Welcome to Café del Weirdo. This week’s guest is an explorer of the extraordinary. It's author, researcher, and professional curiosity collector Edward Brooke-Hitching.

Ed is the bestselling author behind The Phantom Atlas, The Madman’s Library, and his brand-new book The Madman’s Orchestra, an illustrated dive into the oddest stories from the history of music.

From cat organs and pig pianos to musical hoaxes, devilish tritones, and lost symphonies, Ed reveals the weird rhythms of history. Expect wild anecdotes, obscure facts, and a few Spotify playlists to soundtrack the madness.

If you're ready to find out which composer wrote music for the Devil, or how a black hole might sing, step into Café del Weirdo and find out.

Host: Dan Schreiber

Guest: Ed Brooke Hitching

Producer: Cassie Merritt

Senior Producer: Ben Tulloh

Head of Factual Podcasts: Al Riddel