name was as synonymous with Nazism as Hitler or Himmler. The subject of the interview, Göring, denied any culpability for the holocaust or the war. Sonnenfeldt dismissed him as a hand wringing witness who was trying to whitewash his pa...

Of the many Fascinating Places around the world, only the most extraordinary make the Unesco World Heritage site list. Gary Arndt — blogger, businessman, and podcaster — has visited over 400 of these sites since 2007 while visiting every continent and over 200 countries or territories whilst establishing himself as a well-renowned travel writer. But what happens when Covid shuts down the travel in...

Precisely 200 years ago, Prince Pedro declared independence for the Portuguese colony of Brazil. The first country in the world to officially acknowledge the vast nation’s independence was a tiny African Kingdom that had developed relations with the South American country over the prior 70 years. Dahomey, a Kingdom that once existed in what today we call Benin, made its mark in the history books o...

In North West Africa, the vast wilderness of the Sahara runs into the tropical rainforests of Benin and Burkina Faso. And it is in this region, that some of Africa’s greatest empires flourished. Among them was the Songhai Empire, as well as the earlier Mali Empire, whose rulers included Mansa Musa –  who flushed with gold – was reportedly the wealthiest man in history. By the early 19th century, t...

Mauritania, one of Africa’s largest yet least talked about countries holds a dark secret: slavery. While slavery in various forms continues to exist around the world, in Mauritania its on a massive scale having been woven into the very fabric of society. In fact, the loathsome practice was only criminalized 15 years ago. But whereas the emancipation proclamation and subsequent events in the US eve...

In May 1930, a young English woman from Yorkshire arrived in Sydney, Australia she received a welcome fit for a Queen. Amy Johnson had become the first female pilot to fly from the United Kingdom to Australia. It was a remarkable feat for the 26 year old aviator who was born the same year the Wright brothers launched the first flight. It was also a notable achievement for a British woman consideri...

On 6 May 1937, four camera crews were on hand as the German Zeppelin airship the Hindenburg burst into flames. Separately, radio journalist Herbert Morrison was on the scene and his commentary of the event is forever associated with the tragedy. In this episode, I explore the Hindenburg disaster. What went wrong? What did it mean for Nazi Germany? And what was the dark past of one of its victims E...

Having been lost to history for 3,000 years, Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun became a household name in 1922 when British Archaeologist Howard Carter excavated his tomb. But who was the man behind the iconic golden mask? What treasures were found in his tomb? and what is the truth behind the curse of Tutankhamun? Music by Pixabay — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daniel-mainwaring5/message

Some 1500 years after Alaric led the Visigoths in the sacking of Rome, the eternal city was braced for another invasion. There was talk of as many as a million supporters of fascist politician Benito Mussolini, seizing power by force. What followed was simultaneously anti climactic and yet profoundly significant. In this episode I recount the 1922 March on Rome. Music from Pixabay

In September 1972, the Olympic Motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” became an irrelevance as the world’s greatest sporting event was ravaged by violence and bloodshed as the Palestinian Black September group massacred 11 members of the Israeli delegation. In this episode, I discuss the Munich Massacre. Why it happened, how it happened, and whether it could have been prevented. Music by Pixabay

Episode 3 of 3 As the Cold War was winding down, a group of 11 East European teenagers — barely known to each other — appeared on the playground at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, a quiet town 30 miles from London. How would the town, and their new classmates react to their arrival? And why had they come? In this peculiar three-part story, I recount a tale of daredevil esca...

Episode 2 of 3 As the Cold War was winding down, a group of 11 East European teenagers — barely known to each other — appeared on the playground at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, a quiet town 30 miles from London. How would the town, and their new classmates react to their arrival? And why had they come? In this peculiar three-part story, I recount a tale of daredevil esca...

As the Cold War was winding down, a group of 11 East European teenagers — barely known to each other — appeared on the playground at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, a quiet town 30 miles from London. How would the town, and their new classmates react to their arrival? And why had they come? In this peculiar three-part story, I recount a tale of daredevil escape, a fake pass...

Wagga Wagga: World War 1 Stories On commemorative occasion such as Anzac and Memorial Day, we inevitably reflect on the service of prior generations in The First World War as well as other conflicts. But while these service men and women fought bravely during the conflict, how did the war fit in with their broader lives? Its a topic that Historian Ian Hodges of The Australian Department of Veteran...

Robespierre: The Reign of Terror On 21 January 1793, a gruesome scene unfolded at the place de la revolution in Paris. After attempting to address the crowd only to have his words drowned out by drums, King Louis XVI the King of France was decapitated by the Guillotine. Spectators rushed forward and soaked their handkerchiefs in his blood to create a macabre souvenir of the event. A critical figur...

On the periphery of the Malian city of Gao, close to the banks of the River Niger, sits an extraordinary pyramid-like structure. Standing 17 meters tall, and reportedly constructed with mud and wood shipped in from Mecca, some 7,000 kilometers away, it is known as the Tomb of Askia. And is believed to be the last resting place of Askia Mohamed I a man who ruled one of Africa’s largest yet less rem...

In the years after World War II, hundreds of millions of Africans experienced newfound independence after decades or in some cases centuries of Colonialism.  But in South Africa, the descendants of white settlers, and other European immigrants increased the subjugation of 90 percent of the populace through overtly racist policies under the umbrella term of Apartheid. During the Apartheid era, non-...

On April 29, 1770, a pivotal event unfolded on the shores of Botany Bay, Australia, as two men attempted to thwart the arrival of unfamiliar and unwelcome visitors. Led by Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy, these interlopers marked the first European landing in Eastern Australia. Little did they know that this momentous incident would have far-reaching consequences, not only for the nat...

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britons were subject to a penal system including up to 220 crimes punishable by death. These offences ranged from murder to theft, from arson to wearing blackface while poaching. Even young children, were subject to these draconian penalties. In this episode I explore the era of the so-called “bloody code” and explain how it developed, the level of enforcement, and...