Legacy

New Year, new you — but where did the idea of “wellness” actually come from? Peter and Afua travel back 10,000 years to hunter-gatherers, early medicine, ancient diets, and the surprising origins of how humans learned to be “healthy”. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky...

Under Gorbachev's leadership the once sprawling empire that was the Soviet Union collapses. Is this his true legacy? Or was it all inevitable? And with present day Russia looking to the past for glory, what lessons can we learn from history's last Soviet leader?  Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast...

On a spring morning in 1986 one of the most catastrophic events in global history occurs - Chernobyl. It brings chaos to the environment, chaos to Europe and chaos to Mikhail Gorbachev's premiership. Will he survive this? Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | T...

With the levers of power now in his control, Gorbachev steps out on the international stage with one aim: to avoid a nuclear war. He forges a new relationship with US President Reagan, but will it be enough to remove the shadow of armageddon?  Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-...

Shaped by the brutality of the Stalin regime, Gorbachev’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship. But the communist system also works to his strengths, and allows him to reach the very top. All along, he remains a true believer but knows change must happen.   Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypod...

At the height of his fame, Dickens falls in love with a young woman (Nelly Ternan) and a city (Paris). He survives a train crash and public disapproval over his separation from his wife. People turn out in droves to see him perform his works on stage. But his lifestyle is catching up with him and his health is failing. What is his final scene to be? We look back at his life and try to work out wha...

“A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, everyone!” A Christmas Carol is a huge success and Dickens is an international celebrity. There’s lots of money coming in – Bleak House, Hard Times, David Copperfield all do well - but he has a big family and a lavish lifestyle to fund, as well as his Home for Homeless Women. Plus, there’s trouble in his marriage when Dickens’ eye is caught by the turn o...

Dickens’ star is on the rise. Sketches by Boz is a success and he publishes The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and more. Plus, he is a hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Dickensmania’ sweeping the United States. But there is tragedy at home. And when his new novel doesn’t do as well as he’d hoped, he needs a new idea. Something to do with Christmas maybe? Stay connected with Legacy Follow us f...

A young Charles is filled with imagination and ambition, but his childhood with humiliation and uncertainty. His father is in and out of debtors’ prison and he is forced to sacrifice his education for a string of menial jobs to make ends meet. But he discovers he has a skill. He can paint pictures with words like no one else can. Could this be his destiny? Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for...

Booker Prize winning author - Marlon James joins Afua and Peter to tear open Jane Austen’s world — from slavery shadows to savage social critique — and reveal why her novels still cut like a knife. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productio...

Jane Austen wrote about drawing rooms, dances, and marriage plots — but beneath the lace and manners she was dissecting power, class, gender, and the world-changing revolutions unfolding outside her window. In this episode, Peter and Afua explore the sharp politics, hidden tensions, and unexpected radicalism behind Austen’s most “polite” novels. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behi...

Jane Austen’s world wasn’t quiet, genteel, or boring — it was full of scandal, class tension, family drama, and the pressures that shaped one of literature’s sharpest minds. In this episode, we trace the messy, revealing early life that forged the writer who made the small things enormous. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram:...

John Harvey Kellogg built a wellness empire obsessed with purity, bowel cleansing, and bland food — then accidentally launched the most successful sugar-delivery system in history. From celebrity-studded sanitariums to anti-masturbation crusades and the birth of Cornflakes, this is the wild story of how a health cult became a global cereal powerhouse. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips...

A breakfast empire built on purity, fear, and some of the strangest medical ideas of the 19th century. From apocalypse cults to anti-masturbation crusades, this is the real story behind Kellogg’s rise from Battle Creek to global wellness. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions....

Germany’s crises didn’t end with Versailles — they mutated. Hyperinflation, political extremism, spiritual panic, and a pandemic all collided to push an obscure drifter named Adolf Hitler toward power. This episode shows how a broken society helped unleash a catastrophe. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodc...

A collapsing empire, a starving population, and a country drowning in humiliation — this is how Germany fell apart after WWI. In this episode, we trace how chaos, revolution, and a brutal peace deal created the perfect conditions for the Nazis to emerge. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @l...

Greenland’s coat of arms has changed, Trump is circling, and Denmark is suddenly sweating. We dive into why the world’s largest island has become the hottest geopolitical prize of 2025 — and what it means for all of us. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | Tik...

Greenland: colossal, misunderstood, and suddenly the centre of global power politics. From Viking PR stunts to Danish colonialism to today’s strategic tug-of-war, this is the story of the world’s most important island. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikT...

The rise and fall of Kwame Nkrumah — Africa’s first postcolonial leader who dreamed of freedom but faced betrayal, paranoia, and a CIA-backed coup. From hope to heartbreak, this is the story of how Ghana’s independence inspired a continent… and why it all came crashing down. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacy...

In post-war London, Kwame Nkrumah turns from student to revolutionary — building the movement that would end colonial rule. From fish heads in Camden to the Pan-African Congress in Manchester, this is where independence began. Stay connected with Legacy Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social...

As fascism rises in Europe, a young Kwame Nkrumah in America finds his purpose — to unite Africa and destroy colonialism. From racism in Jim Crow America to rebellion in the lecture hall, this is the making of a revolutionary. Get in touch: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social TikTok: @legacy_productions Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@peterfr...

Peter and Afua trace the early life of Kwame Nkrumah — from a small Ghanaian village to the first sparks of revolution that would change Africa forever. A story of faith, rebellion, and the birth of an idea: freedom on African terms. Get in touch: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social TikTok: @legacy_productions Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@...

As England’s flag fills the streets again, Peter Frankopan and Afua Hirsch ask what the Cross of St George really stands for today — pride, pain, or power. From crusades to colonisation to football fandom, this is the story of how a saint became a symbol that divides. Get in touch: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social TikTok: @legacy_productions Subscribe to o...

Peter and Afua explore the surprising story behind England’s most famous symbol — the flag of St George. How did a man born in what’s now Turkey, with Palestinian and Greek roots, become the patron saint of England? And what does his red cross really stand for today? From ancient martyrdom and dragon-slaying myths to the Crusades, royal propaganda, and modern debates about identity, this episode t...

Peter and Afua return to uncover the far-reaching — and often unsettling — legacy of Martin Luther. From shaping Henry VIII’s England and Europe’s bloody religious wars to influencing education, nationhood, and even Nazi ideology, Luther’s impact is as complex as it is profound. A flawed revolutionary who changed the world — for better and for worse. Join Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access,...