Almost History

By Ian Chapman-Curry

Almost History. Always incredible. What if ... ? Almost History tells the amazing true stories behind the aborted missions, cancelled plans, utopian dreams, failed revolutions and hubristic designs t... more

4.4

99 ratings

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FAQs about Almost History:

How many episodes does Almost History have?

The podcast currently has 22 episodes available.

Almost History episodes:

July 12, 2018 Opening the iron curtain - the East Germany's day of dissent
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It’s the summer of 1953, and, across East Germany, angry people take to the streets.
This isn’t a polite street protest.
This is a furious, red flag ripping, police beating, office burning rampage.
The crowds demand:
- better living conditions;
- the reunification of Germany; and
- free elections.
Instead, they would get:
- Trabants;
- the Berlin Wall; and
- another 35 years of hardline Communist government.
Could the 17 June 1953 uprising have ever been successful at bringing down Soviet-dominated eastern Europe?
Or were the people’s protests doomed to fail before they even started?

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Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was Cylinder Seven and The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch, both by Chris Zabriskie and Sunset by Kai Engel. All tracks are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
...more
20min
June 15, 2017 Operation Unthinkable - Churchill's plan to attack Russia and start a Third World War
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According to Field Marshal Montgomery, rule number one on the first page of the book of war is ‘do not march on Moscow’.
In April 1945, Winston Churchill ordered the British Chiefs of Staff to rip up the rule book and plan for an attack on their wartime ally, Russia.
It was audacious, inconceivable and incredibly risky.
So, fittingly, it was codenamed Operation Unthinkable.
Just how close did we come to launching the Third World War in 1945?
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was Cylinder Seven and The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch, both by Chris Zabriskie and Sunset by Kai Engel. All tracks are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
...more
24min
June 01, 2017 Louis of England - history’s forgotten King of England
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In August of 1216, the King of Scotland rode down the entire length of England to pay homage to a new English king at Dover.
The Scottish monarch bent his knee to a warrior prince who was the pride and hope of his dynasty.
His name was Louis and he was the eldest son of the King of France. Louis is overlooked in most lists of English monarchs. But he was, at this point in time, in control of two-thirds of the country and had the support of the majority of its barons.
At Lincoln, he had a chance to win a great victory and secure his claim to the throne.
This is a rich story with a cast that includes a septuagenarian warrior, a fighting monk, a nine-year old boy king and a fearsome Châtelaine who defied a whole army.
But most of all, it is about a battle that could have gone either way.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was Oecumene Sleep and Realness by Kai Engel, Everybodys Got Problems That Aren't Mine by Chris Zabriskie and Fog and Waves by Sergey Cheremisinov. They are all licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
24min
May 18, 2017 Princess Mary Tudor's flight to freedom
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In the summer of 1550, Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, was packing her belongings and preparing to flee her home.
Her Tudor brother was the figurehead for an increasingly Protestant regime. Mary clung to her mother's Catholicism.
She feared for her life and, as the pressure on her to conform grew, she turned to her powerful relatives abroad.
She could be safe again, but they could only protect her if she left England.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was July by Kai Engel and Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin Macleod. Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
22min
May 18, 2017 AH 1.09 Princess Mary Tudor's flight to freedom
In the summer of 1550, Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, was packing her belongings and preparing to flee her home.
Her Tudor brother was the figurehead for an increasingly Protestant regime. Mary clung to her mother's Catholicism.
She feared for her life and, as the pressure on her to conform grew, she turned to her powerful relatives abroad.
She could be safe again, but they could only protect her if she left England.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was July by Kai Engel and Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin Macleod. Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
22min
May 11, 2017 Cancelling Christmas and the Plum Pudding Riots
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In 1647, the new puritan government tried to cancel Christmas.
People in Canterbury protested in a peculiarly English way, with a destructive game of football followed by a mass brawl.
The city’s Plum Pudding Riots led to a royalist revolt throughout Kent and the second round of the Civil War.
With Parliamentary armies fighting in Wales and Scotland, could this have marked a revival in fortunes for the beleaguered King Charles the First?
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was Air Hockey Saloon by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com) and Sacred Motion by staRpauSe (http://starpause.flavors.me/). Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
13min
May 11, 2017 AH 1.08 Cancelling Christmas and the Plum Pudding Riots
In 1647, the new puritan government tried to cancel Christmas.
People in Canterbury protested in a peculiarly English way, with a destructive game of football followed by a mass brawl.
The city’s Plum Pudding Riots led to a royalist revolt throughout Kent and the second round of the Civil War.
With Parliamentary armies fighting in Wales and Scotland, could this have marked a revival in fortunes for the beleaguered King Charles the First?
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was Air Hockey Saloon by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com) and Sacred Motion by staRpauSe (http://starpause.flavors.me/). Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
13min
May 05, 2017 The Prince of Poyais - settling in the country that never was
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In 1822, Gregor MacGregor committed what The Economist newspaper has called the ‘biggest fraud in history’ and ‘the greatest confidence trick of all time’.
Investors, many of them Scottish, put forward vast sums towards creating a colony in central America. They were told it was a sure bet, a land of milk and honey - another paradise on the isthmus.
Sounds familiar? If you listened last week, you might think that once bitten, Scots would be twice shy.
Instead, bonds for Gregor MacGregor’s Principality of Poyais were oversubscribed and colonists easy to find. They would all profit from this rich and fertile land that was larger than Wales and ripe for settlement.
The only problem was that Poyais didn’t exist.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was High School Snaps by Broke For Free (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Slam_Funk/Broke_For_Free_-_Slam_Funk_-_06_High_School_Snaps) and Behind Your Window by Kai Engel (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/Idea/Kai_Engel_-_Idea_-_04_Behind_Your_Window). Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
23min
May 05, 2017 AH 1.07 The Prince of Poyais - settling in the country that never was
In 1822, Gregor MacGregor committed what The Economist newspaper has called the ‘biggest fraud in history’ and ‘the greatest confidence trick of all time’.
Investors, many of them Scottish, put forward vast sums towards creating a colony in central America. They were told it was a sure bet, a land of milk and honey - another paradise on the isthmus.
Sounds familiar? If you listened last week, you might think that once bitten, Scots would be twice shy.
Instead, bonds for Gregor MacGregor’s Principality of Poyais were oversubscribed and colonists easy to find. They would all profit from this rich and fertile land that was larger than Wales and ripe for settlement.
The only problem was that Poyais didn’t exist.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was High School Snaps by Broke For Free (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Slam_Funk/Broke_For_Free_-_Slam_Funk_-_06_High_School_Snaps) and Behind Your Window by Kai Engel (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/Idea/Kai_Engel_-_Idea_-_04_Behind_Your_Window). Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
23min
May 05, 2017 The Prince of Poyais - settling in the country that never was
In 1822, Gregor MacGregor committed what The Economist newspaper has called the ‘biggest fraud in history’ and ‘the greatest confidence trick of all time’.
Investors, many of them Scottish, put forward vast sums towards creating a colony in central America. They were told it was a sure bet, a land of milk and honey - another paradise on the isthmus.
Sounds familiar? If you listened last week, you might think that once bitten, Scots would be twice shy.
Instead, bonds for Gregor MacGregor’s Principality of Poyais were oversubscribed and colonists easy to find. They would all profit from this rich and fertile land that was larger than Wales and ripe for settlement.
The only problem was that Poyais didn’t exist.
Do you like the podcast?
Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience.
1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app.
2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo).
3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well!
Music credits
The theme music is Newsroom by Riot.
The other music featured in this episode was High School Snaps by Broke For Free (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Slam_Funk/Broke_For_Free_-_Slam_Funk_-_06_High_School_Snaps) and Behind Your Window by Kai Engel (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/Idea/Kai_Engel_-_Idea_-_04_Behind_Your_Window). Both are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
...more
23min

FAQs about Almost History:

How many episodes does Almost History have?

The podcast currently has 22 episodes available.