In this bonus episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, take a FURTHER MEATY bite out of the UTTERLY BIZARRE history of SHARKS! Which is all about power and status in ancient China, Pompeii, education, irrational fear, the Spanish Americas in the sixteenth century, and much much more….

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Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, take another bite out of the frankly fascinating history of SHARKS! Which is all about power and status in ancient China, Pompeii, education, irrational fear, the Spanish Americas in the sixteenth century, and much much more….

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis don the bling of the past to explore the unexpected history of JEWELLERY! Which is all about amulets, magical powers and animal protection (via native Americans, Tudor caul lockets and unicorn horns) and eighteenth-century lockets. It's also all about the Mughals, courtesans and female power, the Queen's jewels and the Cullinan Diamond! Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis head outdoors and pitch camp in order to savour the unexpected history of TENTS! Which is all about ancient Rome and the Dacian campaign recorded on Trajan’s Column in Rome, the Industrial Revolution, nomadism, and the American Civil War. It's also all about Tudor glamping, Henry VIII and the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and Roald Amundsen and the journeying to the South Pole (and the current location of his expedition, the Fram)! Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis scratch their collective heads really hard and blink their collective eyes many times to grabble with befuddlement the unexpected history of DISBELIEF! Which is all about abortion rights and the overturning of Roe Verses Wade by the US Supreme Court; it's about the first use of poisoned gas in the trenches and first-hand witness accounts of people not being able to believe their eyes; and it's also about atheism and disbelief in god in the past. Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis carefully roll out the pastry of the past, fill it with meat of memory and tuck in to devour the unexpected history of PASTIES! Which is all about Cornish diaspora (via Michigan, Australia and elsewhere around the globe where this tasty foodstuff has travelled), myth busting, and 3D scanning and printing of one of the last pasties that a Plymouth woman ever made! It's also all about Tudor recipes passed down the generations, and a material reading of a radical pasty recipe! Yes, you heard it here - a radical pasty recipe! Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis walk very carefully down the pathway of the past to stumble upon the unexpected history of FOOTSTEPS! Which is all about Roman civilisation, animal prints frozen in time, and treading in the footsteps of the past! It's also all about the history of religion, pilgrims and pilgrimages, and the religious routes mapped across the world from ancient times to the present. Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis bring out the paper plates and plastic cups and reach into the decorations box of the past to celebrate in jubilant fashion the unexpected history of BUNTING! Which is all about celebrations, pageantry and of course the Queen's Platinum Jubilee! It’s also all about pennants and naval history, southern pride and the making of the US flag! Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis bring out the paper plates and plastic cups of the past to celebrate in jubilant fashion the unexpected history of STREET PARTIES! Which is all about celebrations, peace, the coming together of communities and of course the Queen's Platinum Jubilee! It’s also all about town planning, block parties, riots and protests against Vietnam in 1969 during the Mifflin Street Block Party in Madison Wisconsin! Who knew!

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In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis tip of the condiment bottle of the past and pour out the unexpected history of KETCHUP! Which is all about eighteenth-century housewives, cookery and medicine; it's about crime and poisoning and Jonathan Swift's poetry! It’s also all about US nationalism, geopolitics and trade wars (including McDonalds pulling out of Russia in 2022), spaghetti westerns, and who could forget Mr Henry J. Heinz! Who knew!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.