Histories of the Unexpected
by Sam Willis & James Daybell
Histories of the Unexpected explores the past in ways that you never dreamt possible. Surely there’s nothing unexpected about the past? About History? Aha, well Histories of the Unexpected adopts a new approach to exploring our past. Gone is the traditional linear plotting of battles, monarchs and political movements. Histories of the Unexpected argues that everything has a history, even the most unexpected of subjects. Like SLIME. Or COURAGE. or APPLAUSE.... Presented by Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell.
Episodes
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 24: GENEROSITY!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 24: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..GENEROSITY!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 23: CHRISTMAS 2021!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 23: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..CHRISTMAS...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 22: CHRISTMAS 2018 PART 2!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 22: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about….CHRISTMAS...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 21: CHRISTMAS 2018 Part 1
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 21: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..CHRISTMAS...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 20: CHRISTMAS 2016!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 20: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..CHRISTMAS...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 19: WISE MEN!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 19: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..WISE MEN!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 18: SHEPHERDS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 18: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..SHEPHERDS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 17: BABIES!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 17: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..BABIES!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 16: REINDEER Part 2!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 16: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..REINDEER...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 15: REINDEER Part 1!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 15: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..REINDEER...
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 14: ELVES!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 14: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..ELVES!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 13: WINGS PART 2
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 13: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..WINGS PART 2!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 12: WINGS PART !!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 12: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..WINGS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 11: DONKEYS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 11: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..DONKEYS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 10: STARS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 10: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..STARS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 9: SNOW!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 9: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..SNOW!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 8: CARROTS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 8: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..CARROTS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 7: OBSCENITY!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 7: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..OBSCENITY!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 6: RIOTS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 6: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..RIOTS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 5: SPITE!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 5: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..SPITE!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 4: LUCKY FINDS!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 4: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..LUCKY FINDS!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 3: SHOES!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 3: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..SHOES!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 2: Evil!
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 2: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..EVIL!
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Countdown to Christmas 2023: 1: Bad Luck
In the countdown to Christmas 2023, the Unexpected Christmas elves have been busy preparing a special podcast advent calendar for your delectation, based on their Histories of the Unexpected favourite past episodes. And behind door 1: the Unexpected History of Christmas is all about…..Bad Luck!
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BONFIRE NIGHT SPECIAL - RERELEASE of FIRE
Inspired by Bonfire Night, Sam Willis and James Daybell reexplore the unexpected history of fire. It's all about communicating with fire, propaganda, speeches, hunting, exploring, Captain Cook, arrows, burning barrels, heresy, greed, Zoroastrianism, the rise of Islam, eternal flames, paisley,...
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Halloween 2023: Rerelease 4 - FEAR - A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
In this fourth and final RELEASE for HALLOWEEN 2023, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis discuss the unexpected history of FEAR!
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Halloween 2023: Rerelease 3 - MONSTERS
In this third RELEASE for HALLOWEEN 2023, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis discuss the unexpected history of MONSTERS!
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Halloween 2023: Rerelease 2 - ZOMBIES
In this second RELEASE for HALLOWEEN 2023, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis discuss the unexpected history of ZOMBIES!
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Halloween 2023: Rerelease 1 - CORPSES
In this RERELEASED episode for HALLOWEEN 2023, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis try to breathe new life into the unexpected history of CORPSES! Which is all about the eccentric Cornish landowner Sir James Tillie (1645-1713), who demanded that upon his death his body...
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PINK!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis uncover the UNEXPECTED history of PINK! Which is all about the history of death by duelling in eighteenth-century England (the transition from swords to pistols as the weapon of choice), masculinity and codes of...
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SUNSHINE!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis don their shades of history, bag the sun beds by the pool of the past, relax and pontificate on the UNEXPECTED history of SUNSHINE! Which is all about religion and worship of sun deities (via Ra, the…
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HOMESICKNESS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis get rather maudlin and nostalgic about the UNEXPECTED history of HOMESICKNESS! Which is all about colonial settlers, the US civil war, nineteenth-century immigration, WW2 and modern childhood in America! It's…
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APOLOGIES!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis prostrate themselves upon the ground and humbly beg forgiveness with the UNEXPECTED history of APOLOGIES! Which is all about British politeness and bumping into people as an experiment; public apologies and...
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RERELEASE: GLOVES!
RERELEASED for your listening pleasure, one of our favourite episodes from our back catalogue: the unexpected history of GLOVES! The gloves are off as the general of generations, Professor James Daybell, and the seadog of centuries, Dr Sam Willis, take us on a rip-roaring ride through the...
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FRAILTY!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis clutch the walking stick of the past to uncover the UNEXPECTED history of FRAILTY! Which is all about the history of old age, loneliness, well-being and medical history (via the seventeenth-century English…
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MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL!
In honour of mothers around the world, past and present, a rerelease of our episode on the Unexpected History of MOTHERS! THE UNEXPECTED HISTORY OF MOTHERS! A boy’s best friend is his mother’ (Norman Bates – Psycho, written and directed by Joseph Stefano and Alfred Hitchcock, 1960). Welcome to...
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WAITING!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis stretch their weary limbs, yawn and check their proverbial watch all in order to unpick the UNEXPECTED history of WAITING! Which is all about industrialisation, boredom and anxiety, and the history of queuing…
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WALLS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis scale the great heights of the UNEXPECTED history of WALLS! Which is all about ancient Rome (via Ovid's Metamorphoses and Pyramus and Thisbe), Hadrian's Wall, graffiti in Pompeii, and the House of Maius...
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STRIPES!
STRIPES! In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis try on the city slicker pinstripe suits and speculate on the history of STRIPES! Which is all about the Carmelite order, the banning of striped clothing and stripes as a marker of social stigma (via the...
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VALENTINE'S DAY RERELEASE: LOVE!
Happy Valentine's Day to our listeners! For this episode let us join the Cupid of history, Professor James Daybell and the Casanova of historical crime, Dr Sam Willis as they, with arrows notched and ready to fly, bring you from the back catalogue: the unexpected history of LOVE. Our two star...
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FISH!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis don the waders, bait the hook of history and cast out to land the unexpected history of FISH! Which is all about the fascinating history of cod (via the Vikings and Mr Birds Eye), it's about Samuel Pepys, the...
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ROBOTS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis get all mechanised and programme the unexpected history of ROBOTS! Which is all about AI and the rise of ChatGPT, popular culture, science fiction and imagining good and bad machines (think C3PO, R2D2 and Metal...
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RERELEASE: Christmas Microhistory 1: Bad Luck!
In this RERELEASE episode from the archive the Histories of the Unexpected team explain how the history of Christmas is actually all about BAD LUCK - Who Knew!
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RERELEASE: SNOW!
In this latest RERELEASED episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis don their most Artic-like winter wear to track down the extraordinarily unexpected history of SNOW! A festive taster for all our listeners! Who knew!
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THE NUMBER 50!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis take stock of half a century (in honour of the Daybell's milestone Birthday!) to unwrap the extraordinarily unexpected history of THE NUMBER 50! Which is all about models of how we interpret the past, the...
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SPOTS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis pinch the historical pus out of the extraordinarily unexpected history of SPOTS! Which is all about female beauty and false advertising in the nineteenth century in the United States of America, and the…
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FOXES!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis shout TALLY HO! and follow the historical scent of the extraordinarily unexpected history of FOXES! Which has nothing whatsoever to do with fox-hunting, but is in fact all about the remarkable sport of…
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SECRETS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis get all hush, hush (we'd love to tell you, but then we'd have to kill you....) about the extraordinarily unexpected history of SECRETS! Which is all about Elizabethan Catholics, recusancy laws and priest holes...
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BEARS!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis tackle the extraordinarily unexpected history of BEARS! It's not all about Teddy Bears - Paddington, Winnie-the-Pooh and Rupert bear - in fact it's all about bear attacks and how to avoid them; keep bears at…
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MUMBLING!
In this latest episode, the Unexpected duo, Professor James Daybell and Dr Sam Willis tackle the extraordinarily unexpected history of MUMBLING! Yes! It does have a history, and this one takes us back to the basics of the concept of histories of the unexpected, which is the historical equivalent…
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About this show
Histories of the Unexpected explores the past in ways that you never dreamt possible. Surely there’s nothing unexpected about the past? About History? Aha, well Histories of the Unexpected adopts a new approach to exploring our past. Gone is the traditional linear plotting of battles, monarchs and political movements. Histories of the Unexpected argues that everything has a history, even the most unexpected of subjects. Like SLIME. Or COURAGE. or APPLAUSE.... Presented by Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell.
Hosted by
Sam Willis & James Daybell