“I  asked: ‘Do you speaka my language?’ He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” Men at Work

Do armies really march on their stomachs? Paul and Mikey tuck into how conflict has transformed food production over the centuries and given us some of our best-loved staples.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Young men make wars…, old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.” Prince Faisal (Lawrence Of Arabia)
The Arabian Peninsula has been pivotal since ancient times, and for good reason. Home to legendary figures such as the Queen of Sheba, and thriving trading hubs linking India to Africa to the Mediterranean, its territories have been fought over for centuries. Time for Paul and Mikey to get some sand between their toes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“They say openly that Christ and his saints slept.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Paul and Mikey look at how one howler of a booze cruise plunged twelfth century England and France into chaos.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I wish for adventure. I wish to matter.” Sins of a Wicked Duke

Good Dukes, Wicked Dukes and Wicked Uncles - Tudor England had them all. Or was that just Shakespearean propaganda? Paul and Mikey dig deep to find out.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.” Josephine Cochrane 

Paul and Mikey look at the life of this groundbreaking entrepreneur and inventor, and the rise of the women’s rights movement in late 19th century America.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Superficial goals lead to superficial results” Attila The Hun

History has cast him as the Biggest, Baddest Barbarian of all time. But Paul’s ready to convince Mikey he should go down as a Hero. Wil this challenge to Gibbon’s masterpiece succeed? Or is it Paul’s Decline and Fall? 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on.” Curious last words of King Frederick William I of Prussia (1713-40) 

Paul and Mikey kick off Season 3 by going Prussian! Join them as they cast a quizzical eye over the man they called the ‘Soldier King’.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“History always has a few tricks up its frayed sleeve. It's been around a long time.” Terry Pratchett

It’s the end of Season 2 and the last of our Extra Helpings. Join the boys as they call time on Episodes 6-10. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Geography is the eye of history” Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598: cartographer and producer of first ‘World Atlas’)

Paul and Mikey get the chance to answer all your questions from Season Two, and squeeze in a few of their own for good measure.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Peccavi - I have sinned (Sindh)” Charles Napier (Major-General British Army in India) 

The arrogance of the British in India knew few bounds. Paul and Mikey pick through probably the worst howler of them all - The First Afghan War.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.