PODCAST · history
Biography
by Matt Smith
The podcasting of a life, by Matt Smith. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” - Charles Dickens.
Episodes
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Ned Kelly 4: Such is Life
With his last desperate stand at an end, Ned Kelly will be tried and executed for his crimes in 1880, at the age of 25. His name and notoriety would only grow, and a surprisingly mixed reputation as a larrikin bushranger would develop. Many Australians would come to admire the legend and the…
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Ned Kelly 3: The Last Stand
The Kelly gang they are broke and on the run, having ambushed and killed policeman and conducted bank heists. Their next plan is their most daring, or perhaps reckless, centring around the victorian town of Glenrowan. Guest: Dr Doug Morrissey (Historian and author of Ned Kelly: A Lawless Life)
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Ned Kelly 2: A Short Life of Crime
Ned Kelly came through a troubled upbringing and started a career as a horse thief, but is now on the run after shooting a policeman. With the authorities after him, he would only become more desperate and ruthless. Guest: Dr Doug Morrissey (Historian and author of Ned Kelly: A Lawless Life)
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Ned Kelly 1: Australian Outlaw
Ned Kelly is a legendary figure in Australian history. A bushranger, an outlaw, a convicted police murderer, and controversial figure. Despite his rap sheet, to some he was a rascal and a hero. Guest: Dr Doug Morrissey (Historian and author of Ned Kelly: A Lawless Life)
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Gandhi 4: Father of the Nation
When British India collapses, India embraces it’s state of free rule, but it isn’t the outcome Gandhi had campaigned for. Religious rivalries and disagreements lead to a split between Muslim and Hindi, dividing the territory in two. Guest: Dr Thomas Weber (Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe...
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Gandhi 3: Shaking the Foundations
The salt march is the most iconic event from Gandhi's campaign of non-violent resistance. In 1930 Gandhi and his followers began a month-long march to the coast where he made salt, defiantly breaking a British law related to the taxation of salt production. Explaining his choice, Gandhi said that...
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Gandhi 2: Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner
Gandhi is a figure who is known across the world as the father of the nation, the man who achieved independence in the Indian subcontinent through non-violent resistance. He was also a thinker and a philosopher, and the name he was given, ‘Mahatma’, means great soul, and reflects the reverence…
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Gandhi 1: A Good Seed is Sown
Gandhi is a figure who is known across the world as the father of the nation, the man who achieved independence in the Indian subcontinent through non-violent resistance. He was also a thinker and a philosopher, and the name he was given, ‘Mahatma’, means great soul, and reflects the reverence…
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Themistocles 3: Persuasion and Compulsion
With his victory at Salamis, Themistocles is now the hero of the Hellenic world. he's recognised and lauded across the lands, but with this power comes jealousy and competition. The hero of Athens will have to turn to its greatest enemy for sanctuary. Guest: Professor Christopher Mackie (Ancient...
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Themistocles 2: Indubitable Signs of Genius
Themistocles has established himself as a respected politician within ancient Athens, but he isn't without rivalry. He has political enemies from within who hope to bring him down, and there's always the threat of Persia, readying itself to take on the Hellenic states. Guest: Professor…
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Themistocles 1: Great Light of the Greeks
Themistocles lived during a time of change and progress in Athens. The monarchy was coming to an end, the republic was on the rise, and a self-made man from modest beginnings can make crucial contributions to an entire civilisation. Guest: Professor Christopher Mackie (Ancient Mediterranean...
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Ely S. Parker
Ely S. Parker was born to a prominent Seneca family on an Indian reservation near New York, and to many was considered a man between two worlds. Working first as a tribal diplomat, and later forming a close friendship with Ulysses S. Grant during the civil war, he came to be the first Native...
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Frida Kahlo 2: Acid and Tender
Frida attains fame within her lifetime, and her relationship with Diego Rivera remains passionate and explosive. Since she died her fame has attained new heights, as people see the part of Frida they want to see - she now belongs to the world. Guest: Emeritus Professor Barry Carr (History, La…
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Frida Kahlo 1: A Ribbon Around a Bomb
Frida Kahlo is considered one of Mexico's greatest artists but spent most of her career working in the shadow of her husband, the larger than life artist and muralist Diego Rivera. After a bus accident left her injured for life she took up painting, and became known for her surreal artwork and...
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Douglas Mawson 3: Flaws in the Ice
Douglas Mawson expedition across the ice has been met with tragedy. One of his men has fallen down a crevice and died, and with him the majority of the food stores and the good sleigh dogs. He and Mertz have little option but to turn back and try to make their way to the base. But the weather is...
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Douglas Mawson 2: The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson has returned from the Shackleton Expedition in Antarctica, but he soon gets the urge to go back to the ice. He journeys to England to raise money for his own Antarctic mission - a scientific endeavour with the primary aim to discover new territory. Guest: Dr David Day (Historian…
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Douglas Mawson 1: The Pole Hunters
Douglas Mawson is one of the great explorers of Antarctica, and regarded as a hero in Australia. His first journey to the frozen continent was as a member of the Shackleton expedition, and he was given the task of finding the magnetic south pole. Guest: Dr David Day (Historian and Emeritus of La...
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Confucius 2: The Master Says
After his death, the teachings that are attributed to Confucius take on a life on their own. We now look at the philosophy of Confucius, the trouble with interpreting his teachings, and what Confucianism means in today's world. Guest: Professor John Makeham (Director, China Studies Research…
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Confucius 1: The Man Who Moves the Mountain
A philosopher, teacher, and political thinker, Confucius lived 2500 years ago, in the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. While his teachings and thinking has travelled worldwide, it is a hard task to separate the man from the myth. Guest: Professor John Makeham (Director, China Studies...
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Catherine the Great 4: Without you, Felitsa
By the end of her reign there was little doubt that Catherine had earned the 'Great' which was attached to her name. But what did Russia make of the empire she had built, and why is she most notably remembered for her sexual promiscuity? Guest: Associate Professor Adrian Jones (History, La Trobe...
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Catherine the Great 3: The Warrior Empress
Catherine the Great took control of Russia, tried to make it a better place, and made sure the rest of the world couldn't ignore it's greatness. Guest: Associate Professor Adrian Jones (History, La Trobe University)
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Catherine the Great 2: Patron and Collector
Catherine the Great is well known for being a patron for a range of artists and intellectuals. Her art collection, now housed in the Hermitage in St Petersburg, is one of the most varied and valuable in the world. Guest: Laurie Benson (Curator, National Gallery of Victoria)
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Catherine the Great 1: Rise of a German Princess
Catherine the Great is one of Russia's most respected rulers, seen as raising Russia's reputation and building a powerful, cultured empire to rival Europe. It's almost hard to imagine that she was a little-known German princess, put into place by an elaborate power play. Guest: Associate…
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Vida Goldstein
Vida Goldstein was a political activist in Australia, helping Australian women win the right to vote twenty years before Britain. Through tireless campaigning and rallying, she changed the perception of women in politics, and was held up as an example of what could be achieved for women around…
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Martin Luther King Jr 2: I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King's effectiveness in the civil rights movement made him the target of fierce opposition, but he was never swayed from protesting. His speech at the March on Washington is famous around the world, and became all the more important after his murder. Guest: Professor Timothy Minchin...
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Martin Luther King Jr 1: They Told Us We Wouldn't Get Here
Issues around the segregation of African-Americans in the United States led to an increasingly active civil rights movement. The most influential figure in this movement was a Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. His persuasive words and non-violent methods have made him one of the most...
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Charles Darwin 6: So Many Barnacles, So Little Time
With his work on natural selection and evolution now out in the public for debate, Charles Darwin changes the focus of his research and manages to keep himself busy for the rest of his days. He never manages to top the publication of 'On the Origin of Species' but there's no doubt that he's one…
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Charles Darwin 5: Darwin's Warm Reception
Charles Darwin's theories didn't just stir up controversy, it polarised society on every level. If Charles Darwin was right, where did that leave the work of God and creation? An ideal example of the reaction to Darwin is illustrated by a case of three stuffed gorillas in the Melbourne Museum....
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Charles Darwin 4: How Evolution Works
While Darwin has many theories and important scientific works, the one he is most remembered for is evolution and natural selection. Biography explores how evolution works, and how it has changed since Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species'. Guest: Dr Andy Herries (Archaeology, La Trobe...
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Charles Darwin 3: The Theories of Charles Darwin
Darwin returns from his voyage around the world and spends the next twenty years sorting through specimens and writing about barnacles, plants, and geology. In 1859 he publishes On the Origin of Species, and the world comes to term with evolution. Guest: Dr Alexis Harley (English, La Trobe...
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Charles Darwin 2: The Voyage of the Beagle
Having completed his studies, a young Charles Darwin looks set to continue his exploration of the natural world by joining a voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle. Guest: Dr Alexis Harley (English, La Trobe University).
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Charles Darwin 1: Before Darwin
Charles Darwin is such a large figure in the world of science that sometimes we forget how different our understanding of life was before he put forward his theories of evolution and natural selection. So how did Darwin grow up, and what did society think during that time? Guest: Dr Alexis Harley...
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Spartacus 3: The Death and Legacy of Spartacus
Cornered in the toe of Italy, Spartacus and his followers make their final stand. They may lose the battle to Crassus, but thousands of years later it is Spartacus who is remembered. Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University)
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Spartacus 2: Spartacus and the Third Servile War
Spartacus escapes from the gladiatoral schools but isn't perceived of as a threat and has little plans on what to do next. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) discusses how becoming a movement is taken out of his hands. Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient...
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Spartacus 1: Spartacus the Gladiator
Who exactly is Spartacus? many of the sources are fragmentary, and provide little insight into the motives of the slave gladiator turned rebellious legend. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) explores the early years of Spartacus. Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The podcasting of a life, by Matt Smith. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” - Charles Dickens.
HOSTED BY
Matt Smith
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Biography have?
Biography currently has 35 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Biography about?
The podcasting of a life, by Matt Smith. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” - Charles Dickens.
How often does Biography release new episodes?
Biography has 35 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Biography?
You can listen to Biography on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Biography?
Biography is created and hosted by Matt Smith.
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