Histories of the Unexpected

In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, tackle the expected history of FALCONS! Which is all about medieval and Tudor society, from Kings to knaves via The Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Blasing of Arms ; it's also all about Barry Hines' 1968 novel, A Kestrel for a Knave , and it includes a SPECIAL INTERVIEW with Paul Manning, the falconer at Beaulieu, the fi...

In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, once again take to the skies to swoop upon the expected history of BIRDS! Which in this episode is all about it's also all about homing pigeons in WWI and WWII, the Dickin Medal and honouring of animals during the Second World War, including super pigeon hero William of Orange. It's also all about Viking culture, which flut...

In this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, take to the skies to swoop upon the expected history of BIRDS! Which is all about the Battle of Waterloo and plumed helmets, costume feathers, hats, the American Ornithologists Union and cruelty to birds; it's also all about canary resuscitators, John Scott Haldane and the use of canaries down mines and in the trenches durin...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, explore the fascinating history of BATHTUBS!. From discussions of the 'eureka' moment of Archimedes in Ancient Greece and the discovery of displacement and bathtubs in ships to H.L. Mencken's fictitious tales of bathtubs in the White House, Sam and James rampage around history of bathtubs before settling on...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, explore the fascinating history of LEAVING HOME. From discussions of seventeenth-century boys leaving home to attend school and university (and letters home to mothers), going off to war and travelling around the world to the exact opposite, staying at home, lockdown and being under house arrest, Sam and Jam...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, fathom the mind-numbingly difficult history of HACKING. From Guglielmo Marconi and magician and inventor Nevil Maskelyne, the history of Rene Carmille, who in 1943 was the first ethical hacker for sabotaging the computerization of data about French Jews during World War II to Joe "Joybubbles" Engressia, a bl...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the flamboyant history of BLING. From the history of opulence, luxury and ostentation via subjects as wide-ranging as HIP HOP and the Palace of Versailles, Sam and James rampage around history of bling before settling on the fascinating history of Stuart clothing. It starts by looking at Samuel P...

This is fifth episode in our new micro history series - where we take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. Think of it as the historicaI equivalent of speed chess or speed dating. In this fifth foray into historical brevity the histories of the unexpected duo of James Daybell and Sam Willis tackle the...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the unnerving history of Rats. From the history of infestation, pets, the medieval tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the honoured position of rats in eastern culture, Sam and James rampage around history of rats before settling on the fascinating history of the Black Death. It looks at the th...

In this special BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, return to the high street of history and navigate their way around the boutiques and emporia of the historical archives to rampage once again like a bull in a china shop for more frenzied discussion of the expected history of SHOPPING! Which is all about early modern gloves, his and hers consumption, sixteenth-...

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the fascinating history of Sludge. From the history of travel, festivals and Saxon house-building, Sam and James rampage around history of sludge before settling on the fascinating history of the trenches in WWI. It looks at the failure of the Schlieffen Plan August-September 1914, the digging of...

In this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, hit the streets, and leisurely consider the expected history of SHOPPING! Which is all about ancient street vendors in Pompeii, peddlars, William Shakespeare's character Autolycus and The Winter's Tale , trade cards and the material culture of retail, extravagance and would you believe it.....early modern gloves! Who knew! H...

In this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the unexpected history of Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, and the Third Reich in Germany. After a rampage around the history of the Führer and Nazi Germany, Sam interviews leading expert on Hitler and the Third Reich, the wonderful Professor Frank McDonough, about his new book, The Hitler Years, Volume 2:...

James and Sam tackle the fascinating history of BACKSTABBERS! From the politics of Tudor England to the assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus, Sam and James rampage around history of backstabbing before settling on the fascinating history of the Bolsheviks seizure of power in October 1917, the leadership of Lenin, his testament, the rise of Joseph Stalin and the assassination of Leon Trotsky. H...

This is fourth episode in our new micro history series - where we take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. Think of it as the historicaI equivalent of speed chess or speed dating. In this third foray into historical brevity the histories of the unexpected duo of James Daybell and Sam Willis tackle the...

James and Sam tackle the touching history of Ribbons in this homeschooling history episode! From the fashion, commemoration, funerals, war heroes and causes, Sam and James rampage around history of ribbons before settling on the moving history of the Foundling Hospital, founded by philanthropist Thomas Coram in 1739 on his return to London to care for and educate some of London’s most vulnerable c...

This is third episode in our new micro history series - where we take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. Think of it as the historicaI equivalent of speed chess or speed dating. In this third foray into historical brevity the histories of the unexpected duo of James Daybell and Sam Willis tackle the...

James and Sam tackle the shocking history of BETRAYAL! From the Austrian army officer Alfred Redl who sold secrets about the Austrian army during WWI and British commander Paul Cole, who sold out the French Resistance during WWII to Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver, Sam and James rampage around history of betrayal before settling on the fascinating case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, two...

In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, get into the festive spirit once more, pack up the presents of the past and take you on a historical sleigh ride of archival inquiry to unwrap the expected history of REINDEER! Which is all about an 11,000 year-old sculpture of two swimming reindeer carved out of mammoth tusk, which shows the development of the human b...

In this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, int into the festive spirit and take you on a historical sleigh ride of archival inquiry to unwrap the expected history of REINDEER! Which is all about the invention of Father Christmas's reindeer in the anonymous poem 'Old Santeclaus with Much Delight' (1821), Clement C. Moore's 'Visit from St Nicholas', also known as 'Twas...

This is the EIGTH of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be...

This is the SEVENTH of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will...

This is the SIXTH of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be...

This is the FIFTH of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be...

This is the FOURTH of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will b...