The ‘Green Fairy’ was the party drink of the Belle Époque, featuring in artworks, poetry and literature. But then it was framed for a heinous crime... 

Guest: Evan Rail - food and drink writer; author of The Absinthe Forger. 

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These days chemotherapy is a common treatment for cancer. But did you know that part of the reason it exists today is because of a terrible accident that happened in Italy during the Second World War, that was immediately covered up? 

Guest: Jennet Conant - journalist and author of The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer.

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When the US wanted to beat the Nazis, they turned to an unlikely ally: the Mafia. But who really won as a result of this clandestine coalition? 

Guest: Matthew Black - historian and author of Operation Underworld: How the Mafia and U.S. Government Teamed Up to Win World War II

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It's one of the most famous events of modern history, but what if the fall of the Berlin Wall began with a small slip up during a routine press conference?

Guest: Dr Katrin Schreiter - Senior Lecturer in German and History, Kings College London. 

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Meet Phineas Gage, railroad foreman and all-round good guy. That is, until a giant metal pole shoots through his brain. What happens next will change neuroscience forever.  

Guest: Sam Kean – author of The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons: The History of The Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery.

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What if the only reason we have French fries today is because of Marie Antoinette and her mates? Join Marc as he uncovers the wild history of the potato. 

Guest: Dr Lauren Samuelsson - Food historian and Associate Lecturer, University of Wollongong.

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What if one of the mainstays of modern warfare was invented by the Confederates during the American Civil War, to gain an 'ungentlemanly' advantage?

Guest: Dr James Hunter - Curator of Naval Heritage and Archaeology at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

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These days people line up for hours to see Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. But at one stage there were so few viewers that she was remarkably easy to steal. In fact, for a while, no one even noticed she was gone... 

This is the story of the sensational crime that turned a portrait into a legend.  

Guest:  Mary McGillivray - art historian and content creator.

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The bit players, the unexpected twists, the turning point you missed. Join Walkley award-winner Marc Fennell as he uncovers the incredible moments that changed the course of history.

Starts Tuesday, April 8.