The bankers and merchants of Venice's storied past would claim it was coin and trade that was the lifeblood of the City on the Water. But the poets would say it was love and romance that made Venice what it was. While today we might argue that it was lust rather than love that inspired the many romance tales of this city.And who's tale was more full of love and lust than the notorious Giacomo Casanova. 

But was he the hero or the villain of his time? In this week's episode of the Cloak and Dagger podcast, we hear the intriguing and dark story behind history's greatest womanizer… 

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming episodes, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Power and prestige. Two things that kings, queens and emperors have sought since civilisation began. But how far would you go to obtain them? For the people of Venice, the answer turns out to be quite far.

From the ashes of the fallen Roman empire, the city of Venice gained power through trade and commerce as a gateway between the east and west. But for prestige, it needed something more. Something that would elevate this strange city built upon a lagoon into the mighty city state it would soon become. And in 829 CE, two humble merchants would find the key to Venetian prestige half a world away…

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming episodes, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Tranquillity and a sense of peace are two qualities that Japanese culture has a deep respect for. Even in the busy docks of Edo a state of serenity is desirable. But on a misty morning in July 1853, any hint of equanimity was shattered when Edo Bay was forcibly entered by four black ships billowing steam from their funnels.

Japan had been a closed country for over two centuries - suddenly all of that changed. These ships literally began the process of ushering Japan into the modern age and shattering the status quo.

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming episodes, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

To live and die by the sword is a life honoured throughout most of the world, and no place is it respected more than in Japan. Tales of this ancient land are filled with noble samurai and pious monks who fought with honour to protect the helpless and vanquish evil. But history is never so black and white, and even in this land of heroes there are those whose lives are far more grey than we might care to admit.

In the slums and back streets of 17th century Edo, the great city which would one day be named Tokyo, a new type of warrior was gaining infamy. Warriors who came from the lowest rung of Japan's crushing social order and who many would name as criminals. In this week's episode of the Cloak and Dagger podcast, we explore the origins of Japan's infamous criminal syndicates, the Yakuza.

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

They came from the east bringing fire and blood; a black cloud of dust stretching for miles in every direction like a breaking storm. 150,000 warriors, the largest Mongol army ever formed, bearing down on the once great capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Could the forty foot thick walls of the city of Baghdad withstand the might of the Mongol hordes, or would the heart of Islamic learning and religion come crashing down?

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In the west, scientific discovery all but died after the fall of the Roman empire. It would take a thousand years for the likes of da Vinci, Copernicus and Galileo to revitalise the quest for knowledge during the Renaissance, and for that they are known to history as the fathers of modern science

But in the middle east, the art of discovery was not so easily lost. A golden age of science, philosophy and culture blossomed under the rule of the burgeoning Islamic Caliphate, and one city in particular rose out of the desert to become the centre of the scientific world, the City of Baghdad.

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The streets of Victorian London could be a grizzly place. Abject poverty, deadly disease and choking smog were par for the course for most Londoners living below the salt. But a chopped up body, stuffed into a chest and thrown into the river? Even the ‘ardest Londoners' would turn green at the site of that.

But on a chilly January morning in 1879, that is exactly what a poor coal porter would find. And in this week's episode of the Cloak and Dagger Podcast, we hear the bloody tale behind this horrific discovery...

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

1012CE was not a great year for London or England as a whole. Viking raiders were far superior to the Anglo Saxon defences which were in disarray. To make matters worse, the holiest site in the kingdom - Canterbury - had been sacked and the Archbishop had been taken hostage. Listen in to find out what happened next!

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

As dawn broke over a sleepy Alexandria in 1767, the city was tense. A hundred trade deals had been thrown into chaos, bribes had not been paid to the right people and debtors were diving for cover. All of this turmoil had been caused by the arrest and kidnap of a single man. This man was so integral to the running of the city's trade that even after a few hours of his arrest, all hell had broken loose. This is the story of the Dragoman named Roboly. Listen now to find out more!

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Many a brave sailor may say they know the sea, some may even say they are at home on the sea, but no one can claim to control the sea, and woe betide anyone who falls prey to the wrath of the sea.

In 365 CE, the great city Alexandria rose up out of the Mediterranean on the northern coast of Africa; a gateway between the supposedly ‘barbaric’ Pagans of Egypt and the supposedly ‘civilised’ Christians of the Roman Empire. And while the truth behind these groups is far from as simple as that, they will both soon be humbled by the might of the sea.

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license