A special episode on possibly the most overlooked of all BFTP's historical figures so far, General Franco, who led Spain through 36 years of oppression. Billy and Anna are joined by Hispanic superfan Izzy, to ask where Basque, Gallician and Catalan culture would be today without him, and how his regime of violence and oppression still moulds Spain's daily politics today.

Daniel joins us once again for a chit chat about Elizabeth I - feminist or meninist? Virgin queen or saucy fiend? And might we have had different plays on our GCSE syllabus than Romeo and Juliet, if Elizabeth hadn't existed..?

Today Izzy joins us to find out about one of history's hidden figures: the NASA mathematician whose calculations (by hand!) saw the US win the space race in 1969. Where would we be without her crucial contribution to space exploration in the 20th century?

How and why did American artist Andy Warhol blast 20th century norms out of the window to make art a reflection of our banal everyday? Was he the reason art became a money-making business from the 80s onwards? And is he the reason we're obsessed with documenting our lives on Youtube and Instagram?! Join Anna and Billy with their excellent guest Tom for your first ever BFTP from Covid quarantine.

Billy and Dan are back! And this week we're talking about the music of Tupac, the conflicts that defined his life and work, and his eye-opening poetry which mapped the realities of African-Americans in the 70s/80s and 90s.

An extremely topical conversation between pseudo-intellectuals Anna, Tom and Daniel (Rees) about the way Said's concept of Orientalism made us in the West reconsider how we view and talk about Eastern Asia and the Middle East. Is there such a thing as a positive stereotype...? Also: Said's contributions to the musical world.

Anna and her two fantastic guests Tom and Izzy learn together about Wangari Maathai, an astonishing woman from Kenya whose passions and feats crossed politics, feminism, and environmentalism.

Tom, Billy and Anna talk about the dictatorial reign of Chairman Mao, from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to his death in 1976. We cover a lot - China's industry, Tibetan Buddhism, Taiwan, whether Jesus was a cult figure... More importantly though, Billy introduces us to the future of Brakeism, The Billy Brake School of Thought.

Izzy joins us again to talk about a fascinating person this week - drag queen, AIDS and queer activist Marsha P Johnson. How did her persona and activism influence those around her, and into the modern day? Would she have been forced to fight the same fight in 2020 as in the 60s and 70s?

Dan joins us again for a fascinating chat about Ali the person and Ali the boxer - and how the two converged to make a formidable figure who still impacts political activism today.