Ahhh the Regency era, when everyone was obsessed with true crime entertainment, boxing, and illegal gambling. Those were the days! From the East End of London to the quiet rural towns of Norfolk, violence was brewing for a motley crew of fellows, but the roles of hero and villain are as yet unclear.

Folklore and religion collide as we journey to the fine county of Suffolk to hear about the misadventures of a slightly buffoonish devil. Let’s find out why this diabolical fool hates Suffolk so much.

A giant named Moses Carter, farmer of cabbages and thrower of rocks! A psychical investigator called Tony Cornell, who will thoroughly examine your claims of supernatural occurrences and, quite probably, debunk them. What do these two seemingly disparate characters have in common? They were both residents of Cambridge-adjacent village of Histon, of course! And also, we’re going to hear about them in this episode. We’re joined by author and proud Histon-dweller Mike Rampton, who has some theories and also quite a lot of jam.

The Black Death continues its inevitable progress across the country, and East Anglia is next in line. What happens when the plague reaches Cambridge? Nothing good, that’s for sure. It’s pest houses and grave pits all the way, with a sprinkling of quarantine thrown in for good measure. Drinkswise, Rosie reveals her cocktail and it's quite something, plus we try some stouts from Eyam Brewery.

It’s time for the last disease in our trilogy of maladies: the plague! In part 1 we explore the spread and of course the symptoms of the Great Plague aka the Great Mortality aka the Black Death. Are our schoolday recollections of buboes correct? How many plague pits did London have? And what has Bambi got to do with it? Let’s find out.

Our picture is ‘A physician wearing a seventeenth century plague preventive’ from the Wellcome Collection.

A special live recording of our Hallowe’en event at the wonderful Museum of Cambridge on 30th October: stories of grey ladies, poltergeists, haunted pubs, and even a spectral penguin.

It’s time for the next disease: get ready to reabsorb your extremities and fit yourself with a set of jingling bells as we discuss the scourge of the Middle Ages. It’s leprosy! As it turns out, various versions of Robin Hood on TV and film are not a reliable source of information about this unpleasant illness. Amongst the hooded man talk, we also find time to discuss the Cambridge Leper Chapel and the origins of Stourbridge Fair.

Let the autumn of disease begin! For the next few episodes, we’ll be exploring some of the sicknesses and ailments of old Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. We begin with marsh fever, aka the ague, aka the Bailiff of the Marshes, a disease that for many years was endemic across the fen regions. Come with us now and venture into the marsh miasmas and the peaty pools to hear all about the symptoms, treatments, and causes of this unfortunate malady.

Step this way for part two of the Overbury Affair. Things are really hotting up now! All the pieces begin to move into place for the scandal of the century. Public accusations of impotence? Check. A suspicious death in the Tower of London? By all means. Great spiders? Yes! And finally, let’s all cheers with a bacon based drink.

The Overbury Affair has been described as one of the greatest court scandals of the Jacobean era: a web of intrigue and deception that captivated the nation. Even King James himself was implicated! But before we get to the details of the Affair itself, we must first hear about our cast of characters. This includes poet and statesman Sir Thomas Overbury, handsome favourite of the king Robert Carr, and Anne Turner, daughter of Cambridgeshire and purveyor of fashionable yellow ruffs.

We drink ‘The Raven’ (very blue) and a most delicious saffron martini!