The Gallimaufry

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Ancient, pointy, symmetrically impressive, no this is not Keith Richards, but the Pyramids. Engineering marvels from one of the oldest and greatest nations to exist. Find out how, why and who built this majestic tombs in the episode, but honestly the short version is, if you want something built to last and built right, call an Ancient Egyptian. 

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Is it "fantastic?" A truly 21st century invention, although actually, plastics go back centuries and most modern plastics were actually discovered in the 19th century...however it certainly embodies the sprit of capitalist consumerism. From our soda bottles, to our clothes, plastic is everywhere, and has made our society possible. Find out the fascinating history of how it went from wonder material to villainous turtle killer (which is ironic in a way....)

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

The story of Enron is one of greed, corruption, incompetence and toxicity, all the hallmarks of a successful American enterprise. One of the biggest financial scandals in business history kicked off the 21st century. Once described as "the smartest guys in the room", admittedly by themselves, the big brains at Enron did at least change the course of history, by showing us all how a business should never, ever be run.

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

The Great War has ended, thousands of citizens from across the colonies have answered the call of the Empire, but now the dust has settled, the troops are home, they are no longer welcome. Despite also existing as communities for centuries in Britain, Black and Arab people found themselves the target of racial violence and were told to "go home", as tempers flared ostensibly over jobs. Race riots that were never thought possible on Britain's shores, became a reality, erupting in major cities, including Cardiff and Liverpool. 

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Often called the Russian Lincoln, we take a look at the life of Alexander the 2nd of well...Russia. Thought of as too emotional and lazy by his peers, he certainly showed them! Known for emancipating the serfs and trying desperately to reform Russia against a rising tide of violent terrorism, Alexander ultimately fell to an assassin's bomb. In his life he managed to make seismic changes to Russia, but his death would go on to have an even greater impact...

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

War. War never changes, but the reasons do! And while it may sound strange anyway to start one over fancying another person's bit of land for yourself, there are even more absurd reasons! Gunning down pigs and dogs, non-vegan gun cartridges, overpriced bakeries... there are certainly some interesting stories here that go to show precisely why we have the Darwin awards.

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Nowadays it's a given that the earth sits orbiting the sun, but not always! For centuries, in fact you could say not that long ago, we thought the earth was the centre of the universe. I mean why not? We're God's chosen or something right? So to make this a reality lots of people came up with complicated systems to explain it, that didn't really work, then thankfully Copernicus came along and said you're doing it wrong. If you like circles, you'll love this one. 

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Ah the life of a spy. Fast cars, strange gadgets, glamorous women and....er corpses. Well one corpse to be precise. Hear the unbelievable and outrageous tale of Operation Mincemeat, the successful plan to disguise the Invasion of Sicily from Adolf and his gang, all using a phoney set of orders planted on a soldiers body.  And it was basically lifted straight from a dodgy spy novel you could read in most bookshops, which apparently was all the criterion you needed to be in espionage back then...

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

Bones, broomsticks, japes and jack o' lanterns, Halloween is a day packed with fright and fun, but where did it all come from? Is it just another phoney day ripe for corporations to profit off? Or does it in fact have a long, rich and mildly complicated history stretching back centuries in the British and Irish isles? No clues there...Anyway join us on a spooky trip to where the night originally known as All Hallow's Eve began...

Send us your messages or topic ideas.

From voluminous tomes to last night's takeaway, the printing press was responsible for making the printed word accessible for everyone. It helped challenge ideas, spread knowledge and enable the fast production of everyones favourite dirty magazines. What's not to love? But where did it come from and who invented it? Was it the man from Mainz or perhaps somewhere a little further east....