Biography

By Matt Smith

What's Biography about?

The podcasting of a life, by Matt Smith. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” - Charles Dickens.

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Biography episodes:

02.16.2018
Ned Kelly 4: Such is Life
With his last desperate stand at an end, Ned Kelly will be tried and executed for his crimes in 1880, at the age of 25. His name and notoriety would only grow, and a surprisingly mixed reputation as a larrikin...
12.20.2017
Ned Kelly 3: The Last Stand
The Kelly gang they are broke and on the run, having ambushed and killed policeman and conducted bank heists. Their next plan is their most daring, or perhaps reckless, centring around the victorian town of Glenrowan. Guest: Dr Doug Morrissey (Historian...
10.13.2017
Ned Kelly 2: A Short Life of Crime
Ned Kelly came through a troubled upbringing and started a career as a horse thief, but is now on the run after shooting a policeman. With the authorities after him, he would only become more desperate and ruthless. Guest: Dr...
09.27.2017
Ned Kelly 1: Australian Outlaw
Ned Kelly is a legendary figure in Australian history. A bushranger, an outlaw, a convicted police murderer, and controversial figure. Despite his rap sheet, to some he was a rascal and a hero. Guest: Dr Doug Morrissey (Historian and author of...
04.13.2017
Gandhi 4: Father of the Nation
When British India collapses, India embraces it’s state of free rule, but it isn’t the outcome Gandhi had campaigned for. Religious rivalries and disagreements lead to a split between Muslim and Hindi, dividing the territory in two. Guest: Dr Thomas...
03.24.2017
Gandhi 3: Shaking the Foundations
The salt march is the most iconic event from Gandhi's campaign of non-violent resistance. In 1930 Gandhi and his followers began a month-long march to the coast where he made salt, defiantly breaking a British law related to the taxation...
03.03.2017
Gandhi 2: Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner
When Gandhi returned to India twenty years had passed, and it was a different country to the one he had left. He embarked on a mission not just to better his country and help it stand on its own, but...
02.10.2017
Gandhi 1: A Good Seed is Sown
Gandhi is a figure who is known across the world as the father of the nation, the man who achieved independence in the Indian subcontinent through non-violent resistance. He was also a thinker and a philosopher, and the name he...
12.12.2016
Themistocles 3: Persuasion and Compulsion
With his victory at Salamis, Themistocles is now the hero of the Hellenic world. he's recognised and lauded across the lands, but with this power comes jealousy and competition. The hero of Athens will have to turn to its greatest...
12.11.2016
Themistocles 3: Persuasion and Compulsion
With his victory at Salamis, Themistocles is now the hero of the Hellenic world. he's recognised and lauded across the lands, but with this power comes jealousy and competition. The hero of Athens will have to turn to its greatest...
12.01.2016
Themistocles 2: Indubitable Signs of Genius
Themistocles has established himself as a respected politician within ancient Athens, but he isn't without rivalry. He has political enemies from within who hope to bring him down, and there's always the threat of Persia, readying itself to take on...
11.22.2016
Themistocles 1: Great Light of the Greeks
Themistocles lived during a time of change and progress in Athens. The monarchy was coming to an end, the republic was on the rise, and a self-made man from modest beginnings can make crucial contributions to an entire civilisation. Guest: Professor...
10.19.2016
Ely S. Parker
Ely S. Parker was born to a prominent Seneca family on an Indian reservation near New York, and to many was considered a man between two worlds. Working first as a tribal diplomat, and later forming a close friendship with...
09.07.2016
Frida Kahlo 2: Acid and Tender
Frida attains fame within her lifetime, and her relationship with Diego Rivera remains passionate and explosive. Since she died her fame has attained new heights, as people see the part of Frida they want to see - she now belongs...
08.30.2016
Frida Kahlo 1: A Ribbon Around a Bomb
Frida Kahlo is considered one of Mexico's greatest artists but spent most of her career working in the shadow of her husband, the larger than life artist and muralist Diego Rivera. After a bus accident left her injured for life she...
07.06.2016
Douglas Mawson 3: Flaws in the Ice
Douglas Mawson expedition across the ice has been met with tragedy. One of his men has fallen down a crevice and died, and with him the majority of the food stores and the good sleigh dogs. He and Mertz have little...
06.29.2016
Douglas Mawson 2: The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson has returned from the Shackleton Expedition in Antarctica, but he soon gets the urge to go back to the ice. He journeys to England to raise money for his own Antarctic mission - a scientific endeavour with the...
06.22.2016
Douglas Mawson 1: The Pole Hunters
Douglas Mawson is one of the great explorers of Antarctica, and regarded as a hero in Australia. His first journey to the frozen continent was as a member of the Shackleton expedition, and he was given the task of finding...
05.17.2016
Confucius 2: The Master Says
After his death, the teachings that are attributed to Confucius take on a life on their own. We now look at the philosophy of Confucius, the trouble with interpreting his teachings, and what Confucianism means in today's world. Guest: Professor John...
05.03.2016
Confucius 1: The Man Who Moves the Mountain
A philosopher, teacher, and political thinker, Confucius lived 2500 years ago, in the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. While his teachings and thinking has travelled worldwide, it is a hard task to separate the man from the myth. Guest:...
05.02.2016
Confucius 1: The Man Who Moves the Mountain
A philosopher, teacher, and political thinker, Confucius lived 2500 years ago, in the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. While his teachings and thinking has travelled worldwide, it is a hard task to separate the man from the myth. Guest:...
04.19.2016
Catherine the Great 4: Without you, Felitsa
By the end of her reign there was little doubt that Catherine had earned the 'Great' which was attached to her name. But what did Russia make of the empire she had built, and why is she most notably remembered...
04.05.2016
Catherine the Great 3: The Warrior Empress
Catherine the Great took control of Russia, tried to make it a better place, and made sure the rest of the world couldn't ignore it's greatness. Guest: Associate Professor Adrian Jones (History, La Trobe University)
03.22.2016
Catherine the Great 2: Patron and Collector
Catherine the Great is well known for being a patron for a range of artists and intellectuals. Her art collection, now housed in the Hermitage in St Petersburg, is one of the most varied and valuable in the world. Guest: Laurie...
03.08.2016
Catherine the Great 1: Rise of a German Princess
Catherine the Great is one of Russia's most respected rulers, seen as raising Russia's reputation and building a powerful, cultured empire to rival Europe. It's almost hard to imagine that she was a little-known German princess, put into place by...
03.07.2016
Catherine the Great 1: Rise of a German Princess
Catherine the Great is one of Russia's most respected rulers, seen as raising Russia's reputation and building a powerful, cultured empire to rival Europe. It's almost hard to imagine that she was a little-known German princess, put into place by...
02.22.2016
Vida Goldstein
Vida Goldstein was a political activist in Australia, helping Australian women win the right to vote twenty years before Britain. Through tireless campaigning and rallying, she changed the perception of women in politics, and was held up as an example...
02.21.2016
Vida Goldstein
Vida Goldstein was a political activist in Australia, helping Australian women win the right to vote twenty years before Britain. Through tireless campaigning and rallying, she changed the perception of women in politics, and was held up as an example...
02.10.2016
Martin Luther King Jr 2: I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King's effectiveness in the civil rights movement made him the target of fierce opposition, but he was never swayed from protesting. His speech at the March on Washington is famous around the world, and became all the more...
01.25.2016
Martin Luther King Jr 1: They Told Us We Wouldn't Get Here
Issues around the segregation of African-Americans in the United States led to an increasingly active civil rights movement. The most influential figure in this movement was a Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. His persuasive words and non-violent methods...
01.18.2016
Charles Darwin 6: So Many Barnacles, So Little Time
With his work on natural selection and evolution now out in the public for debate, Charles Darwin changes the focus of his research and manages to keep himself busy for the rest of his days. He never manages to top...
01.05.2016
Charles Darwin 5: Darwin's Warm Reception
Charles Darwin's theories didn't just stir up controversy, it polarised society on every level. If Charles Darwin was right, where did that leave the work of God and creation? An ideal example of the reaction to Darwin is illustrated by...
12.15.2015
Charles Darwin 4: How Evolution Works
While Darwin has many theories and important scientific works, the one he is most remembered for is evolution and natural selection. Biography explores how evolution works, and how it has changed since Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species'. Guest: Dr...
12.01.2015
Charles Darwin 3: The Theories of Charles Darwin
Darwin returns from his voyage around the world and spends the next twenty years sorting through specimens and writing about barnacles, plants, and geology. In 1859 he publishes On the Origin of Species, and the world comes to term with...
11.30.2015
Charles Darwin 3: The Theories of Charles Darwin
Darwin returns from his voyage around the world and spends the next twenty years sorting through specimens and writing about barnacles, plants, and geology. In 1859 he publishes On the Origin of Species, and the world comes to term with...
11.17.2015
Charles Darwin 2: The Voyage of the Beagle
Having completed his studies, a young Charles Darwin looks set to continue his exploration of the natural world by joining a voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle. Guest: Dr Alexis Harley (English, La Trobe University).
11.16.2015
Charles Darwin 2: The Voyage of the Beagle
Having completed his studies, a young Charles Darwin looks set to continue his exploration of the natural world by joining a voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle. Guest: Dr Alexis Harley (English, La Trobe University).
11.04.2015
Charles Darwin 1: Before Darwin
Charles Darwin is such a large figure in the world of science that sometimes we forget how different our understanding of life was before he put forward his theories of evolution and natural selection. So how did Darwin grow up,...
10.20.2015
Spartacus 3: The Death and Legacy of Spartacus
Cornered in the toe of Italy, Spartacus and his followers make their final stand. They may lose the battle to Crassus, but thousands of years later it is Spartacus who is remembered. Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe...
10.06.2015
Spartacus 2: Spartacus and the Third Servile War
Spartacus escapes from the gladiatoral schools but isn't perceived of as a threat and has little plans on what to do next. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) discusses how becoming a movement is taken out of...
09.22.2015
Spartacus 1: Spartacus the Gladiator
Who exactly is Spartacus? many of the sources are fragmentary, and provide little insight into the motives of the slave gladiator turned rebellious legend. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) explores the early years of Spartacus. Guest: Dr...
09.21.2015
Spartacus 1: Spartacus the Gladiator
Who exactly is Spartacus? many of the sources are fragmentary, and provide little insight into the motives of the slave gladiator turned rebellious legend. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) explores the early years of Spartacus. Guest: Dr...

What's Biography about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Biography episodes:

Ned Kelly 4: Such is Life

Ned Kelly 3: The Last Stand

Ned Kelly 2: A Short Life of Crime

Ned Kelly 1: Australian Outlaw

Gandhi 4: Father of the Nation

Gandhi 3: Shaking the Foundations

Gandhi 2: Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner

Gandhi 1: A Good Seed is Sown

Themistocles 3: Persuasion and Compulsion

Themistocles 3: Persuasion and Compulsion

Themistocles 2: Indubitable Signs of Genius

Themistocles 1: Great Light of the Greeks

Ely S. Parker

Frida Kahlo 2: Acid and Tender

Frida Kahlo 1: A Ribbon Around a Bomb

Douglas Mawson 3: Flaws in the Ice

Douglas Mawson 2: The Home of the Blizzard

Douglas Mawson 1: The Pole Hunters

Confucius 2: The Master Says

Confucius 1: The Man Who Moves the Mountain

Confucius 1: The Man Who Moves the Mountain

Catherine the Great 4: Without you, Felitsa

Catherine the Great 3: The Warrior Empress

Catherine the Great 2: Patron and Collector

Catherine the Great 1: Rise of a German Princess

Catherine the Great 1: Rise of a German Princess

Vida Goldstein

Vida Goldstein

Martin Luther King Jr 2: I Have a Dream

Martin Luther King Jr 1: They Told Us We Wouldn't Get Here

Charles Darwin 6: So Many Barnacles, So Little Time

Charles Darwin 5: Darwin's Warm Reception

Charles Darwin 4: How Evolution Works

Charles Darwin 3: The Theories of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin 3: The Theories of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin 2: The Voyage of the Beagle

Charles Darwin 2: The Voyage of the Beagle

Charles Darwin 1: Before Darwin

Spartacus 3: The Death and Legacy of Spartacus

Spartacus 2: Spartacus and the Third Servile War

Spartacus 1: Spartacus the Gladiator

Spartacus 1: Spartacus the Gladiator