This year, alongside writing his own book, Tony was gripped by that of another writer - Ian Leslie’s ‘John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs’. Tony, who is a lifelong Beatles fan, has invited Ian onto Cunningcast to chat all about The Beatles. 

In Part 1 of this 3 Part mini-series, Ian and Tony explore how a shared adolescent intensity, mutual trauma, and obsessive love of music forged the unique and complex relationship between John and Paul that fuelled the Beatles’s extraordinary innovation. This is audible in songs such as We Can Work It Out and If I Fell, where harmonic complexity reflects their intertwined identities. They trace how the band's early experiences, especially in Hamburg, were transformative, exposing them to avant-garde influences, encouraging them to see themselves as artists, and blending silliness and Dada-like humour, which ultimately helped them discover who they were as a band. 

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Ian Leslie | www.ian-leslie.com

Ian Leslie is the author of acclaimed and bestselling books on human psychology and creativity which have been translated into over a dozen languages. Malcolm Gladwell describes him as “one of my favourite writers”. Ian has written for the Financial Times, the Economist, the New York Times, The Sunday Times, and the New Statesman, among others, covering everything from technology to politics to music.

‘John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs’ | https://ian-leslie.com/johnandpaul/ | The New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller

Follow us on our socials:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast | TikTok @cunningcast

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Thank you, Love Tony x

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In this bonus episode, Tony and his guests the veterinary scientist Daniel Mills and dog historian Stephanie Howard-Smith discuss how our attitudes towards dogs, and mourning their deaths, have evolved. We hear about the dog paintings of Edwin Landseer from Stephanie and how dogs read human emotions and 'love' us in their own way from Daniel. Together they discuss how growing empathy, affluence, and changing culture have transformed our bond with dogs from practical companionship to heartfelt connection, whose loss is deeply felt and openly mourned. As Stephanie says, ‘would it be heaven if your dog wasn’t there?’

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, University of Lincoln | https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/researchatlincoln/meetourexperts/danielmills/

Daniel Mills is a leading UK-based veterinary behavioural medicine specialist at the University of Lincoln, recognised internationally for his work on companion animal behaviour, cognition, and welfare. He is known for his "psychobiological approach," which integrates psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural biology to understand and manage problem behaviours in animals. His research focuses on animal emotions and how this knowledge can improve human-animal relationships and working animal performance.

Dr Stephanie Howard-Smith | https://www.instagram.com/doghistorian/

Stephanie Howard-Smith is a historian of human-dog relations. Her research focuses on the role of lapdogs in British society and culture, including their representation in literature, visual arts, and material culture. She is also currently researching canine wellbeing in Georgian Britain. Her book: ‘Yap, A Short History of Small Dogs’ is due out next year.

Follow us on our socials:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast and Tik Tok

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If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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Tony is a great dog lover but sadly since he made ‘Do Our DOGS Really Love Us?’ In Series 1 he lost his beloved Holly-Berry, a rescue Westie. He has since tried another dog ‘adoption’ which didn’t work out so well, so today, Tony wants to explore how and why dogs have become the ‘perfect’ pets and our sentimental attachments to them in life and death. How and do we bond with our dogs, and why is it so difficult when we don’t? 

In this 'dogcast', Tony is exploring humanity’s deep and complex relationship with dogs: from the ancient domestication of wolves to our modern emotional bonds with fashionable breeds with the veterinary behaviourist Prof Daniel Mills and Dr Stephanie Howard-Smith, a cultural historian of dogs and their humans.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, University of Lincoln | www.lincoln.ac.uk/researchatlincoln/meetourexperts/danielmills/

Daniel is a leading veterinary behavioural medicine specialist at the University of Lincoln, recognised internationally for his work on companion animal behaviour, cognition, and welfare. He is known for his "psychobiological approach," which integrates psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural biology to understand and manage problem behaviours in animals. His research focuses on animal emotions and how this knowledge can improve human-animal relationships and working animal performance.

Dr Stephanie Howard-Smith | www.instagram.com/doghistorian/

Stephanie is a historian of human-dog relations. Her research focuses on the role of lapdogs in British society and culture, including their representation in literature, visual arts, and material culture. She is also currently researching canine wellbeing in Georgian Britain. Her book: ‘Yap, A Short History of Small Dogs’ is due out next year.

Follow us on our socials:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast, please follow the show and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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One of Tony’s favourite things going on at Sutton Hoo currently is the reconstruction of the world-famous Sutton Hoo burial ship which was discovered in Mound 1 in 1939 by the archaeologist Basil Brown. The ship is believed to be the grave of King Rædwald, the 7th Century Anglo-Saxon ruler of East Anglia.

The Sutton Hoo Ships Company is a project based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, which is using an army of committed volunteers and some dedicated staff to reconstruct the ship, using the original archaeological evidence, traditional tools, and authentic materials to bring the ninety-foot ship back to life. Today leading Sutton Hoo archaeologist Professor Martin Carver, gives us a guided tour of the project. 

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Professor Martin Carver | www.martincarver.com

British archaeologist renowned for his work on early medieval Europe. After serving 15 years in the Royal Tank Regiment, he transitioned to archaeology, founding the Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit. He was Professor of Archaeology at the University of York (1986–2008) and led major excavations at Sutton Hoo in the 1980s.

Martin is a director of The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company, which aims to build a full-size and seaworthy replica of the Anglo-Saxon ship found in Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo | www.saxonship.org

Visit Sutton Hoo National Trust:

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/sutton-hoo

Watch Time Team, Sutton Hoo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=risyQhRjwnw

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast, please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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Today Tony is digging up the secrets of Sutton Hoo, England’s iconic Anglo-Saxon royal burial site, with Professor Martin Carver, who led the 1980s excavations, and Laura Howarth, Archaeology and Engagement Manager at Sutton Hoo, National Trust. 

The 1939 dig by Basil Brown for landowner Edith Pretty, revealed the shape of a ship beneath a mound. It turned out to be a 7th-century royal ship burial filled with magnificent treasures: 'a poem written in objects', possibly belonging to King Rædwald. These included the now famous helmet and many other treasures originating from across Europe, Byzantium, and even as far as Sri Lanka.

In the 1980s, Martin led further excavations, revealing a horse and warrior burial and even an execution cemetery, showing Sutton Hoo as an evolving political and spiritual landscape. Today excavations, in collaboration with Time Team, continue to reveal Sutton Hoo's secrets. As Laura says, “we’ll never know everything about Sutton Hoo, but each generation can look at it with fresh eyes.”

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Professor Martin Carver | www.martincarver.com

British archaeologist renowned for his work on early medieval Europe. After serving 15 years in the Royal Tank Regiment, Martin transitioned to archaeology, founding the Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit. He was Professor of Archaeology at the University of York (1986–2008) and led major excavations at Sutton Hoo and Portmahomack. Martin also edited the journal Antiquity (2002–2012) and is a Fellow of the British Academy. Martin is a director of The Sutton Hoo Ship's Company, which aims to build a full-size and seaworthy replica of the Anglo-Saxon ship found in Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo | www.saxonship.org

Laura Howarth | www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Archaeology and Engagement Manager at National Trust, Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. Laura combines archaeological expertise with public engagement, curating exhibitions, organising events, and managing educational activities to bring the site's rich history to life.

Visit Sutton Hoo National Trust:

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/sutton-hoo

Watch Time Team, Sutton Hoo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=risyQhRjwnw

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Tony is diving beneath the surface of one of history’s most enduring legends: Atlantis. Joining him are maritime archaeologist and bestselling author, David Gibbins, and the writer Damian Le Bas. A life-long fascination with the Atlantis myth has shaped both their work.

Together they explore the shifting meanings of Atlantis, from Plato’s parable to pop culture icon. They look at the political allegory of Plato’s story as a critique of imperialism, how Atlantis has been reinterpreted across history, and the metaphorical idea of Atlantis as a horizon of unknowing: both a physical and philosophical “beyond".

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

David Gibbins | www.davidgibbins.com/biography

Maritime archaeologist and bestselling author, David’s twelve novels have sold over three million copies and are published in 30 languages. David’s been a passionate diver since boyhood and has led many expeditions to investigate historic shipwrecks and other underwater sites around the world, including the Mediterranean, Britain and Canada.

His recent non-fiction book, ‘A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks’, represents a lifelong fascination with underwater archaeology and the place of ships and shipwrecks in world history.

Damian Le Bas | IG @damianlebas

Writer, filmmaker and visual artist. Damian’s first book ‘The Stopping Places’ won the Somerset Maugham Award, a Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award, and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year.

In his second book ‘The Drowned Places’, Damian explores the meaning we find in sunken ruins around the world in this spellbinding love letter to diving.

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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Tony has been lucky enough to dive all over the world, he’s even dived on the Titanic with the film director James Cameron. So today on Cunningcast, Tony’s exploring underwater history with David Gibbins, maritime archaeologist and author of A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks, and Damian Le Bas writer, filmmaker and author of The Drowned Places.

Together they explore how shipwrecks are time capsules that reveal human stories and global connections, from the Bronze Age Dover Boat to the lavish Uluburun wreck off Turkey and the sunken pirate city of Port Royal, Jamaica. Symbols of past human endeavour, shipwrecks and sunken ruins become homes to underwater life, and are constantly changing, as Damian says, they represent an ‘accidental collaboration between humans and nature’.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

David Gibbins | www.davidgibbins.com/biography

Maritime archaeologist and bestselling author, David’s twelve novels so far have sold over three million copies and are published in 30 languages. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow. David’s been a passionate diver since boyhood, and has led many expeditions to investigate historic shipwrecks and other underwater sites around the world, including the Mediterranean, Britain and Canada.

His recent non-fiction book, ‘A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks’, represents a lifelong fascination with underwater archaeology and the place of ships and shipwrecks in world history.

Damian Le Bas | IG @damianlebas

Writer, filmmaker and visual artist. Damian’s first book ‘The Stopping Places’ won the Somerset Maugham Award, a Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award, and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year.

In his second book ‘The Drowned Places’ Damian explores the meaning we find in sunken ruins around the world in this spellbinding love letter to diving.

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎙️ Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast is back, with new episodes dropping Thursdays…

Actor, presenter and author, Sir Tony Robinson is back with another series of his hit ‘history with a twist’ podcast. Throughout the series, the ‘eternally curious’ Sir Tony combines his unique blend of wit, brains, and humour, with his passion for popular history to explore a new selection of his cunningly curated histories with a line-up of expert guests. 

➕ Follow Cunningcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts now to hear Tony and his guests explore fantastic new topics, including: 

🪨 New discoveries at STONEHENGE

🇷🇺 Who is Vladimir PUTIN and what makes him tick?

🪏Uncovering the mysteries of SUTTON HOO

⚓️ In search of SHIPWRECKS and SUNKEN CITIES

✍️ Who wrote the BIBLE?

👑 Tony’s book tie-in special on ALFRED THE GREAT

No subject is off limits... because everything has a history.

🎙️ Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | IG @sirtonyrobinson 

📻 Produced by Melissa FitzGerald I X @melissafitzg 

X: @cunningcastpod

Instagram: @cunningcastpod

Youtube @Cunningcast

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Today we bring you a bonus episode on Vladimir Putin, digging deeper into who he really is and what makes him tick.

Tony and his expert guests Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan unpick the man from the myth. They discuss how Putin is a pragmatic, cautious leader, shaped more by circumstance than by ideology, as Anna says, “he is very much driven by the needs of the moment, and this is why you'll see very different iterations of Putin throughout his rule. He was not always this quasi-imperialist that we see today.”

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Mark Galiotti | X @MarkGaleotti

Honorary professor at UCL and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence, Mark has been studying Russia since 1988 and was banned indefinitely from it in 2022.

‘Downfall: Putin, Prigozhin, and the fight for the future of Russia’ (Ebury/Penguin, June 2024)

'We Need to Talk About Putin: How the West gets him wrong' (Penguin, 2019) 

Anna Arutunyan | X @scrawnya

Russian-American writer who spent two decades as a journalist in Moscow, where she wrote for The Moscow News and other publications around the world. She served as senior Russia analyst for the International Crisis Group before leaving Russia in 2022 and is the author of five books about the country, its politics, society and its wars. She is currently associate director of Mayak Intelligence and lives in the UK.

‘Rebel Russia: Dissent and Protest from the Tsars to Navalny' (Polity Books, May 2025)

‘The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult’ (Interlink Books, 2014)

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vladimir Putin casts a shadow over our lives, but it wasn’t always that way, there was a time when the West was in love with Putin, so what’s happened? Today Tony and his guests Mark Galeotti and Anna Arutunyan unpick the man from the myth.

They discuss how Putin was shaped by a tough childhood in Leningrad, his KGB years and formative time in East Germany, how he rose through the political ranks in the 1990s as a ‘everyone’s favourite bag-man’, until he was hand-picked to be Yeltsin’s successor.

At first President Putin restored order and wealth to a chaotic Russia, but he also built a system of fear and cronyism around him, similar to a Medieval court. They argue that once he could have been remembered as a stabiliser, instead he is now viewed as a paranoid strongman, whose need for control has dragged Russia into repression and conflict.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

With

Mark Galiotti | X @MarkGaleotti

Honorary professor at UCL and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence, Mark has been studying Russia since 1988 and was banned indefinitely from it in 2022.

‘Downfall: Putin, Prigozhin, and the fight for the future of Russia’ (Ebury/Penguin, June 2024)

'We Need to Talk About Putin: How the West gets him wrong' (Penguin, 2019) 

Anna Arutunyan | X @scrawnya

Russian-American writer who spent two decades as a journalist in Moscow, where she wrote for The Moscow News and other publications around the world. She served as senior Russia analyst for the International Crisis Group before leaving Russia in 2022 and is the author of five books about the country, its politics, society and its wars. She is currently associate director of Mayak Intelligence and lives in the UK.

‘Rebel Russia: Dissent and Protest from the Tsars to Navalny' (Polity Books, May 2025)

‘The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult’ (Interlink Books, 2014)

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

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If you enjoy this podcast please do share it and leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.