Robert-Houdin, The Father of Modern Magi...

The Pompey Stone was discovered in the early 1820s, and was believed to be hundreds of years old. It turned out to be a hoax, but a fairly benign one. Research: Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. “Historical collections of the state of New York : containing a general collection ... Show More

Émile Coué genuinely seems to have wanted to help people by teaching them how to plant helpful directives in their subconscious minds. Whether he was effective is something that's still debated. Research: Baldwin, J. Mark, et al. “A Disclaimer.” Science, vol. 12, no. 309, 1900, p ... Show More

This 2021 episode covers Louis Daguerre, who comes up almost any time we mention photography. Well before he figured out how to capture images through a camera obscura, he was an artist and innovator in entertainment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>Robert sits down with Jason Petty aka Prop to begin the epic story of Robert E. Lee, prominent furry, slave owner and Confederate General.</p> <p>(4 Part Series)</p> <p>Sources:</p> <ol> <li><a href="https://archive.org/stream/memoirsrobertel01wriggoog/memoirsrobertel01wriggoo ... Show More

<p>How did an 18th century working class farm labourer climb the social ladder to become the most beloved poet Scotland has produced?</p><br><p>By the time he died aged just 37, he had taken the country by storm with his romantic verse and was welcomed into the bosom of Edinburgh ... Show More

When the atom bomb was dropped in 1945, how did its inventor, J Robert Oppenheimer, feel? To mark the release of Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster Oppenheimer, biographer Kai Bird joins Elinor Evans to discuss the man behind the creation of nuclear weaponry, and the difficult m ... Show More

<p>After speaking to <em>Gone Medieval</em> in April 2022 about the first volume of his magisterial biography of Henry III, David Carpenter promised Matt Lewis that he would pay the podcast a return visit when the second volume came out. <em>Henry III 1258-1272: Reform, Rebellion ... Show More

Harry Houdini was an American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin. Truly though his story is wild and with many twists and turns. Travel to Japan With Me her ... Show More

Updated in 2024. A tale of terror and tombs. In 1924, Weird Tales magazine published "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" (aka "Under the Pyramids"). A short story in which Harry Houdini, world-famous escape-artist, illusionist, and advocate of rationalism, came face-to-face with horro ... Show More

<p>It's 1660 and General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law board a ship bound for the New World. They're on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I. His execution, the culmination of the English Civil War, sees control taken from the royalists by Oliver Cromwell and his ... Show More

<p>The reality of the Bronze Age Near East was much messier and harder to understand than a straightforward story of city-states, empires, and kings. Different ethnolinguistic groups, lifestyles, dynasties of would-be rulers, migrating mercenaries, and ephemeral states were all e ... Show More

What are the earliest forms of written magic? How do the stories of magic and religion intersect? And how will these stories’ continued presence in popular culture influence events yet to come? Professor Owen Davies takes Lauren Good on a journey through the twisting history of t ... Show More