Podcast
Tony Robinson's Cunningcast
Hosted by Tony Robinson · EN
Tony Robinson is best-known for playing turnip-brained Baldrick who always had 'a cunning plan' in the iconic TV show Blackadder. He's presented countless documentaries throughout his 50-year career, including 20-years on Channel 4's Time Team, inspired by his passion for history and for digging deep into the past to understand more about the present. That's his thing!
In his history podcast, Tony is delving into weird and wonderful stories that grab his attention. He’s asking: Why was Stonehenge built? What did the past smell like? Why were pies invented? Why do our dogs love us so much? When did tattoos stop being taboo? What do bones tell us about past humanity? When did Jelly become a thing? Who wrote the Bible? Who is Putin and what makes him tick? No subject is off limits, because everything has a history.
Along the way, Tony is joined by experts and special guests, including Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry, Raksha Dave, John Lloyd, Alice Roberts, Ben Elton, Grace Neutral and David Mitchell.
So join Tony Robinson as he hosts his cunningly curated history podcast. New episodes drop Thursdays.
Tony Robinson's Cunningcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Cunningcast
@Cunningcastpod
Host: Sir Tony Robinson
@SirTonyRobinson
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
X | @melissafitzg
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If you enjoyed my podcast, please follow the show and leave us a rating or review.
Thank you, Love Tony x
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11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Cunningcast S3 BEST BITS
Feb 1200:53:10Tap to summarizeTony looks back at the best bits of Cunningcast Series 3 with series producer Melissa FitzGerald. Series 3 features fabulous episodes on Stonehenge, Shipwrecks, Vladimir Putin, Dogs, The Beatles, Sutton Hoo, The Bible and more with some very special guests.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 Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss any new episodes of Cunningcast Series 4 coming soon...Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast | TikTok @cunningcastHosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzg-------If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Unravelling The DEAD SEA SCROLLS
Dec 2600:27:39Tap to summarizeIn this bonus episode of Cunningcast, Tony Robinson is joined by biblical scholars John Barton and Francesca Stavrakopoulou to explore the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they reveal about the origins of the Bible and early Christianity. From their dramatic discovery in the late 1940s and recent AI-led re-dating, to the startling variety of ancient Jewish and Christian texts—including lost gospels and strange infancy stories of Jesus—they uncover a world of belief far more diverse and surprising than the Bible alone suggests. As Francesca says, “these texts show the sheer variety of early Christian belief and stories about Jesus that were in circulation.”Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithProfessor John Barton | theology.ox.ac.uk/people/john-bartonJohn is a British Anglican priest and biblical scholar. From 1991 to 2014, he was the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Oriel College. In addition to his academic career, he has been an ordained and serving priest in the Church of England since 1973. His research interests and extensive publications have been in the areas of the Old Testament prophets, the biblical canon, biblical interpretation, and Old Testament theology. He is the author of numerous books on the Bible, co-editor of The Oxford Bible Commentary and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation.A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths was shortlisted for the 2020 Wolfson History Prize and won the 2019 Duff Cooper Prize. It was adapted for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020.Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou | experts.exeter.ac.uk/1365-francesca-stavrakopoulouFrancesca is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. She is an internationally renowned scholar and award-winning author, specialising in material religion, death studies, and the ancient religious cultures in which the Bible emerged. Actively engaged in public scholarship, her media work includes writing and presenting the BBC TV documentary series Bible's Buried Secrets, and narrating the serialisation of her most recent book on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week. Follow us on our socials:Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast and TikTok @cunningcastLAST IN SERIES. STAY TUNDED FOR SERIES 4 COMING IN '26 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Who Wrote the BIBLE?
Dec 1801:04:16Tap to summarizeToday Tony is joined by an Anglican priest, John Barton, and an atheist scholar, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, to strip away myth and reverence and reveal the Bible as a messy, brilliant, centuries-long experiment in storytelling, belief, politics, and power. Full of sex, violence, poetry, argument, and big ideas, the Bible emerges not as a single holy book but as one of the most influential and fascinating collections of texts ever written. As Francesca says, ‘whether we believe it or not, the Bible is one of the most important cultural icons of our time.’Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithProfessor John Barton | theology.ox.ac.uk/people/john-bartonJohn is an Anglican priest and biblical scholar. From 1991 to 2014, he was the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Oriel College. In addition to his academic career, he has been an ordained and serving priest in the Church of England since 1973. His research interests and extensive publications have been in the areas of the Old Testament prophets, the biblical canon, biblical interpretation, and Old Testament theology. He is the author of numerous books on the Bible, co-editor of The Oxford Bible Commentary and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation.A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths was shortlisted for the 2020 Wolfson History Prize and won the 2019 Duff Cooper Prize. It was adapted for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020.Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou | experts.exeter.ac.uk/1365-francesca-stavrakopoulouFrancesca is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. She is an internationally renowned scholar and award-winning author, specialising in material religion, death studies, and the ancient religious cultures in which the Bible emerged. Actively engaged in public scholarship, her media work includes writing and presenting the BBC TV documentary series Bible's Buried Secrets, and narrating the serialisation of her most recent book on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week. Follow us on our socials:Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast and TikTok @cunningcast------- If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Writing History: THE HOUSE OF WOLF
Dec 900:41:01Tap to summarizeIn this special collaborative episode, Tony Robinson sits down with Time Team’s Helen Geake for an immersive dive into ‘The House of Wolf’, his gripping new historical saga. Tony reveals how decades of archaeology, storytelling, and acting shaped the novel’s vivid world of Alfred the Great, political intrigue, and everyday Anglo-Saxon life. Together, they explore the magic of Time Team, the thrill of discovering traces of real people in the landscape, and why England has always been shaped by its ties to Europe. With the insight of an actor, the heart of a storyteller, and the mud-soaked experience of a field archaeologist, Tony reveals how real lives, real landscapes, and real discoveries shaped his most ambitious work yet.Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithDr. Helen Geake | timeteamdigital.com/the-team/helen-geakeHelen’s interest in archaeology was sparked partly by attending lecturers by Time Team’s Mick Aston. She studied at University College London and University of York, specialising in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. She has worked at Norwich Castle Museum, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Cambridge University and the British Museum. Helen first joined Time Team in 1998, appearing periodically as our Anglo-Saxon expert, and more regularly from 2006 to 2010. She currently presents the Time Team podcast with Martyn Williams.Watch Time Team Here: timeteamdigital.com/Listen to the Time Team podcast here: podfollow.com/time-teamBuy 'The House of Wolf' here: shop.timeteamdigital.com/collections/books Follow us on our socials:Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast and TikTok @cunningcast-------If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The BEATLES, John & Paul: Part 3 'The End'
Dec 400:41:05Tap to summarizeThe third part of Tony’s chat with The Beatles biographer Ian Leslie, exploring the emotional and creative partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They discuss how Lennon’s 1966 “more popular than Jesus” remark shook him, how the Beatles abandoned touring for studio experimentation, and how Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman became catalysts for John and Paul pulling apart. Business conflicts, especially over management, deepened divisions even as the band continued producing remarkable work, culminating in Abbey Road. Despite a turbulent breakup, Lennon and McCartney slowly rebuilt a loose friendship before Lennon’s death, and the Beatles’ artistic legacy continues to shape modern music.Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithIan Leslie | www.ian-leslie.comIan 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 and TikTok @cunningcast------- If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The BEATLES, John & Paul: Part 2 ‘Love Me Do’
Nov 2700:47:31Tap to summarizeThe second part of Tony’s chat with Beatles biographer Ian Leslie, exploring how John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s unique and complex relationship shaped The Beatles. When Tony first heard ‘Love Me Do’ he was blown away by the new sound he was hearing, and he’s been a lifelong fan of The Beatles ever since. Today Tony and Ian are discussing the band’s internal dynamics, the emotional histories that shaped John and Paul, and how drugs influenced their relationship and songwriting, pushing it to new creative places. In ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, they fused John’s conceptual vision with Paul’s avant-garde techniques to produce something radically new: as Ian says, “John didn't want to write a song about a trip; he wanted to create something which is a trip.”Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithIan Leslie | www.ian-leslie.comIan 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 and TikTok @cunningcast------- If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The BEATLES, John & Paul: Part 1 ‘If I Fell’
Nov 2000:41:10Tap to summarizeThis 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 @sirtonyrobinsonProducer: Melissa FitzGerald | X @melissafitzgWithIan Leslie | www.ian-leslie.comIan 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-------If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review.Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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When Did We Start Grieving for Our DOGS?
Nov 1300:23:43Tap to summarizeIn 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 ------- If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us and leave us a rating or review. Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How Did DOGS Become the Perfect Pets?
Nov 600:55:40Tap to summarizeTony 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 ------- If you enjoy this podcast, please follow the show and leave us a rating or review. Thank you, Love Tony x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Reconstructing the SUTTON HOO SHIP
Oct 3000:30:43Tap to summarizeOne 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.orgVisit 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 ------- 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.
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