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What do you see when you hear the words French Foreign Legion? Sun-scorched men marching through the Sahara in blue coats and white kepis? Criminals and fugitives seeking redemption through blood and bullets? Or maybe broken heroes dying in the jungles of Indochina as the last helicopter rises over the ruins of Dien Bien Phu?
It’s a legend soaked in sweat, mystery, and myth. But the truth? It’s stranger, darker, and far more fascinating.
Why does the Legion still pull in thousands of recruits every year — from every corner of the world? Were they all running from something? Were they all men? And does the Legion still live up to its brutal, glorious reputation?
Join historian Keith Hockton as he digs into the truth behind the most mythologised military force on Earth — and uncovers the secrets the desert never gave up.
Referral Links:
The French Foreign Legion
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For books written and published by Keith Hocton
www.entrepotpublishing.com
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Scotland’s history doesn’t begin—it emerges, out of mist, blood, and war. The Romans came in 84 AD, pushing their empire to the edge of the known world, halting at the Antonine Wall. But even they couldn’t tame the land beyond. Because something older stirred there—something wilder.
Who were the Picts, these shadowy, painted warriors who vanished from history but left their symbols carved in stone? Who were the Gaels and the Scotti, forging kingdoms in a land soaked in strife? And when the Vikings came—ruthless and relentless—how did their invasion scar the bones of this ancient realm?
Join Keith Hockton as he ventures into the darkness of Scotland’s earliest past—into a world of forgotten tribes, shattered empires, and the violent birth of a nation.
Referral Links:
A History of Scotland
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For books written and published by Keith Hocton
www.entrepotpublishing.com
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He came from the soft green fields of England—but it was the hard, unforgiving earth of Africa that forged him. Gold dust in his lungs, diamonds in his eyes, and empire in his blood, Cecil Rhodes didn’t just chase fortune, he carved it out with sweat, cunning, and the barrel of a gun.
In the shadow of the Matobo Hills and the glare of the Kimberley mines, Rhodes rose, merchant, magnate, megalomaniac. To some, a visionary. To others, a villain. He dreamed not in pages, but in maps, maps that would see British red stretch unbroken from Cape Town to Cairo.
But at what cost? Who paid the price for his ambition? And why does his legacy still scar the soil he once claimed as his own?
This is the story of Cecil Rhodes: a man who built an empire, lost his soul, and left behind a name that still burns with controversy.
Referral Links:
Cecil Rhodes
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For books written and published by Keith Hocton
www.entrepotpublishing.com
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The Inquisitions were a series of institutions within the Catholic Church that were responsible for investigating and suppressing heresy, often through legal processes and sometimes involving severe punishments. Religion and politics have clashed and intertwined in Europe since the beginning of time, and the Inquisitions, yes, there were more than one of them, have played an important role.
Join me, with a cameo from Monty Python's Flying Circus, to discuss the Medieval, Spanish and Roman Inquisitions, and how there is still an inquisition in place today.
Referral Links:
The Spanish Inquisition
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For books written and published by Keith Hocton
www.entrepotpublishing.com
From the publisher's feed
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast…
A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
www.entrepotpublishing.com

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