History's Greatest Idiots

The job market is broken. Here are all the things that broke it. From the post-Covid wage squeeze and AI replacing entry-level workers to the white collar recession nobody officially declared, LinkedIn's 11,000 applications per minute, and the applicant tracking systems quietly binning your CV before a human ever reads it, this is the complete history of why nobody can find a job. We cover gra...

Due to the extreme heat the UK is currently experiencing (topping out at around 102 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, 90 degrees at night, and 95% humidity), the lack of air-conditioning, my house being built to retain heat, and my pre-existing health condition (Crohn's Disease), I have decided to create a special compilation episode this week. I will be back to my normal schedule next week w...

FIFA has been corrupt since before colour television. And the World Cup is proof. From the ISL bribery scandal and Sepp Blatter's seven arrested executives to Qatar's migrant worker nightmare and Gianni Infantino's increasingly bizarre relationship with Donald Trump, this is the complete history of football's governing body and the corruption that has defined it for over a century....

Your chocolate bar got smaller. Your streaming service started showing adverts. Your phone slowly turned itself into something worse. There's a word for this now. This episode traces the history of Enshittification, from medieval bakers shaving weight off loaves to Toblerone quietly widening the gaps between its peaks in 2016, and the Kraft Heinz boss who told the world to get used to paying m...

Trust in institutions is at a historic low. Turns out there are about sixty years of very good reasons for that. From Watergate and Thatcher decimating mining communities, through the cash for questions scandals of the 1990s, Iran-Contra, the fabricated case for the Iraq War, and a British Post Office scandal that ruined the lives of hundreds of people, this is a brief history of how governments,...

Rents in Rome were unaffordable in 164 BCE. We've had 2,000 years to fix the housing crisis. Here's why we haven't. From ancient Roman insulae and the Great Fire of London to Hoovervilles, Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme, the 2008 financial crash, and BlackRock, this is the complete history of the housing crisis. We cover the Welsh second homes scandal, Barcelona's tour...

Your outrage is worth a fortune. Just not to you. From a 3,800-year-old complaint tablet in ancient Mesopotamia to cancel culture, Tommy Robinson and Donald Trump, this is the full history of outrage: who manufactures it, who profits from it, and who is laughing all the way to the bank. We cover Roman emperors, the medieval pillory, the tabloid press, Jon Ronson's "So You've Been Publ...

The internet was built by scientists who wanted to share research. Then surveillance capitalism, social media and Big Tech got involved, and ruined it. From Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web to Cambridge Analytica, Elon Musk buying Twitter, and AI rewriting the rules all over again, this is the full history of the internet: how it began, how it was hijacked, and how to take some of it back. W...

Uber, Amazon, Deliveroo. Strip away the apps and the branding and you're left with a system of exploitation as old as civilisation itself. From ancient civilisations exploiting their populations and medieval serfdom to zero-hours contracts and unpaid internships, this episode traces the full history of work designed to extract everything from you while giving back as little as possible. We cover t...

Brexit. Trump. A pandemic. A housing crisis. A culture war nobody asked for. The last ten years didn't break by accident. From the celebrity deaths of 2016 to Trump's Iran brinkmanship in 2026, this episode charts exactly how a decade of austerity, algorithmic outrage, gig economy exploitation, rising inequality, and the collapse of community life ground down an entire generation. We cover...

Burned out, broke, and scrolling at midnight wondering why everything feels impossible? You're not imagining it. This episode breaks down the real reasons modern life is exhausting: the housing crisis, AI killing the job market, social media algorithms built on outrage, subscriptions bleeding your account dry, and why working from home turned millions into sedentary, overstretched husks, all backe...

Alexander The Great called himself a god, Henry VIII airbrushed his portrait, and Nixon lost a TV debate because he was sweaty. The Cult of Personality is older and more complex than you think. This episode traces the ancient, ridiculous, and terrifyingly effective history of leader worship. We start with Lysander of Sparta getting a festival named after him, swing through Alexander the Great'...

From West Virginia coalfields to the longest Senate career in American history, Robert C. Byrd went from political villain to unlikely conscience of a nation. This week we trace a 51-year journey of power, shame, redemption and one absolutely legendary anti-war speech. Complicated people make the best episodes. Trust us on this one. Featuring the legend that is Jeremy Wellman . ⁠⁠https://www.patre...

In 1244, a theologian met a wandering dervish in Konya and vanished from public life. What emerged was poetry so universal it outlasted empires. Jalal ad-Din Rumi fled Mongols as a child, became a scholar, then transformed after meeting Shams al-Din of Tabriz. His Masnavi and Divan-e Shams became foundational Sufi texts, and some of the greatest poetry ever written. Eight centuries later, this Sun...

Hulk Hogan could slam a giant but couldn't tell the truth. From denying steroids on Arsenio Hall to claiming he auditioned for Metallica, this is wrestling's most prolific liar. Hogan lied about Andre the Giant's weight (697 lbs), wrestling 400 days yearly, Elvis being his fan (Elvis died before Hogan debuted), and the George Foreman Grill. Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield both denied ev...

The trad wife trend claims women have always stayed home and deferred to men. History disagrees, loudly. From Assyrian businesswomen on clay tablets to the woman who invented Monopoly before women could vote, this is four thousand years of evidence they'd rather you didn't find.

A Watergate burglar, a congressman who faked his entire life, and the Iron Lady who divided a nation.  This Greatest Hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots revisits G Gordon Liddy (Nixon's unrepentant operative who went to prison for conspiracy and burglary), George Santos (expelled from Congress shortly before a wire fraud conviction), and Margaret Thatcher (Britain's first female...

This week on History's Greatest Idiots (featuring Patreon member Ben Markwart), we explore the Chernobyl nuclear disaster: the catastrophic 1986 explosion that killed dozens, displaced 350,000 people, cost 700 billion dollars, and helped collapse the Soviet Union. The Safety Test That Wasn't Very Safe On 26th April 1986 at 1:23 AM, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripya...

This week on History's Greatest Idiots (Featuring Peter of In The Wheels ), we explore two Scottish success stories: cyclist David Millar's fall from grace and redemption, and comic writer Mark Millar's controversial rise to Hollywood riches. Born 4th January 1977 in Malta, David Millar burst onto cycling's scene in 2000, winning the Tour de France prologue and wearing the yellow jersey. He won fo...

This week on History's Greatest Idiots, we're trying a slightly different mini-documentary format to explore one of the most bizarre success stories in American comedy: Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr., the man who proved you could become a millionaire by hitting produce with a mallet. From Science to Sledgehammers Born 24th July 1946 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Leo suffered severe asthma. His...

Billions, miserliness, and a severed ear! This episode of History's Greatest Idiots (featuring The Hungry Historian ) explores the extraordinary life of Jean Paul Getty, the oil tycoon who became the richest man in the world, installed a payphone in his mansion for guests, and refused to pay ransom whilst his kidnapped grandson's ear was being cut off. The Golden Child Who Disappointed Dad...

Scams, spectacular failures, and billions burned! This special greatest hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots explores three tech disasters that prove innovation and incompetence make the perfect recipe for catastrophe. First up: Ruja Ignatova, the "Crypto Queen" who convinced investors OneCoin was the next Bitcoin whilst running one of history's largest Ponzi schemes. She va...

We're sad to announce that Derek will no longer be continuing with the podcast. We've had 5 wonderful years producing this show together, and I couldn't have wished for a better friend and co-host than the person that made me laugh more than anyone I've ever known. This isn't the end of the show though, History's Greatest Idiots will continue, and Derek and I remain close f...

War heroes, haute couture, and outrageous parties! This episode of History's Greatest Idiots, featuring The Fit Historian (https://www.youtube.com/@fithistorian), explores the extraordinary life of Neil Munro "Bunny" Roger, the openly gay fashion designer who became a decorated World War II hero, invented Capri pants, and threw London's most legendary parties whilst maintaining a...

How does a Stanford dropout convince the world he's building God, burn through billions whilst destroying the planet, get fired for lying, come back more powerful than ever, and still somehow convince investors to hand over even more money? And how is it all about to come crashing down? In this episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we explore the spectacular rise and looming collapse of Sa...