EPISODE 115: Us vs. Them

👹If you can't be with the one you love...👹Love the one you're with? What? No. Kill everyone in your way until you get what you want. This week: a ghost story from Japan about what happens when a ronin, a masterless samurai, has nothing to lose in a quest to regain what he lost, ... Show More

<p>Eleventh Century Japan. A samurai and his wife are walking through the forest and come across a bandit. The bandit attacks the samurai and has sex with/rapes his wife. A woodcutter finds the samurai, stabbed to death. Who killed the samurai and with what? What role did his wif ... Show More

Fighting your own fate: it's a theme nearly as old as human civilization. We'll hear two stories of people who both lament their fate...and see that they are profoundly bad at doing anything about it. The first has a sack maker with a one-hit wonder...and a friend who wants to he ... Show More

This episode contains descriptions of violence or sexual content that may not be suitable for all listeners.  Thomas Becket is on trial, facing a string of serious charges and in danger of losing his freedom. Once he was Henry Plantagenet’s right hand man, but now he’s become ... Show More

<div>Two stories from Japan about samurai (and wannabe samurai) following their dreams. Too bad it takes fights with giant creatures and a little bit of murder to do so.<br> <br> The creature this time is ao nyōbō, and she doesn't want you to stop by her beautiful, horribly dilap ... Show More

The Colosseum packed with roaring crowds, the sand stained with sweat and blood. But today, you’re not watching - you’re fighting. Welcome to a day in the life of a Roman gladiator.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by historian and author Dr Harry Sidebott ... Show More

Following the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was his Medici successor? Could he overcome the political turmoil and religious fervour in Florence, and rebuff the storm clouds of war gathering over his city with the approaching French army? How did this burgeoning catastroph ... Show More

Oh Muses! We travel to the Roman Empire to discuss real life gladiators. In this episode we encounter old-school graffiti, historical facts, enslaved people, volcanic eruptions, self unaliving, unalivng other people willy nilly, talk of animal cruelty, Geneva conventions, and cos ... Show More

This episode contains descriptions of violence or sexual content that may not be suitable for all listeners. Braving dangerous winter storms, Henry Plantagenet crosses the English Channel. He’s come to settle a civil war, lay claim to his mother’s inheritance, and follow in th ... Show More