We Are History

How a handful of landmark events and reforms suddenly shook off the hypocrisy, censorship and repression that had plagued Great Britain since Victorian times. (Available in Northern Ireland several decades later)

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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How travelling quacks and snobby doctors held back dentistry for centuries, while millions endured the agony of toothache and wondered why ‘smoking out the tooth worms’ didn’t seem to be working.

Reading List: An Excruciating History of Dentistry by James Wynbrand

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We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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This week Angela drags John around the shops of Britain for about 200 years as we take a look at the history of how we shop. We look at why shopping moved out of town centres and ask the important questions like “Does Selfridges sell fridges?”

Reading: Back to the Shops: The High Street in History and the Future by Rachel Bowlby

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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How the IRA came very close to killing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the British Cabinet and triggered a massive manhunt for that world famous crime fighting agency, the Sussex County Constabulary.

Reading List: Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll

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We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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This week Angela tricks John into learning about the history of April Fool’s Day. Where did it originate? Why do we do practical jokes on people we are supposed to love? Fom the Swiss spaghetti harvest to the Black Cliffs of Dover, we look at some of the best April Fool’s Day pranks across the centuries. And this episode is brought to you in smellovision, so don’t forget to scratch your screen to get the accompanying aromas. Gotcha! 

Reading List:

Practically Joking by Moira Marsh

https://hoaxes.org/af_database 

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We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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Centuries ahead of those “Brits Abroad” tabloid headlines that make us hang our heads in shame, the British were still managing to cause chaos on the continent. The Grand Tour was a chance for upper class boys to kick up their heels and party across Europe under the auspices of an educational expedition, before getting married off and settling down in a massive country pile. A sort of Georgian Gap Year. We look at where they went, what they got up to and what they brought back with them in an age before antibiotics.

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Reading List: The British Abroad: The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century by Jeremy Black

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund We Are History by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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In 18th Century France the Ancien Regime comes up against the Enlightenment and Age of Reason and, spoiler alert, it doesn’t end well for the monarchy. In this episode that serves as a sort of French revolution for dummies we look at what happened, from the storming of the Bastille on, well, Bastille Day to the rise of Napoleon

Reading List:

Vive La Revolution: A Stand-up History of the French Revolution by Mark Steel

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund We Are History by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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How one scruffy Irish popstar saw a terrible famine being reported on his television and decided to do a bit more than just send a cheque to Oxfam. (John spent so long researching this podcast on Live Aid that he thought he might as well do a West End Musical about it at the same time). 

Reading List:

The Eighties, One Day, One Decade by Dylan Jones; 

Is That It by Bob Geldof

Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund We Are History by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parrett. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production

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Just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8, we dig into the surprising history of this worldwide celebration of patriarchy-pummeling. Angela Barnes and feminism “expert” John O’Farrell trace IWD’s roots from its beginnings in Communist countries in the early 20th century via a brazen American attempt to cover up its origins… and never once says “yeah, but when is it International Men’s Day?”  

Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Production by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parrett. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production.

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John O’Farrell and Angela Barnes return for a new season of We Are History! In this first episode they explore how the British had a very polite revolution without anyone getting hurt, and then pretended they’d actually wanted to be invaded by a big foreign army.

Support We Are History on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes, mugs and more! https://patreon.com/WeAreHistory

Reading List:

Happy and Glorious: The Revolution of 1688 - Michael Wilson

We Are History is written and presented by Angela Barnes and John O’Farrell. Audio production by Simon Williams and artwork by James Parrett. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. We Are History is a Podmasters Production.

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