How do you enjoy your tea, gin, and tobacco? In 18th century England the answer was simple: smuggled into the country without paying due taxes please! Yes, it’s time for the Ruth is Stranger team to tackle the topic of smuggling. It’s part customs and excise, part noses getting snipped off, and part wondering whether your favourite podcasters will be poisoned by an unpleasant and potentially toxic cocktail.

‘The Smugglers’ by George Morland, from The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.