Legacy

By Original Legacy Productions

Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan tell the wild stories of some of the most extraordinary men and women ever to have lived – and ask whether they have the rep they deserve. Should Nina Simone’s role in ... more

4.3

346346 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Legacy:

How many episodes does Legacy have?

The podcast currently has 114 episodes available.

Legacy episodes:

January 08, 2026 Encore: Gorbachev | Meltdown | 3
On a spring morning in 1986 one of the most catastrophic events in global history occurs - Chernobyl. It brings chaos to the environment, chaos to Europe and chaos to Mikhail Gorbachev's premiership. Will he survive this?

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
40min
January 06, 2026 Encore: Gorbachev | Shutting Down the Cold War | 2
With the levers of power now in his control, Gorbachev steps out on the international stage with one aim: to avoid a nuclear war. He forges a new relationship with US President Reagan, but will it be enough to remove the shadow of armageddon?

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
38min
January 01, 2026 Encore: Gorbachev | The Boy from Stavropol | 1
Shaped by the brutality of the Stalin regime, Gorbachev’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship. But the communist system also works to his strengths, and allows him to reach the very top. All along, he remains a true believer but knows change must happen.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
39min
December 30, 2025 Encore: Charles Dickens | The Final Curtain | 4
At the height of his fame, Dickens falls in love with a young woman (Nelly Ternan) and a city (Paris). He survives a train crash and public disapproval over his separation from his wife. People turn out in droves to see him perform his works on stage. But his lifestyle is catching up with him and his health is failing. What is his final scene to be? We look back at his life and try to work out what “Dickensian” really means.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
43min
December 25, 2025 Encore: Charles Dickens | A Very Dickens Christmas | 3
“A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, everyone!” A Christmas Carol is a huge success and Dickens is an international celebrity. There’s lots of money coming in – Bleak House, Hard Times, David Copperfield all do well - but he has a big family and a lavish lifestyle to fund, as well as his Home for Homeless Women. Plus, there’s trouble in his marriage when Dickens’ eye is caught by the turn of a pretty ankle.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
52min
December 23, 2025 Encore: Charles Dickens | Dickensmania | 2
Dickens’ star is on the rise. Sketches by Boz is a success and he publishes The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and more. Plus, he is a hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Dickensmania’ sweeping the United States. But there is tragedy at home. And when his new novel doesn’t do as well as he’d hoped, he needs a new idea. Something to do with Christmas maybe?

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
48min
December 18, 2025 Encore: Charles Dickens | Hard Times | 1
A young Charles is filled with imagination and ambition, but his childhood with humiliation and uncertainty. His father is in and out of debtors’ prison and he is forced to sacrifice his education for a string of menial jobs to make ends meet. But he discovers he has a skill. He can paint pictures with words like no one else can. Could this be his destiny?

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
48min
December 16, 2025 Jane Austen | Feat. Marlon James | It's Jane Austen's World And We're Living In It | 3
Booker Prize winning author - Marlon James joins Afua and Peter to tear open Jane Austen’s world — from slavery shadows to savage social critique — and reveal why her novels still cut like a knife.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:
Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
34min
December 11, 2025 Jane Austen | Proud Or Prejudiced |2
Jane Austen wrote about drawing rooms, dances, and marriage plots — but beneath the lace and manners she was dissecting power, class, gender, and the world-changing revolutions unfolding outside her window. In this episode, Peter and Afua explore the sharp politics, hidden tensions, and unexpected radicalism behind Austen’s most “polite” novels.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
51min
December 09, 2025 Jane Austen | Making The Small Things The Right Size | 1
Jane Austen’s world wasn’t quiet, genteel, or boring — it was full of scandal, class tension, family drama, and the pressures that shaped one of literature’s sharpest minds. In this episode, we trace the messy, revealing early life that forged the writer who made the small things enormous.

Stay connected with Legacy

Follow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
49min

FAQs about Legacy:

How many episodes does Legacy have?

The podcast currently has 114 episodes available.

More shows like Legacy

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,233 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,776 Listeners

American Scandal by Wondery

American Scandal

19,139 Listeners

Real Dictators by NOISER

Real Dictators

5,242 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,318 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

15,596 Listeners

British Scandal by Wondery

British Scandal

2,512 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

2,057 Listeners

Short History Of... by NOISER

Short History Of...

2,852 Listeners

Empire: World History by Goalhanger

Empire: World History

2,473 Listeners

History's Heroes by BBC Radio 4

History's Heroes

508 Listeners

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal by History Hit

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

1,114 Listeners

The Spy Who by Wondery

The Spy Who

596 Listeners

The Rest Is Classified by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Classified

1,112 Listeners

Journey Through Time by Goalhanger

Journey Through Time

263 Listeners