Podcast
Our Fake History
Hosted by PodcastOne · EN
A podcast about myths we think are history and history that might be hidden in myths! Awesome stories that really (maybe) happened!
29episodes
Episodes
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Episode #250 - Is Macbeth Cursed?
4w ago01:17:01Tap to summarizeEvery theatre kid can tell you that Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth is a cursed play. Some believe that even saying the name of the play in a theatre where it is not being performed can jinx a production. Stories of misfortune, injury, and death haunt productions of Macbeth like the ghost of a slain friend. It has been suggested that the curse of Macbeth goes all the way back to it's first performance in 1606. However, evidence of this is sketchy at best. When did people start believing that there was a hex on Macbeth? Does it date to the 17th century or is something else going on here? Tune-in and find out how an arrow through Laurence Olivier's leg, Shakespeare in drag, and Charlton Heston's flaming thighs all play a role in the story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #249 - Who Built Rome? (ft. Dr. Emma Southon)
Apr 2101:25:47Tap to summarizeThe Roman Empire is often remembered for it's grand works of architecture and formidable military. However, for most of its history Rome's economy was underpinned by the labour of millions of individuals who had been forced into slavery. Despite the fact that enslaved people quite literally built Rome, their lives were rarely recorded by the ancient historians. In her new book Not Built In a Day historian Emma Southon seeks to bring new attention to Rome's relationship with slavery. Dr. Southon joins Sebastian for a wide ranging chat about Rome's addiction to bondage and the lives of people caught up in the this brutal institution. Tune-in and find out how fake speeches, bogus Bithynians, and heartwarming graffiti all play a role in the story.Pre-order Not Built In a Day here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Not-Built-in-a-Day/Emma-Southon/9781668089552See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Bonus Episode - Minor Miners, Activist Entertainers, and Spanish Painters
Apr 1400:35:02Tap to summarizeIn this bonus episode Sebastian takes question from the listeners about the recent episodes on Henry Box Brown and Snow White. First, we hear some comments from a listener in Iceland who wanted to weigh in on the North American Vikings. Then Sebastian unpacks some tricky questions about the line between activism and entertainment. Finally the host muses about the Mandela Effect and considers an interesting question about little people who were known to serve at the Hapsburg court. Tune-in and find out how the speed of sound, the one ticket sold to Kazaam, and "Minor Miners" all play a role in the story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #248 - Was There a Real Snow White?
Apr 701:22:56Tap to summarizeThe Brothers Grimm once write that "Snow White" was Germany's best known folktale. When the beloved fairytale served as the inspiration for the famous 1937 Disney film the story reached new levels of international recognition. There are many elements of the Snow White tale that seem to be timeless mythic tropes, but there are some in Germany who believe that the character may have been based on a real person. The hunt for the real Snow White has been complicated by pranksters and satirists who have been spoofing the world of "fairytale archaeology" for decades. Is there anything to the theory that Snow White was a real German noblewoman, or is it just an elaborate joke? Tune-in and find out how stunted child laborers, casual cannibalism, and the Mandela effect all play a role in the story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #247 - Was Box Brown Magically Emancipated?
Mar 2401:29:41Tap to summarizeOne of the most celebrated stories from the Underground Railroad is that of Henry Box Brown, the man who mailed himself to freedom. In 1849 Henry Brown successfully had himself shipped out of slavery in a packing crate from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brown's ingenious and audacious escape from slavery immediately caught the attention of abolitionists all over the country. The story of his escape was not only exciting, it was deeply symbolic, and proved a powerful tool that could draw people into the anti-slavery movement. Box Brown soon became one the most sought after speakers on the abolitionist lecture circuit. However, Henry Brown was not content to remain a typical anti-slavery lecturer. He was soon creating elaborate multimedia shows that incorporated music, moving panoramas, and stage magic. His on-stage swagger and flashy style eventually put him at odds with much of the mainstream abolitionist community. Was Henry Box Brown too "glam" for solemn and sober activists who had once been his allies? Tune-in and find out how wombs, tombs, Tricky Sam, and the King of All Mesmerizers all play a role in the story.Check out the merch at out T-Public store HERE!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Bonus Episode - Disappearing Doppelgängers, Viking Thralls, and the Comedy of the Sagas
Mar 1700:40:57Tap to summarizeIn this bonus episode Sebastian takes questions about the recent series on the Viking voyages to North America. In it he reckons with the history of slavery in the Norse world, guesses at why the southern Vinland of settlement of Hóp remains undiscovered, and muses about doppelgängers. Tune-in and find out how controversial episode art, tidal lagoons, and absurdist saga writers all play a role in the story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #246 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part III)
Mar 1101:24:52Tap to summarizeFor centuries the western Norse colony of Vinland was known only to scholars of the Icelandic Sagas. But in the 19th century the work of a few Scandinavian historians helped revive interest in these previously obscure tales. When the Danish historian Carl Christian Rafn published in his work in English in 1837, many American's were exposed to the idea that the Norse had beaten Columbus to North America by 500 years. Many New Englanders were also excited by the idea that the legendary colony of Vinland may have been in Cape Cod. However, this new interest in the American Vikings also kicked off a wave of Norse flavored forgeries. Some were inspired to create elaborate pseudo-histories that supplanted the America's true first people with a lost group of Norse settlers. The real history of the Norse in North America was soon clouded by a haze of hoaxes and fantasies. Tune-in and find out how runes in Minnesota, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Newfoundlander named George all play a role in the story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #245 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part II)
Feb 2401:16:08Tap to summarizeThe only literary sources we have about the Viking settlements west of Greenland come from the Icelandic Sagas. The only problem is that the Sagas can be totally off-the-wall. Corpses reanimate and speak prophecies, giant-eyed doppelgängers vanish into thin air, and one-legged creatures murder unsuspecting Norse explorers. But, this same sources also describe interactions between the Norse and the Vinland's first people that sound remarkably believable. The people the Norse called the Skraeling's act quite a lot like the Algonquin speaking peoples of Canada's east coast. How do we separate the historical wheat from the legendary chaff? Tune-in and find out how female axe murderers, Vinland's first Viking baby, and the loudest bull in the world all play a role in the story.Check out the merch at out T-Public store HERE! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Episode #244 - How Far Did the Vikings Voyage? (Part I)
Feb 1001:20:27Tap to summarizeBetween the 9th and 11th centuries Norse explorers undertook a series of remarkable journeys through the North Atlantic. Iceland and Greenland were settled by medieval farmers eager to find new uninhabited lands. But just how far west did these seafarer's manage to travel? The unique Icelandic texts known as the sagas tell tales of journeys to a fertile and abundant country south west of Greenland named Vinland, or the Land of Wine, for the wild grapes that allegedly grew there. Archaeology has proven that the Norse managed to reach Northern Newfoundland, but could the rocky North Peninsula really be the "land of wine" blessed with "frostless winters?" Where was Vinland? Did it ever truly exist? Tune-in and find out how magical sleeps, violent troll tests, and saga story-time all play a role in the story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Bonus Episode - Ponzi Empires, Thieving Saints, and Skin Grafts
Feb 300:35:41Tap to summarizeIn this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions from listeners about the series on the original Ponzi Scheme. The host investigates the history of the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul", locates early usages of the phrase "getting Ponzied", and muses about whether all expansionist empires are actually just big Ponzi Schemes. Sebastian also throws out a possible replacement for "Watergate" as the go-to synonym for a scandal. Tune-in and find out how cheeky bank ads, skin grafts, and Atilla the Hun all play role in the story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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