Legacy

Wondery

<p>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.</p><p>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 <a href="https://wondery.com/links/legacy">wondery.com/links/legacy</a> now.</p>

  • 30 minutes 36 seconds
    Women and Healing | It's All On WitchTok | 3

    From shamans and oracles to modern psychics and wellness gurus, humanity has always searched for answers beyond medicine. This episode traces how spiritual healing, prophecy and belief survived — and why they’re booming again today.


    Stay connected with Legacy


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


    Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

    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.

    5 February 2026, 1:00 am
  • 35 minutes
    Women and Healing | The Original Witch Hunt | 2

    Women were humanity’s first doctors — midwives, herbalists and healers — until fear, religion and power turned care into a crime. This episode explores how women’s medical knowledge became witchcraft, and why healing women were systematically erased.


    Stay connected with Legacy


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


    Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

    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.

    3 February 2026, 1:00 am
  • 43 minutes 56 seconds
    Women and Healing | The Strange Story of the Penis Nest Trapped in a Tree | 1

    Women were the world’s first doctors — mastering plants, childbirth, and healing — until their knowledge became a threat to rising male-dominated medicine and the Church. From ancient shamans to Egyptian surgeons to medieval witch trials and the infamous “penis nest” myth, this is the hidden history of women, power, and healing.


    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.

    29 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 35 minutes 4 seconds
    The History of Wellness and Wellbeing | Shamans, Oracles and Gurus | 4

    Why did ancient people believe illness came from spirits — and who had the power to cure it? Peter and Afua explore shamans, oracles, and sacred healing rituals that once shaped health, fate, and meaning. From Mesopotamian demon-healers to modern ayahuasca retreats and Instagram gurus, they ask what happens when ancient spiritual medicine returns in the modern world.


    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 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 45 minutes 15 seconds
    The History of Wellness and Wellbeing | The Importance of Sleep and Exercise | 3

    Afua makes the case that sleep is sacred — and modern “grind culture” is quietly wrecking us — as Peter and Afua explore how the ancients actually slept, dreamed, and interpreted the night. Then it’s the birth of exercise: from survival-strength and ritual dance to wrestling, hunting, and the gymnasium — and how movement became medicine (and status).


    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.

    22 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 31 minutes 58 seconds
    The History of Wellness and Wellbeing | The First Treatments and Cures | 2

    Afua loses her voice, fixes it with an old-school red onion + honey remedy, and the pair dive into the ancient origins of cures: food, herbs, water, ritual and early “science.” From honey as the first superfood to purification, bathing, and who gets access to wellness, this episode asks what we’ve forgotten — and what we’ve commodified.


    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 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 38 minutes 7 seconds
    The History of Wellness and Wellbeing | The Early Years | 1

    New Year, new you — but where did the idea of “wellness” actually come from? Peter and Afua travel back 10,000 years to hunter-gatherers, early medicine, ancient diets, and the surprising origins of how humans learned to be “healthy”.


    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.

    15 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 37 minutes 17 seconds
    Encore: Gorbachev | The Man Who Lost an Empire | 4

    Under Gorbachev's leadership the once sprawling empire that was the Soviet Union collapses. Is this his true legacy? Or was it all inevitable? And with present day Russia looking to the past for glory, what lessons can we learn from history's last Soviet leader? 


    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 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 39 minutes 23 seconds
    Encore: Gorbachev | Meltdown | 3

    On a spring morning in 1986 one of the most catastrophic events in global history occurs - Chernobyl. It brings chaos to the environment, chaos to Europe and chaos to Mikhail Gorbachev's premiership. Will he survive this?


    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.

    8 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 38 minutes
    Encore: Gorbachev | Shutting Down the Cold War | 2

    With the levers of power now in his control, Gorbachev steps out on the international stage with one aim: to avoid a nuclear war. He forges a new relationship with US President Reagan, but will it be enough to remove the shadow of armageddon? 


    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.

    6 January 2026, 2:00 am
  • 38 minutes 47 seconds
    Encore: Gorbachev | The Boy from Stavropol | 1

    Shaped by the brutality of the Stalin regime, Gorbachev’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship. But the communist system also works to his strengths, and allows him to reach the very top. All along, he remains a true believer but knows change must happen.  


    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.

    1 January 2026, 2:00 am
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