More Than A Story

The British Empire put fifty thousand men, armoured trains, and a chain of blockhouses into catching one farmer on a horse. They never managed it. This episode follows Christiaan de Wet through the run of victories that made him the most wanted man in South Africa — Sanna's Post, Roodewal, the breakout from the Brandwater Basin — and the night he slipped a closing trap by climbing a bare-rock...

In 1972, a 22-year-old policeman from northern Uganda ran 47.82 seconds around a track in Munich and broke the world record in the 400 metre hurdles. His name was John Akii-Bua, and that race gave Uganda its first Olympic gold medal. But this isn't just a story about athletic greatness. It's about what happens when a regime needs a symbol, and an ordinary man becomes one. Akii-Bua traine...

For nearly two centuries after her death, Saartjie Baartman did not rest. Taken from South Africa in 1810 and exhibited in Europe as a spectacle, she died in Paris at just twenty-five. But death did not end her captivity. Her body was dissected, preserved, displayed in a museum, and legally claimed by the French state. For 187 years, she remained far from home - not as a person, but as an object....

Kruger National Park didn’t begin as a sanctuary. It began as a warning. In the late 1800s, South Africa’s wildlife was collapsing under relentless hunting, war, and the belief that nature was limitless. From the first, fragile proclamation of the Sabi Game Reserve in 1898 to the lonely patrols of its first warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, this story traces how a wounded landscape slowly began to...

A small Boer commando led by Jan Smuts plunges into the Cape Colony, surviving ambush, starvation, and a brutal mountain storm before seizing a British camp in one of the war’s most daring raids. Through the eyes of Deneys Reitz, this episode reveals the grit, tragedy, and unexpected humanity that shaped the guerrilla war. Also a big thanks to SergePavkinMusic for providing the soundtrack. You can...

In 1960, Patrice Lumumba rose to power as the first Prime Minister of Congo, a nation newly independent from brutal Belgian colonial rule. His impassioned speech defying the King of Belgium on independence day marked him as a fearless leader, but also made him a target. As Lumumba fought for a truly unified and independent Congo, he faced immediate challenges: a mutiny in the army, the secession o...

Chapter Six: Resolutions & Reflections.  Approaching Christmas Day, 1782, a Xhosa chief encounters a strange, scurvy-ridden figure: William Habberley, a survivor of the Grosvenor shipwreck. Despite his ghastly appearance, Habberley is offered sustenance and shelter. However, an act of desperation leads to his banishment. Undeterred, Habberley encounters more benevolent tribes, and his body beg...

Chapter Five of Six: A Sombre Salvation This episode focuses on the diverging fates of the Grosvenor survivors. We witness Captain Coxon's shocking betrayal as he abandons the most vulnerable passengers, including children and the ailing William Hosea, choosing self-preservation over duty. Hosea's tragic demise, despite his considerable wealth, highlights the brutal realities of their st...

Chapter Four of Six: Costly Calls. The Grosvenor  survivors face a harsh new reality on the Transkei coast. William Hosea, clinging to his family and hidden diamonds, despairs, while merchant partners Williams and Taylor mourn their lost fortune. Captain Coxon struggles to maintain authority over the increasingly defiant Lascar sailors, offering them false hope of a quick journey to the Cape. Afte...

Chapter Three of Six. Before the Grosvenor.  This chapter delves into early European shipwrecks along the African coast, predating the 1782 Grosvenor incident. It reveals a complex history of encounters, contrasting initial hostilities (like those with Bartolomeu Dias and Francisco d'Almeida) with surprising instances of trade and aid from local communities. Shipwrecks like the Sao Joao, Sao...

Chapter Two of Six: Cast By Chaos.  Join us for a gripping episode as we recount the harrowing shipwreck of the Grosvenor off the treacherous Wild Coast of Africa in 1782. Experience the chaos, despair, and moments of incredible bravery as survivors battle the raging sea to reach the shore. But the ordeal doesn't end there. We delve into the complex first encounter between the Grosvenor &apos...

Chapter One of Six. On a windswept shore, a childhood tale of shipwreck and buried treasure ignites a decades-long quest. This episode delves into the story of the Grosvenor, an 18th-century East Indiaman whose tragic fate intertwines with colonial ambition and the desperate struggle for survival. A chance discovery of Indian diamonds in 1927 unravels a mystery, leading to a tale of betrayal, brav...