Just Passing Through Podcast

Send us Fan Mail

Eddie St. James ~ Fever Burn

Sometimes the world has a funny way of circling back.
A few weeks after episode 182 — our story of Samuel Sharpe, the man who freed Jamaica — I noticed something strange: a sudden spike in downloads all across the island.

That’s when I heard from Eddie St. James — a Jamaican-born soul singer with French roots, a voice aged in smoky bars, and a heart that still beats to the rhythm of the road.
He told me the Sharpe episode hit home, reminded him where his fire comes from.

Now he’s lighting that flame again with his brand-new single, “Fever Burn.”
It’s raw, it’s soulful, and it sounds like the heat of Kingston meeting the heart of the blues.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 231

Brighton, October 1984 — The Aftermath

The blast has faded, but its echo still hangs in the air.
Smoke drifts through the wreckage of the Grand Hotel — splintered glass, twisted steel, and the heavy silence of disbelief.

Yet by morning, the Conservative Party conference resumes. Voices return to the same hall now shadowed by loss, determination standing where fear had settled overnight.

Outside, the manhunt begins. Streets are searched, names whispered, evidence pieced together. Patrick Magee — the unseen hand — becomes the most wanted man in Britain.

Years later, in a moment few could imagine, the story bends toward something unexpected.
From the ruins of Brighton rises a conversation — not of vengeance, but of understanding.
A woman whose father was lost, and the man who took him — meeting face to face.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 230

Brighton, October 1984.

A calm seaside city, glittering under streetlights and the low hum of the pier. The gulls cry over the Channel, taxis roll along the promenade, and the Grand Hotel stands proud — polished brass, white stone, and the smell of salt drifting through its doors.

Inside, the Conservative Party gathers. Politicians, reporters, and aides crowd the corridors, their voices bright with politics and champagne. The Prime Minister will speak tomorrow. It is business as usual.

But hidden within the walls, deep behind a panel and layers of plaster, time is ticking.
Patrick Magee — quiet, methodical, unseen — has already done his work. Weeks before, he planted a device with care and calculation. He has left the town, but his presence lingers in the wiring, in the silence, in the waiting.

As the clock edges toward the early hours, Brighton sleeps.
The sea whispers against the stones. A city unaware. A hotel holding its breath.

And then, in one terrible instant, the night erupts —
glass, flame, dust, and history breaking open.

This is how it began.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 229

In the smoky glow of 1970s British television, one face stood out — sharp-eyed, restless, and always on the brink of outrage or brilliance. Leonard Rossiter wasn’t your typical leading man. He was wiry, precise, and gloriously unpredictable — the kind of performer who could turn irritation into art. From the chaotic charm of Rising Damp to the razor wit of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Rossiter built a career on discomfort — his own and everyone else’s. But behind the impeccable timing and those famous grimaces lay a man driven by perfection, haunted by self-doubt, and utterly devoted to the craft of acting. This is the story of a performer who never quite fit the mould — and that’s exactly why he became unforgettable.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 228

Sir Christopher Wren is a name that instantly conjures images of soaring spires, intricate domes, and some of the most iconic buildings in London. Born in 1632, Wren was not just an architect—he was a polymath, equally at home with mathematics, astronomy, and anatomy. Yet it’s his work after the Great Fire of London in 1666 that cements his place in history. Tasked with rebuilding a city in ruins, Wren transformed the skyline, blending classical grandeur with innovative engineering. St. Paul’s Cathedral stands as his crowning achievement—a testament to vision, resilience, and genius. But behind the sketches and blueprints was a man driven by curiosity and ambition, navigating a world of science, art, and politics. This is the story of Sir Christopher Wren, a builder of dreams and a master of the skyline.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 227

He painted saints and sinners with the same trembling hand — his own. Born in chaos, driven by passion, and hunted by his past, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio turned paint into confession. His art shocked Rome with its brutal honesty and divine beauty, forever changing how the world saw light, flesh, and faith. But behind every masterpiece stood a man at war with himself — violent, brilliant, and desperate for redemption.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 226

The air is thick with the scent of pine and steel.
 A lone figure stands on the bank of a quiet river, the rising sun glinting off the blade at his side. His hair is wild, his kimono worn, his eyes fixed on the rippling water. Soon, he will fight a man who has spent his life preparing for this one moment. Musashi, though—he has no plan. Only instinct, chaos, and the certainty that he cannot lose.

But how did a boy from the mountains of Harima become Japan’s most legendary swordsman? A man who fought over sixty duels and never once tasted defeat. Who turned his back on fame, embraced solitude, and sought truth not in blood—but in art, calligraphy, and philosophy.

This is not just the story of a warrior.
 It’s the story of a man who forged his own path through violence, silence, and the endless pursuit of mastery.

This… is A Short History of Musashi Miyamoto.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 225

A man sits hunched over a workbench. His fingers are raw, stained black with soot and resin. The air is thick with the acrid smell of burning rubber, sulfur biting at the back of his throat. It is the middle of the 19th century, and while the rest of America surges ahead with steam, steel, and expansion, Charles Goodyear is locked in a tiny workshop, chasing an obsession.

He has no money. His family lives in poverty. The world laughs at him, mocks his failures, and turns its back. But Charles refuses to let go of the sticky, unstable substance in his hands. He believes, against all odds, that he can transform it into something useful, something indestructible.

This is not just a story about an invention. It is about sacrifice, desperation, and genius. A man who gambled everything—his fortune, his health, even his dignity—on a material the world thought was worthless. And how, in the end, he changed not only industry, but everyday life, forever.

This is the story of Charles Goodyear.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 224

It is the spring of 1892 in Harlem, Georgia. The air is heavy with the scent of pine and the sharp sound of train whistles drifting across the small Southern town. In a modest home, a boy named Norvell Hardy — later known to the world as Oliver — is born into a family that knows both comfort and tragedy. His father, a respected Confederate veteran turned county treasurer, dies when Norvell is just ten months old. His mother, Emily, strong and resourceful, raises him almost single-handedly, keeping her son close even as he grows restless, stubborn, and larger than life.

This boy will carry with him not just his mother’s devotion, but also the weight of loss, the charm of the South, and a restless energy that never lets him settle. Years later, audiences won’t know him as Norvell Hardy at all. They will know him as “Ollie,” one half of the greatest comedy duo the silver screen has ever seen. But before he meets Stan Laurel, before the bowler hats and the slow burns, there is a boy in Georgia, already looking for a way to stand in the spotlight.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Episode 223

Fog drifts over the East End of London. The narrow alleys echo with the clatter of horse hooves and the cries of market traders. But beneath the noise and bustle lies another world — one of ragged children huddled in doorways, barefoot, hungry, and forgotten. Into this desperate landscape walks a young man with a fiery vision. Trained in medicine, driven by faith, and stirred by compassion, he dares to ask a dangerous question: what if every child, no matter how poor, could be given shelter, safety, and a chance at life? This is the story of Dr. Thomas Barnardo — and how one man’s dream would change the fate of thousands.

Support the show

Insta@justpassingthroughpodcast
Contact:[email protected]