The Cloak and Dagger Podcast

Power and prestige. Two things that kings, queens and emperors have sought since civilisation began. But how far would you go to obtain them? For the people of Venice, the answer turns out to be quite far. From the ashes of the fallen Roman empire, the city of Venice gained power through trade and commerce as a gateway between the east and west. But for prestige, it needed something more. Somethin...

Tranquillity and a sense of peace are two qualities that Japanese culture has a deep respect for. Even in the busy docks of Edo a state of serenity is desirable. But on a misty morning in July 1853, any hint of equanimity was shattered when Edo Bay was forcibly entered by four black ships billowing steam from their funnels. Japan had been a closed country for over two centuries - suddenly all of t...

To live and die by the sword is a life honoured throughout most of the world, and no place is it respected more than in Japan. Tales of this ancient land are filled with noble samurai and pious monks who fought with honour to protect the helpless and vanquish evil. But history is never so black and white, and even in this land of heroes there are those whose lives are far more grey than we might c...

They came from the east bringing fire and blood; a black cloud of dust stretching for miles in every direction like a breaking storm. 150,000 warriors, the largest Mongol army ever formed, bearing down on the once great capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Could the forty foot thick walls of the city of Baghdad withstand the might of the Mongol hordes, or would the heart of Islamic learning and relig...

In the west, scientific discovery all but died after the fall of the Roman empire. It would take a thousand years for the likes of da Vinci, Copernicus and Galileo to revitalise the quest for knowledge during the Renaissance, and for that they are known to history as the fathers of modern science But in the middle east, the art of discovery was not so easily lost. A golden age of science, philosop...

The streets of Victorian London could be a grizzly place. Abject poverty, deadly disease and choking smog were par for the course for most Londoners living below the salt. But a chopped up body, stuffed into a chest and thrown into the river? Even the ‘ardest Londoners' would turn green at the site of that. But on a chilly January morning in 1879, that is exactly what a poor coal porter would find...

1012CE was not a great year for London or England as a whole. Viking raiders were far superior to the Anglo Saxon defences which were in disarray. To make matters worse, the holiest site in the kingdom - Canterbury - had been sacked and the Archbishop had been taken hostage. Listen in to find out what happened next! Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog Link: https://filmmusic.io/so...

As dawn broke over a sleepy Alexandria in 1767, the city was tense. A hundred trade deals had been thrown into chaos, bribes had not been paid to the right people and debtors were diving for cover. All of this turmoil had been caused by the arrest and kidnap of a single man. This man was so integral to the running of the city's trade that even after a few hours of his arrest, all hell had broken l...

Many a brave sailor may say they know the sea, some may even say they are at home on the sea, but no one can claim to control the sea, and woe betide anyone who falls prey to the wrath of the sea. In 365 CE, the great city Alexandria rose up out of the Mediterranean on the northern coast of Africa; a gateway between the supposedly ‘barbaric’ Pagans of Egypt and the supposedly ‘civilised’ Christian...

On July 28th 1945, a twin engine US Airforce bomber crashed into the tallest building in the world and exploded. What had happened? Who was responsible? Was anybody hurt? Find out all of these details and more in this week's episode! Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A misplaced word in a tea house. A throwaway comment at a tailors shop. A letter left in the hands of someone you perhaps shouldn’t have trusted. It was easy for a British officer to believe they were safe in New York City, the capital of the American colonies “heroically” recaptured in the name of King George. But all around them were the watchful eyes and silent whispers of rebels and patriots,...

Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter and was cruelly abducted by her uncle Hades. We took a deep dive into this story on Patrick Little's podcast and this was the result - we hope you enjoy!

Hello friends, after two series we have finally managed to put together a trailer for the podcast - so here you go!

Many know the tale of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king who sought to conquer the world. But scarce few know the legend of the conqueror’s father, and progenitor of the Macedonian empire, Philip II. A skilled military tactician, a shrewd politician and an imposing figure, Philip II ascended the throne of an unruly and barbarous Greek kingdom, and forged it into a military powerhouse. But Ph...

Emperor Commodus of Rome tends to score highly on the list of craziest and most sadistic of Rome's emperors. Nothing was off limits to him, from declaring himself the reincarnation of Hercules to changing the twelve months of the year to his twelve names. Who could stop this madman's regime? How could anyone get near enough to bring him down? For those answers you must listen to the episode! Just...

As the church bells ring out over the Swiss city of Lausanne, the doors of the grand protestant church creak open allowing the well-to-do members of the congregation to step out into the street. Three cloaked figures close in on the crowd spilling from the church – making a direct line for a portly Englishman and his three sturdy bodyguards. Two of the figures draw swords and charge at the guards...

In the baking heat of the South African sun, a warband trembles before an oncoming horde of Zulu warriors armed with new, devastating weapons of war. As they clash head on with their foe, the warband soon realises that two more hordes have flanked either side of them, cutting off all hope of retreat. And as his brothers fall one by one all around him, one warrior looks up to see a figure atop a hi...

On a cold misty December morning in 1835, a United States Indian agent runs his cold hands together. He is waiting for his contact - a Seminole chief named Osceola. Suddenly a musket flash pierces the morning air, the bullet slammed into the agent's temple and ended his life.  That shot began the Second Seminole War between the native Seminole tribe and the United States of America. The Semin...

A shot that was heard around the world, at a time when nations across the globe teetered on the brink of war. But who or what was behind this monumental moment in history? Was it a grudge from a scorned criminal mob, a targeted strike from a rival foreign superpower, the dark machinations from the world’s most clandestine secret agency, or just a man looking to find his place in history? This week...

In the heat of the Saharan sun the New Kingdom of Egypt is coming to an end - wars, plagues, famines and invasions loom ahead of Ancient Egypt's future. What started this terrible sequence of events? A highly complex palace plot, conspirators with codenames like "Snake" and "Watcher" and the slaying of one of Egypt's most skilled Pharaohs. All of this wrapped up in the most successful cover up sto...

A terrified Samurai stands in the valley of a mountain range; his fellow warriors lie dead around him, cut down by a foe they never saw coming. A castle guard frantically works to put out the flames engulfing the keep, when another guard with an unfamiliar face cuts his throat and moves on to light yet more fires. And a sleeping warlord, feeling safe and secure in his palace, awakes just in time t...

From Michelangelo and Galileo, to Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci, 15th century Florence was home to some of history’s greatest artists and thinkers. But while this was a city of beauty, free thought and new ideas, it was also a city of gold and of blood, and at the heart of it all stood the House of Medici. Princes of Florence in all but name, the Medici ruled their city with the love of their...

On the 13th July 1793, Jean Paul Marat ran a bath and slipped into the warm water - little did he know he would never re-emerge from its powdered waters. Marat was murdered by a young woman named Charlotte Corday who was supposed to be informing him of dissidents against the new Jacobin government in Paris. Listen in to find out more! Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog Link: http...

The end of the 18th century was a time of balls, banquets and bloody revolutions. New ideas were in the air, the Age of Reason had transformed many of Europe’s monarchs from medieval tyrants into enlightened despots, and in Sweden a young, debonair king was embracing the free thinking ideas of the future, whilst tightening his grip on the reins of power. But while this beloved king basked in the l...

At the beginning of the Common Era, Rome had conquered and subjugated the region of the Middle East known as Judea. However, an extreme Jewish sect was whispered about amongst Roman legionaries – they were ghosts, appearing at lightning speed and killing scores of collaborators and Romans alike before melting away. Every Roman, citizen and slave had heard of the Dagger Men and all were equally ter...