Our Fake History

Famous historical "firsts" tend to be controversial as a rule,

and the world's first circumnavigation is no exception. Ferdinand

Magellan is often celebrated as the first person to sail around the

world, but is that actually true? In many ways the expedition that

is given credit for completing the first circumnavigation may have

actually been one of the era's most disastrous sea-voyages. Who

really deserves the title of "first person to circle to globe?"

Tune in and find out how the flat earth, an island of people with

no heads, and a retirement plan based on cloves all play a role in

the story!
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The story that a woman disguised as man was once elected Pope has been floating around since the 1200's. In fact it was widely believed for hundreds of years that there had once been a real female Pope. But during the tumult of the Protestant Reformation the story was rejected by the Catholic Church, and it has subsequently been scoffed at as a myth. Was Pope Joan just a strange medieval legend, or was her legacy erased by a conspiracy? Tune in and find out how transvestite nuns, anti-popes, and a weird chair with a hole in the seat all play role in the story!
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We have explored the myth of Trojan War and we have sung the Ballad of Heinrich Schliemann. All that's left is to answer the question that has inspired this entire trilogy of episodes. To determine whether or not the Trojan War was based on a verifiable historical event we are going to have to scour the Iliad for clues, peruse ancient Hittite clay tablets, and examine all the archaeological evidence that wasn't thrown in the trash by Heinrich Schliemann. Will we solve the great Trojan puzzle? Tune in and find out how multiple Homers, Sea People, the god of earthquakes, and mean twelve-year-old girls all play a role in the story.    

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In our quest to discover if the Trojan War was a verifiable historical event we have to grapple with the amateur archaeologist who first tried to solve that mystery. Heinrich Schliemann believed that he had found real proof that the city of Troy actually existed. His discoveries were some of the most celebrated archaeological finds of the late 19th century, which earned him the moniker "the father of archaeology".  But Schliemann was also a prolific liar who freely misrepresented his findings and invented wild stories about his personal life. Can we trust one of academia's greatest scoundrels? Tune in and find out how missing gold dust, fake treasures, Mike Meyers, and PT Barnum all play role in the story!

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The story of the Trojan War is one of humanity's oldest tales of armed conflict. For the Ancient Greeks the war represented the bloody end of an historical epoch. The fall of the city marked the end of the so-called "Age of Heroes", and heralded a new era where superhuman demi-gods would no longer walk the earth. But is the Trojan War just a myth, or was there a real conflict that provided the inspiration for the story? It's going to take three whole episodes to find out, so strap in! Tune in and find out how Oceans 11, heroes in drag, and divine bribery all play a role in the story!
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The Pacific Ocean is the most expansive body of water on planet earth. Despite this fact ancient people managed to venture forth into its immensity and create a civilization of incredible sophistication. The question of how the ancients managed to settle the Pacific perplexed academics for generations. This left the door open for some pretty wild theories about the origins of the Polynesians. Chief among these theorists was the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdhal . Heyerdahl's audacious stunts would make the world question the conventional wisdom on the Polynesians. But should his theories be trusted? Tune in and find out how stone giants, Gilligan's Island, and the last cannibal on Fatu Hiva all play a role in the story.
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The Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace is so deeply enveloped in mythology that finding the real man can seem almost impossible. His life story has doubled as both entertainment and propaganda since it was first recounted by the minstrel Blind Harry in the 1400's. The film Braveheart brought the larger-than-life myth of William Wallace to a whole new generation, and also managed to add a few new (fake) details to the Wallace legend. As we close in on the end of William Wallace's life, the fake history really starts to pile up! Listen and find out how spear hedgehogs, reformed pirates, lion fights, and Lando Calrissian all play a role in the story.  
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William Wallace is not only one of Scotland's best loved national heroes, he's also one of the most internationally well-known. His role as a leader in Scotland's medieval wars of independence against the English made him famous, but the poetry of an obscure minstrel named Blind Harry would make him a legend. Blind Harry's epic poem, "The Wallace", would double as Wallace's official biography for centuries, and would inform the script of the 1995 film Braveheart. But, how many of Harry's tall-tales sync up with the verifiable facts of Wallace's life? Listen and find out how fishing pole fencing, the King of England's butt, a booby-trapped bridge, and a whole lot of missing limbs play a role in the story!
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The spear that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross has been one of the most fabled holy relics in history. The so-called "Spear of Destiny" is said to possess incredible supernatural powers that can make its carrier unbeatable in battle. But the spear also carries a terrible curse: lose it and you're dead. Legend has it that the "Spear of Destiny" has passed through hands of Europe's greatest conquerors, and its occult properties are said to have obsessed the Nazis. Tune in and find out how ghost historians, Attila the Hun, pseudo-histories, and a supernatural Forest Gump all play a role in the story. 
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The story of the war between the Aztec (Mexica) empire and the Spanish conquistadors is one of the most dramatic in world history. The accounts of the conquest are diverse and, at times, contradictory. Some sources claim King Montezuma truly believed the conquistador Hernan Cortés was the god Quetzalcoatl. But can these sources be trusted? Tune in and find out how psychedelic flute concerts, the Wizard of OZ, Scrooge McDuck, and novelist Vladimir Nabokov all play a role in the story!  
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