Legacy

Wondery

From Wondery and Goalhanger Podcasts, Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan tell the wild stories of some of the most extraordinary men and women ever to have lived – and ask whether they have the rep they deserve. Should Nina Simone’s role in the civil rights movement be more celebrated than it is? When you find out what Picasso got up to in his studio, can you still admire his art? Was Napoleon a hero or a tyrant - or both? (And, while we’re at it, was he even short?) Legacy is the show that looks at big lives from the perspective of now – and doesn’t always like what it sees.Listen to Legacy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/legacy now.

  • 47 minutes 4 seconds
    Encore: Charles Dickens | Hard Times | 1

    A young Charles is filled with imagination and ambition, but his childhood with humiliation and uncertainty. His father is in and out of debtors’ prison and he is forced to sacrifice his education for a string of menial jobs to make ends meet. But he discovers he has a skill. He can paint pictures with words like no one else can. Could this be his destiny?


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:

    Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    18 December 2025, 2:00 am
  • 33 minutes 55 seconds
    Jane Austen | Feat. Marlon James | It's Jane Austen's World And We're Living In It | 3

    Booker Prize winning author - Marlon James joins Afua and Peter to tear open Jane Austen’s world — from slavery shadows to savage social critique — and reveal why her novels still cut like a knife.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:

    Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    16 December 2025, 2:00 am
  • 50 minutes 4 seconds
    Jane Austen | Proud Or Prejudiced |2

    Jane Austen wrote about drawing rooms, dances, and marriage plots — but beneath the lace and manners she was dissecting power, class, gender, and the world-changing revolutions unfolding outside her window. In this episode, Peter and Afua explore the sharp politics, hidden tensions, and unexpected radicalism behind Austen’s most “polite” novels.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    11 December 2025, 2:00 am
  • 48 minutes 9 seconds
    Jane Austen | Making The Small Things The Right Size | 1

    Jane Austen’s world wasn’t quiet, genteel, or boring — it was full of scandal, class tension, family drama, and the pressures that shaped one of literature’s sharpest minds. In this episode, we trace the messy, revealing early life that forged the writer who made the small things enormous.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    9 December 2025, 2:00 am
  • 48 minutes 39 seconds
    Kellogg | Snap, Crackle, Pop | 2

    John Harvey Kellogg built a wellness empire obsessed with purity, bowel cleansing, and bland food — then accidentally launched the most successful sugar-delivery system in history. From celebrity-studded sanitariums to anti-masturbation crusades and the birth of Cornflakes, this is the wild story of how a health cult became a global cereal powerhouse.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    4 December 2025, 1:00 am
  • 45 minutes 43 seconds
    Kellogg | From The End Of The World To Wellness | 1

    A breakfast empire built on purity, fear, and some of the strangest medical ideas of the 19th century. From apocalypse cults to anti-masturbation crusades, this is the real story behind Kellogg’s rise from Battle Creek to global wellness.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:

    Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

    BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social

    TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    2 December 2025, 2:12 am
  • 44 minutes 36 seconds
    The Rise of the Nazis | How Disease and Religion Paved the Way for Evil | 2

    Germany’s crises didn’t end with Versailles — they mutated. Hyperinflation, political extremism, spiritual panic, and a pandemic all collided to push an obscure drifter named Adolf Hitler toward power. This episode shows how a broken society helped unleash a catastrophe.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    27 November 2025, 1:00 am
  • 46 minutes 47 seconds
    The Rise of the Nazis | How Disaster Lead to Catastrophe | 1

    A collapsing empire, a starving population, and a country drowning in humiliation — this is how Germany fell apart after WWI. In this episode, we trace how chaos, revolution, and a brutal peace deal created the perfect conditions for the Nazis to emerge.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    25 November 2025, 1:00 am
  • 39 minutes 56 seconds
    Greenland | The 51st State? | 2

    Greenland’s coat of arms has changed, Trump is circling, and Denmark is suddenly sweating. We dive into why the world’s largest island has become the hottest geopolitical prize of 2025 — and what it means for all of us.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    20 November 2025, 1:00 am
  • 46 minutes 46 seconds
    Greenland | This Is Greenland | 1

    Greenland: colossal, misunderstood, and suddenly the centre of global power politics. From Viking PR stunts to Danish colonialism to today’s strategic tug-of-war, this is the story of the world’s most important island.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    18 November 2025, 1:00 am
  • 50 minutes 20 seconds
    Kwame Nkrumah | Rise and Fall | 4

    The rise and fall of Kwame Nkrumah — Africa’s first postcolonial leader who dreamed of freedom but faced betrayal, paranoia, and a CIA-backed coup. From hope to heartbreak, this is the story of how Ghana’s independence inspired a continent… and why it all came crashing down.


    Stay connected with Legacy


    Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions


    Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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

    13 November 2025, 1:00 am
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