PRESENTS… No One Saw It Coming | The Wrong Turn That Started a World War

from ASSASSINS · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Hosted by Marc Fennell, No One Saw It Coming is a podcast that focuses on moments in history that seemed inconsequential but turned out to be momentous. And in the episode that we're bringing you today, one of the most infamous assassinations of all time — that of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.It's the event that's seen as the trigger for World War One, but it didn't happen quite the way the history books let on…Australian author Paul Ham tells Marc Fennell (Stuff the British Stole, Mastermind) what really happened on the 28th of June 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.Far from a meticulously planned and executed assassination, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand might not have happened at all, were it not for one fateful wrong turn that put him right in the path of the man who would murder him. And the deaths of millions could have been avoided altogether without the desperate need for colonial powers to defend their empires.Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

What this episode covers

Hosted by Marc Fennell, No One Saw It Coming is a podcast that focuses on moments in history that seemed inconsequential but turned out to be momentous. And in the episode that we're bringing you today, one of the most infamous assassinations of all time — that of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It's the event that's seen as the trigger for World War One, but it didn't happen quite the way the history books let on… Australian author Paul Ham tells Marc Fennell (Stuff the British Stole, Mastermind) what really happened on the 28th of June 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo. Far from a meticulously planned and executed assassination, the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand might not have happened at all, were it not for one fateful wrong turn that put him right in the path of the man who would murder him. And the deaths of millions could have been avoided altogether without the desperate need for colonial powers to defend their empires. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

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PRESENTS… No One Saw It Coming | The Wrong Turn That Started a World War

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This episode was published on December 24, 2025.

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