Half-Arsed History

Riley Knight

A Very Serious History Podcast

  • 54 minutes 16 seconds
    Episode 407: The Avignon Papacy

    In this week's episode, learn all about the Avignon Papacy, to understand why and how the US recently invoked it as a threat against the Vatican.


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    12 April 2026, 1:00 pm
  • 34 minutes 26 seconds
    Week 15: The Invention of Cornflakes

    This week in history we’ve got maritime disasters caused by iceberg and by toilet, we’ve got the death of a president and the birth of a mother of kings, and we’ve got the invention of a bland breakfast cereal alongside a certain rumour that goes with it.


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    8 April 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    Episode 406: The East India Company - Part 6: Legacies and Lessons

    In this week's episode, explore the historical and contemporary legacies of the British East India Company, examined through nationalist, political, economic, and moral lenses.


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    5 April 2026, 1:00 pm
  • 25 minutes 58 seconds
    Week 14: The Rescue of Poon Lim

    This week in history we’ve got volcanic eruptions and famous statues, we’ve got the birthdays of royals, representatives, and root rats, and we’ve got a bloke catching seagulls and killing sharks in a months-long ordeal of lonely maritime survival.


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    1 April 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 52 minutes 44 seconds
    Episode 405: The East India Company - Part 5: Downfall and Dissolution

    In this week's episode, discover how and why the British East India Company, an immensely powerful and wealthy imperial institution, came crashing down after a slow and steady decline.


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    29 March 2026, 1:00 pm
  • 36 minutes 44 seconds
    Week 13: The Spaghetti Tree Hoax

    This week in history we’ve got the origin of gerrymandering, the renaming of Constantinople, we’ve got the birthdays of composers and scientists and painters, and we’ve got the time the BBC convinced half of Britain that spaghetti grew on trees.


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    25 March 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    Episode 404: The East India Company - Part 4 Expansion and Empire

    In this week's episode, hear about the phase of conquest and expansion that transformed the British East India Company into one of the largest and most powerful imperial institutions on Earth.


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    22 March 2026, 1:00 pm
  • 39 minutes 51 seconds
    Week 12: England Loses the 1966 World Cup

    This week in history we’ve got monuments both finished and unfinished, we’ve got great escapes, we’ve got the birthdays of clockmakers, filmmakers, and musicmakers, and we’ve got the time that England lost the World Cup in 1966.


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    18 March 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 57 minutes 58 seconds
    Episode 403: The East India Company - Part 3: Conquest and Corruption

    In this week's episode, get across how the British East India Company transformed from a purely commercial enterprise to a sovereign entity exercising colonial authority over a growing part of the Indian subcontinent.


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    15 March 2026, 1:00 pm
  • 36 minutes 44 seconds
    Week 11: The Assassination of Julius Caesar

    This week in history we’ve got the death of a saint, the discovery of a planet, and the theft of half a billion dollars of art, we’ve got the birthdays of scientists and explorers, and beware the Ides of March, we’ve got the assassination of Julius Caesar.


    Selene's Fun Animal Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6LMIgPToyL63jhxRKddc0a?si=3a181b5c586449b3


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    11 March 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    Episode 402: The East India Company - Part 2: Footholds and Factories

    In this week's episode, hear about the early history of the English East India Company, and how it moved away from the Indonesian spice trade and instead gained a foothold on the Indian subcontinent under the Mughal Empire.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    8 March 2026, 1:00 pm
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