🎙️ 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

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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

-------

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 we bring you a bonus episode on Stonehenge, digging deeper into the mysteries of the world’s best-known ancient stone circle.

Tony speaks to leading archeologist Mike Parker Pearson and top geologist Jane Evans about Stonehenge’s altar stone, once thought to come from Wales, which is now believed, through zircon analysis, to have originated in northeast Scotland, linking it to wider Neolithic traditions such as Orkney’s architecture and pottery. They also discuss how dating methods have transformed our understanding of Stonehenge and how it uniquely brings together stones from extraordinary distances, perhaps as an attempt to unify Britain’s peoples.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

With

Mike Parker Pearson

Professor of British Later Prehistory, University College London | @ucl

Jane Evans

Honorary Professor in archaeology at the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester and Honorary Research Associate at the British Geological Survey | @britgeosurvey

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

If you enjoyed this episode please do share it and leave us a review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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

Cunningcast is back and Tony is kicking off his new series with one of his favourite subjects, Stonehenge, where new discoveries show that once again this ancient site is throwing up new evidence. Tony has invited his old friend, leading archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson, to discuss the Altar Stone's Scottish origins and its implications for understanding the monument's significance.

Also joining the chat is top geologist Jane Evans, whose new research has revealed the fascinating story of an ancient cow's journey from Wales to Stonehenge. Through isotope analysis, Jane has uncovered insights about the Stonehenge cow's diet and origins, leading to broader implications about our ancient communities and their interactions.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald

With

Mike Parker Pearson

Professor of British Later Prehistory, University College London. He specialises in British and European prehistory from the Neolithic to the Iron Age; Stonehenge and the British Neolithic; the Beaker people of Bronze Age Europe; the archaeology of the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides); the archaeology of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean; the archaeology of death and burial; public archaeology and heritage.

Parker Pearson, M. 2023. Stonehenge: a brief history. London: Bloomsbury Publishing | https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350192263

Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R.I., Bradley, R., Ixer, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G. and Richards, C. 2024. ‘Stonehenge and its Altar Stone: the significance of distant stone sources’. Archaeology International 27: 113–37 | https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/ai/article/id/3293/

Professor Jane Evans

Geologist whose early career focused on using isotope methods for dating rocks. She later turned her expertise toward archaeology, pioneering the use of isotopes to study past human migration. Now retired, she holds honorary professorships in archaeology at the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester and is an Honorary Research Associate at the British Geological Survey. Throughout her career, Jane has used the chemical signatures preserved in human remains to reveal where people came from and how they moved across landscapes. Her work has been central to major discoveries — from uncovering stories at Stonehenge and identifying Viking remains near Weymouth, to contributing to the investigation of King Richard III.

Evans, J., Pashley, V., Wagner, D., Savickaite, K., Buckley, M., Madgwick, R. and Parker Pearson, M. In press. Sequential multi-isotope sampling through a Bos taurus tooth to assess comparative sources in strontium and lead. Journal of Archaeological Science | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440325001189

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Announcing the launch of Season 3 of Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast on Thursday 11th September. Follow us on social media and wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss it!

Series 3 will treat listeners to brand-new episodes covering:

·   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

….And many more fantastic subjects, changing the way we see history.

X: @cunningcastpod

Instagram: @cunningcastpod

Youtube @Cunningcast

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

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

In advance of the new series of his cunningly curated history podcast, coming soon, Tony looks back at the best bits of Cunningcast Series 2 with series producer Melissa FitzGerald.  

Series 2 features fabulous episodes about Tattoos, Bones, Jelly, Magic, Cars, Beards, Bletchley Park, Hadrians Wall, Turnips, Dr Who and more with some incredible guests including: Alice Roberts, David Mitchell, Grace Neutral, Ben Elton, Annie Gray, Richard Curtis and Sophie Aldred.

If you like these best bits but haven’t heard the full episodes, have a wander back on our #Cunningcast feed to check them out.

Follow us on our socials and hit follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss any new episodes of Cunningcast Series 3 coming soon...

Instagram: @cunningcastpod

X: @cunningcastpod

YouTube @Cunningcastpod

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

@SirTonyRobinson

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald 

X | Instagram

@melissafitzg

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

Another chance to hear a Cunningcast Christmas treat: Tony reading his favourite poem ‘Goblin Market’ by Christina Rossetti. He's discussing the context and history of Rossetti’s iconic work with Madeleine Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in Romantic Literature at the University of Sheffield.

In his electrifying reading, Tony captures all the magic and strangeness of ‘Goblin Market’, set in a fairy-tale world where a fraught encounter takes place between the two sisters Laura and Lizzie and a band of sinister goblin merchants who tempt Laura with their ‘forbidden fruits’. Can Lizzie save her sister from the evil Goblin’s temptations?

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

With

Madeleine Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in Romantic Literature at the University of Sheffield. Author of ‘Shelley’s Living Artistry: Letters, Poems, Plays’ (2017) and ‘The Poet-Hero in the Work of Byron and Shelley’ (2019) published by Anthem Press. ‘Eternity in British Romantic Poetry’ (Liverpool University Press), June 2022.

www.sheffield.ac.uk/english/people/academic-staff/madeleine-callaghan

Credits: 

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

Follow:

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Instagram @cunningcastpod

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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To mark Dementia Acton Week, Tony is bringing you a special episode dedicated to the past, present and future of this difficult disease with his expert guest Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society. Dementia the UK’s number one killer, 1 in 3 people will develop dementia in their lifetime and yet most of us don’t know a great deal about it. But this is a defining year in the history of Alzheimer’s with two new drugs: Lecanemab and Donanemab which have been found, for the first time ever, to slow the progression of the disease.  

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

With

Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society.

X @alzheimersoc | FB @alzheimers society | IG @alzheimerssoc

If you’re worried about yourself, or someone close to you, then check your symptoms today using Alzheimer’s Society’s symptom checklist. Visit alzheimers.org.uk/checklist or call the Dementia Support Line on 0333 150 3456

Follow:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

YouTube @Cunningcast

Credits: 

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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

Ben Elton is on Cunningcast today.  Ben was the co-writer on Blackadder Series 2, 3 and 4: they talk about Ben's comedy roots, working on The Young Ones with Rik and Ade and how Ben got the Blackadder gig via a near miss TV sitcom about Madness. They also chew over the highs and lows of working on Blackadder and how Ben and Richard Curtis created 'Adder speak'.

Alongside Blackadder, Ben Elton cut his comedy chops on The Young Ones. He’s a stand-up legend on stage and TV and one of Britain's biggest live comedy acts. His stellar CV includes writing an incredible 17 novels, as well as the hit musicals ‘The Beautiful Game’; ‘We Will Rock You’ and the sequel to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.

Last year Blackadder turned 40, to mark the occasion, Tony made a TV show in which he tracked down the lost Blackadder pilot to discover the truth of Blackadder's beginnings. For the show, Tony interviewed many old friends and people who are central to making Blackadder the success it was. You are hearing Tony’s unedited, behind the scenes chat with Ben Elton, recorded for the programme. The show is called Blackadder: The Lost Pilot and you can watch it on catch up on Sky, Virgin & Now.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

With

Ben Elton | https://benelton.live/

Credits: 

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Blackadder: The Lost Pilot is produced by Red Sauce

A Zinc Media Group production

Follow:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

YouTube @cunningcast

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

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