That Time When

Quick, the Martians are coming! Listen to this episode of That Time When so you can know how panicked you should be! This week, Barnaby takes a look at the truths and falsehoods behind Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells. How much did people really believe that Martians were attacking? Was there rioting and a mortality rate? Find out here on That Time When Martia...

Continuing with the pirate theme, this week Amelia tells us about notorious pirates Bonny and Read who were possibly some of the most bloodthirsty pirates in the great pirate era. They also shared a secret that went unknown for a surprising amount of time. (Punny title thanks to Ciara Jack of The Unexceptionals podcast. Sometimes trying to come up with titles is hard) Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Ahoy there, shipmates, and have a listen to pirate tales. You want to learn how to command a pirate confederacy of tens of thousands? The answer is... bureaucracy. This week on That Time When, Barnaby tells us about Madame Cheng, a most fantastically intelligent woman who ruled the most successful pirate fleet in history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week Amelia told us about Eleanor of Aquitaine's somewhat muted marriage to Louis VII. This week we continue the story with her probably overly passionate marriage to Henry II; two very strong willed people, both with an awful lot of power, try and live together. Sounds like a sitcom premise, doesn't it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their first part of their first two-parter, Amelia talks about one of her and Barnaby's favourite historical people: Eleanor of Aquitaine. In this first part Amelia talks about her marriage to King Louis VII of France, how they had to go on crusade to atone for arson, and how she may have dressed herself and three hundred other women as amazon warriors for the journey. Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Think you can solve a little Victorian mystery? Can a man who is shorter, much fatter, less educated, and with a different accent be the same as a skinny, stylish son of a baronet? Listen to the story of Sir Roger Tichborne and the Tichborne Claimant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes in a historical drama a character is played by a black actor and there are certain people who claim that's implausible. To them: prepare to have your assumptions blown apart as Amelia tells the tale of Diego, a black man in the Tudor era who was a sailor, interpreter, pin-cushion, and all around clever guy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever looked at your favourite sports figure and thought 'Yes, I'd like to make their sweat into a face cream'? You may be more Roman than you thought. Find out about the celebrity culture around Roman Gladiators as Barnaby takes you back to Ancient Rome to answer if gladiators were Roman versions of modern day celebrities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economists never change, as you'll see in this episode. Hear about the fate of the orphans of the man with the great name Wouter Winkel, and how they profited from the economy created around the buying and selling of tulips bulbs. Then hear about, surprise surprise, the fallout from this weird fad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that Bedknobs and Broomsticks is based on fact?! Well, not exactly, but this week Barnaby explains how magic may have been used to secure the shores of England during World War Two, and possibly earlier with the Spanish Armada (Amelia gets very annoyed at this idea). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For all you Jacob Goldbergs out there, this episode is for you! Amelia tells us about the story of Sugihara, a diplomat who may have saved thousands of lives during World War Two just by doing his work extremely efficiently, and without a care for the rules. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Move over, James Bond, there's a new spy in town. Well, an old spy actually. On this week's That Time When we talk about the American Revolutionary War and some of the incredible espionage work done by several women, one of whom may well be the elusive Agent 355. Put on the podcast, get in your longship-sort-of-thing, and raid some British ships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

First, an apology for the audio difficulties in recent episodes. Part of it is being new to podcasting and part of it is due to microphones breaking and headphones being eaten by our rabbit. That said, time to get cheesy and discover why one of the early presidents of the United States received a gift of an enormous cheese. If you've got a massive cheese that's slowly going mouldy, you can find ou...

I mean, what's more to say? Join us for a story of a Polish soldier who fought in World War Two, foiled spies, became the emblem of his company, and could lift artillery shells that normally took two men to lift. The twist? The soldier was a bear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Amelia reveals that she has kissed the face of a dead woman, and it's likely that many of you have as well. Want to check and make sure? You might not know it until you listen to this episode *checks clickbait box*Also don't forget to follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatTimeWhen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barnaby gets a bit carried away with this one, but it's fitting that our longest episode yet is about the longest book ever written. Professor Seagull, aka Joe Gould, claimed to have written an Oral History of the World that runs to nine million words. Impressive for a largely homeless man who speaks to seagulls and has interesting theories about tomatoes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Did you know that it's really easy to become the Emperor of America? Joshua Norton did, and that's why he had his own money printed. That's one way to get out of a bad rice-based business deal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that Genghis Khan, leader of the Mongol hordes, lived a life that was remarkably similar to a martial arts film? Grab some mare's milk and settle in for tales of betrayal, kidnapping, and low-grade fish and chips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That Time When Richard the Lionheart wanted Peaches... King Richard I of England: crusader, warrior, flamboyant dresser, fruit enthusiast, and letter writer. Find out about the time when Richard wanted peaches so badly, he wrote to the leader of his enemy to ask for them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.