The world did NOT wake up to the dangers of smoking on September 25th, 1878, despite the efforts of Dr. Charles R. Drysdale, who had a letter published in The Times warning that smoking is a practice “deleterious to health and vitality,” noting that a contemporaneous experiment on dogs had led to “palsy of the hind leg, blindness, deafness, and death.”
But ... Show More
Today
Mussolini's Last Day on Earth
Benito Mussolini was captured by partisans on 27th April, 1945, whilst attempting a hopeless escape to Switzerland, ‘disguised’ in a Luftwaffe coat and helmet alongside his much-younger mistress, Clara Petacci. Hiding in plain sight was never going to work for a man who had spent ... Show More
12m 36s
Apr 23
How To Brew Beer in Bavaria 🍻
Duke Wilhelm IV issued what later became known as the Reinheitsgebot - the decree setting out that Bavarian beer should be made using only water, barley and hops - on 23rd April, 1516. Although the famous “purity” clause occupies only a small part of the original document, the la ... Show More
13m 50s
Mar 2020
Marc Maron's Tumeric
When veteran stand-up Marc Maron recorded his latest hour special, End Times Fun, back in October 2019, he had no idea how topical it would be. Seven months later, End Times Fun has proven to be bizarrely, morosely timely, as it deals with themes of uncertainty, fear, and isolati ... Show More
1h 19m
<p><strong> </strong></p><br><p>There are over a billion smokers across the world, and over 7 trillion cigarettes are smoked every year.</p><p><br>In this episode, we'll look at the history of smoking, from the "discovery" of tobacco by Christopher Columbus to how tobacco compani ... Show More