That Time When

Amelia decided to do her own episode on the French Legal system in the 1500s, and so brings us the story of Martin Guerre. If a man disappears for eight years and then returns, how do you know he's really who he says he is? Sure, he's knowledgeable about the location of his pants, but is that enough? This case is so mad it made Barnaby confuse a man for his wife. Who is really at fault? Was there...

You might think it would be a low point in your career as a lawyer when you're asked to defend a swarm of rats. Not so for Bartholomew Chassenée, one of the great French lawyers of the 16th Century; for him defending these rats was deadly serious. This week on That Time When, Barnaby tells us about the rats of Autun and their court case, because medieval people really loved the legal system. Also,...

In a world where we are constantly beset by news stories that make us sad or angry or worried, we might forget there was a time when there was no news... for about fifteen minutes. This week on That Time When, Amelia tells us about the time the BBC admitted there was no news. Was it the result of a government cover-up, a broken ticker-tape machine, or aggressive moralism? Find out on That Time Whe...

Who would have thought that trying to fix your fridge could lead you to going blind? Not Clarence Peddicord, that's for sure. His whole life changed when he attempted a bit of DIY home repair, but he was not going to let this stop him. So how did he end up holding a department store to ransom under the threat of a bomb attack? Find out on That Time When. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Behold the power of International Women's Day! It can bring a mighty empire to its knees! No, seriously, that's one of the reasons it is such a big day. Find out why International Women's Day lead to greater union membership, and why poor Greg may not get voted in as president (It'll make sense in the episode, we swear). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this practically feature length episode of That Time When, we continue our theme that nothing ever really changes. Just as there are apologists for Putin in this country now, so too were there Nazi apologists during World War Two. One such famous propagandist was Lord Haw-Haw and we get stuck into the details of his life, why he was such an awful person, and why the town of Worthing might have,...

Lord Byron is probably one of the most famous people we've talked about on this podcast, but did you know quite how much his escapades extended? Probably not, but what we do know is that it now seems likely he met a curly haired time traveller. You'll have to listen to find out why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr James Barry was a respected doctor, military surgeon, humanitarian, and may well have performed the first caesarian in the English speaking world in which mother and child both survived. So eyebrows were probably raised, and monocles dropped amongst the establishment, when it emerged that Dr James Barry had, in fact been born a woman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That extra E in the title is surprisingly important. This time on That Time When, Amelia tells us about a very odd stipulation by a French king; namely that a spy can return to the country if they then identify as a woman. Is there more context to that? Find out here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when a great tragedy, say a huge fire, has destroyed your city? Build a huge palace of gold, of course! This week on That Time When, Barnaby finishes telling us about the life of the Emperor Nero, and how his own excesses and impulse control problems led to his downfall. Not that Rome was going to have an easy time once he was gotten rid of, but that's a story for another time. Host...

If you've heard our previous episodes about Caligula then you'll want to hear about his relative, the Emperor Nero. Was he as mad as claimed? Was he possibly justified in his actions? Well, spoiler, but it seems like Nero is far more deserving of the title of mad emperor than Caligula. But what we can really take away from his story is that Rome really needs to stop having co-heirs. Hosted on Acas...

Who knew the damage that could be caused by speculating over onions? This week on That Time When, Amelia goes back to the story of the Onion King and how his dastardly works caused America to have to ban trading in onion futures. Also, weirdly, are spoilers for the book/movie Holes in the podcast. You have been warned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you're the younger brother of one of the most famous writers of American literature, how do you, also a writer, differentiate yourself from him? The simple answer is, of course, use a century old law about claiming poop to found your own nation... No, I am not kidding. Note: There's some talk of suicide in this episode, it is about the Hemingway family after all, but we don't dwell on it too...

It sounds fun having thirteen Father Christmases, right? Perhaps not if you're in 17th century Iceland and have to contend with a bunch of trolls coming to steal your assorted dairy products. That's not even mentioning their hungry parents, or the family cat, who really wants to make sure you appreciate your new Christmas socks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you believe that woke-left-liberal elite Oliver Cromwell decided to cancel Christmas? Well, not really, he doesn't get much air-time in this episode, but his government did! Cancel culture gone mad, I say. We should all be allowed to eat the relics of the Whore of Babylon... and that's not as dirty as it sounds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you solve a problem like Niels Bohr? You've got some gold and you need to hide it from the Nazis. Christopher Walken might have the answer but that's impractical. The real way to do it is to invent Irn Bru. Confused? Find out what all this means on this episode of That Time When. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shock, horror! The French president has gone missing from his carriage on board the Orient Express! Call Hercule Poirot, or possibly just a platelayer who has encountered an odd gentleman in his pyjamas. This week on That Time When, Barnaby tells us the strange story of Paul Deschanel, whose short presidency gave us some amazing stories about his odd behaviour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Woah there, 18th Century French person, is that a potato you have? Don't you know they're evil! This week on That Time When, Amelia tells us about Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, known as the father of the potato, and coincidentally happened to look a lot like a potato as well. Seriously, look it up, it's mad. Also find out about Mr Walker's speakeasy and how to poison a king with gifts of suspicious...

It's the new Butterfly Effect, a volcano in Peru can be responsible for the deaths of two million Russian people. Don't believe me? Find out what happens when Barnaby links the eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru to a famine and the Russian Time of Troubles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a while, Fidel Castro, communist leader of Cuba, was basically the CIA's most wanted man. So they decided to find some ways to get rid of him; permanently. But the methods used could not have been more mad if they had been in a kids' cartoon. This week on That Time When, Amelia tells us about some of the more... unorthodox ways that the CIA tried to assassinate the communist leader, and the ri...

Sometimes there are episodes of this podcast where one has to sit back and go "No, this can't be true." This is one of those times and Barnaby concludes his story of Josephine Baker, with tales of her life as a spy, her civil rights work, including the 1963 March on Washington, and the coolest death ever. It's still unbelievable, but you should definitely listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Finishing off Black History Month with a two part-er, Barnaby looks at the dancer, singer, French Resistance operative, and Civil Rights activist, Josephine Baker. Because her life was so mad and busy, we've had to split it into two parts, so this week we look at the crushingly tragic early life of Josephine, before moving on to her fantastic success as a dancer and entertainer. And remember, don'...

Time to gush about a handsome man with a streak of white in his hair who happens to be one of the greatest orators ever. So much so that it's actually quite annoying how good he is. In a story that shares some similarities to last week's show, Amelia tells us about Frederick Douglass, slave to freedman to abolitionist/orator/model. Quite the resume. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Probably our most banal episode title yet, but what makes the story of George Africanus significant is that his rags to riches story starts with him being sold as a black slave at three years old. This week on That Time When, Barnaby decides to delve into black history month with this story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and one who has now become a prominent figure in the hist...

Amelia and Barnaby are both ill, but at least they don't have malaria, because there's only one surefire way to deal with that: bats. This week on That Time When, Amelia tells us the story of bat houses, mosquitos, and we answer the age old question: can you tempt a bat with a perfectly good ham? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.