Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of Santa Claus, and how he has emerged and developed as a central part of modern Christmas celebrations, with a multifaceted origin story that goes back centuries.

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In this week's episode, get across the history of Christmas, from its emergence as an early Christian festival co-opting existing celebrations, to the massive, worldwide event it is today.

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This week's monument is the Berlin Wall, an enormous, 155 kilometre-long wall that once divided the city of Berlin in two before its eventual fall in 1989.

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: Frank Shackleton and his potential connection with the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels - never conclusively proven, but nonetheless involving quite a few controversial and scandalous details.

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In this week's episode, meet the famed explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who led the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition into the Antarctic.

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This week's monument is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the semi-ruined remains of the only building to survive in the immediate vicinity of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945.

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of Pigeon Post, how humans have used homing pigeons to facilitate speedy, long-distance communication for thousands and thousands of years.

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In this week's episode, meet five famous animals who have all served in the military: Cher Ami the pigeon, Wojtek the bear, Simon the cat, Reckless the pony, and William the goat.

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This week's monument is Mount Rushmore, also known as Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe - a mountainside in the US state of South Dakota that features colossal sculptures of four notable US presidents. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of Sir Hubert Wilkins, a photographer, pilot, war hero, explorer, and ornithologist who led a truly remarkable life.

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We did it - they gave this man a book deal! "History's Strangest Deaths" will be published by Allen & Unwin next year, with more information coming in a few months. Thank you so much to everyone for all the encouragement and support - it is so exciting to think that the first Half-Arsed History book is coming in 2025!

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