PODCAST · comedy
History's Greatest Idiots
by History's Greatest Idiots
This hilarious history podcast explores the epic failures, disasters, and terrible decisions that have shaped our world, providing us with memorable lessons to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Hosts Lev and Derek uncover the funniest blunders, scandals, spectacular mistakes, and jaw-dropping screw-ups from the dawn of time to today. Perfect for history buffs who love a little comedy with their knowledge! New episodes bi-weekly featuring famous disasters, military blunders, political scandals, and legendary bad life choices. Educational entertainment at its finest!
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162
Why Can't Anyone Find A Job? (Season 7 Episode 10)
The job market is broken. Here are all the things that broke it.From the post-Covid wage squeeze and AI replacing entry-level workers to the white collar recession nobody officially declared, LinkedIn's 11,000 applications per minute, and the applicant tracking systems quietly binning your CV before a human ever reads it, this is the complete history of why nobody can find a job.We cover graduate unemployment, youth unemployment hitting its highest level since 2015, ghost jobs, the Great Resignation, and which sectors are actually hiring right now. Plus: free retraining schemes that come with job interviews, and what the future of work might look like once the dust settles.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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161
Heatwave Compilation Special (Season 7 Episode 9)
Due to the extreme heat the UK is currently experiencing (topping out at around 102 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, 90 degrees at night, and 95% humidity), the lack of air-conditioning, my house being built to retain heat, and my pre-existing health condition (Crohn's Disease), I have decided to create a special compilation episode this week.I will be back to my normal schedule next week with an episode focusing on why it feels like nobody can get a job (cheerful, I know).Until then, enjoy this special compilation episode, ideal for people who want to put a slightly longer episode on in the background while they drift off to sleep.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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160
A Brief History Of FIFA Scandals (Season 7 Episode 8)
FIFA has been corrupt since before colour television. And the World Cup is proof.From the ISL bribery scandal and Sepp Blatter's seven arrested executives to Qatar's migrant worker nightmare and Gianni Infantino's increasingly bizarre relationship with Donald Trump, this is the complete history of football's governing body and the corruption that has defined it for over a century. We cover the Havelange years, the 2015 FBI raids, the Saudi Arabia 2034 decision, and why Infantino's cosy friendship with the world's most consistently unpopular president keeps getting stranger.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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159
The Slow Death Of Quality (Season 7 Episode 7)
Your chocolate bar got smaller. Your streaming service started showing adverts. Your phone slowly turned itself into something worse. There's a word for this now.This episode traces the history of Enshittification, from medieval bakers shaving weight off loaves to Toblerone quietly widening the gaps between its peaks in 2016, and the Kraft Heinz boss who told the world to get used to paying more for food just as the cost of living crisis began to bite.We then dig into how Big Tech does the same thing with software instead of food: Google search results getting worse, Windows 11's unwanted extras, Netflix reversing its own promises on password sharing, and what Apple really does with its pricing.Finally, the companies bucking the trend entirely, including the $4.99 rotisserie chicken that Costco refuses to stop subsidising, and the supermarket that took an 86% profit hit rather than raise its prices.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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158
A Brief History Of Lying (Season 7 Episode 6)
Trust in institutions is at a historic low. Turns out there are about sixty years of very good reasons for that.From Watergate and Thatcher decimating mining communities, through the cash for questions scandals of the 1990s, Iran-Contra, the fabricated case for the Iraq War, and a British Post Office scandal that ruined the lives of hundreds of people, this is a brief history of how governments, politicians, businesses, and institutions systematically destroyed the trust of the people they were supposed to serve.We also look at why not all distrust is the same, what manufactured distrust is, and give you examples of people and places that have worked to earn your trust.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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157
Every Housing Crisis Ever (Almost) (Season 7 Episode 5)
Rents in Rome were unaffordable in 164 BCE. We've had 2,000 years to fix the housing crisis. Here's why we haven't.From ancient Roman insulae and the Great Fire of London to Hoovervilles, Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme, the 2008 financial crash, and BlackRock, this is the complete history of the housing crisis.We cover the Welsh second homes scandal, Barcelona's tourist backlash, why the richest generation in history can't afford to buy, and the solutions that actually work, including Vienna's social housing model, community land trusts, and the Renters' Rights Act 2025.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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156
A Brief History Of Outrage (Season 7 Episode 4)
Your outrage is worth a fortune. Just not to you.From a 3,800-year-old complaint tablet in ancient Mesopotamia to cancel culture, Tommy Robinson and Donald Trump, this is the full history of outrage: who manufactures it, who profits from it, and who is laughing all the way to the bank.We cover Roman emperors, the medieval pillory, the tabloid press, Jon Ronson's "So You've Been Publicly Shamed," the small boats panic (with the actual statistics), and why the richest 1% own more wealth than the bottom 95% of humanity, partly because they're very good at keeping you looking the other way.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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155
The Internet Is Hell (Season 7 Episode 3)
The internet was built by scientists who wanted to share research. Then surveillance capitalism, social media and Big Tech got involved, and ruined it.From Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web to Cambridge Analytica, Elon Musk buying Twitter, and AI rewriting the rules all over again, this is the full history of the internet: how it began, how it was hijacked, and how to take some of it back. We cover ARPANET, Google's monopoly, Wikipedia, YouTube, the data harvesting scandal that exposed 87 million Facebook users, and the platforms actually paying creators fairly, including Bandcamp, Substack, and Ko-fi.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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154
History vs The Gig Economy (Season 7 Episode 2)
Uber, Amazon, Deliveroo. Strip away the apps and the branding and you're left with a system of exploitation as old as civilisation itself.From ancient civilisations exploiting their populations and medieval serfdom to zero-hours contracts and unpaid internships, this episode traces the full history of work designed to extract everything from you while giving back as little as possible. We cover the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the matchgirls who walked out of a factory in 1888 and won, and the thinkers from Paul Lafargue to Tom Hodgkinson who argued the whole system was a con. Plus: the four-day work week, worker cooperatives, and why doing less has repeatedly been proven to produce more.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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153
Why The Last 10 Years Have Sucked (Season 7 Episode 1)
Brexit. Trump. A pandemic. A housing crisis. A culture war nobody asked for. The last ten years didn't break by accident.From the celebrity deaths of 2016 to Trump's Iran brinkmanship in 2026, this episode charts exactly how a decade of austerity, algorithmic outrage, gig economy exploitation, rising inequality, and the collapse of community life ground down an entire generation.We cover the 2008 financial crash, COVID-19, the cost of living crisis, political division, the culture war, LGBTQ+ persecution, climate inaction, the slow death of third spaces, and the mental health catastrophe nobody in power wanted to talk about.We also cover why, despite all of the above, there is still genuine reason for hope.https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiotshttps://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiotshttps://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiotsArtist: Sarah Cheyhttps://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This hilarious history podcast explores the epic failures, disasters, and terrible decisions that have shaped our world, providing us with memorable lessons to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Hosts Lev and Derek uncover the funniest blunders, scandals, spectacular mistakes, and jaw-dropping screw-ups from the dawn of time to today. Perfect for history buffs who love a little comedy with their knowledge! New episodes bi-weekly featuring famous disasters, military blunders, political scandals, and legendary bad life choices. Educational entertainment at its finest!
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History's Greatest Idiots
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