History in Minutes

Today we’re diving into maybe humanity’s oldest obsession: living forever. Spoiler alert — we’ve been spectacularly bad at it. From swallowing mercury to bathing in blood, people have tried some truly bizarre (and downright disgusting) ways to cheat death. In this episode, we dig into the sticky, smelly, and often gross side of the quest for immortality.

From the battlefields of Gallipoli to the coronation of England’s kings, the sinking of the Titanic history is full of stories we think we know—but don’t. In this episode, we pull apart some of the biggest myths that have shaped how we remember the past. Did more Australians really die at Gallipoli than the British? Was William the Conqueror truly the first king of England? And what happens when a so-called “myth” turns out to be true after all? Join us as we separate fact from fiction, and discover why some myths just won’t die.

Unconditional Surrender: No Terms, No Mercry.In this episode, we explore the idea of unconditional surrender—what it means, why leaders demand it, and how it has shapes the outcomes of major conflicts. With a focus on Imperial Japan and the 1945 surrender we’ll examine the the controversy behind wars that end without negotiation.

Welcome to our fathers day special - evil dads in history. This week, we're diving into the darker side of fatherhood with a chilling look at Evil Dads in History. From tyrannical kings to manipulative masterminds, we explore the stories of men who shattered the traditional image of a protective father figure—and instead became the stuff of nightmares. We'll cover infamous names like Josef Stalin, Ivan the Terrible, Constantine the Great and Henry the VIII.

This week we preview unreleased historical films and TV by kicking off with Nuremburg starring Russell Crowe and due in November. We than look at BBC One's King and Conqueror a biopic of King William the first of England and a Hungarian language film Orphan, a story set in post 1956 uprising Hungary. Our last is a TV series, Death by Lightning a look at President James A Garfield and his death in 1881 starring Michael Shannon.

History in Minutes captures some of the more recent media coverage of our favourite topic - history! The presenter surveys a mixture of electronic and print media.

In this episode we explore the work of renowned Canadian historian Professor Bruce Trigger. Trigger was one of Canada's leading archaeologists from the 1960's to the early 2000s. He worked extensively in anthropology and ethnohistory at McGill University.

This week we survey recent releases in film and TV. Joy, an account of the early IVF program from Netflix is presented along with September 5 a new interpretation of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games attack by Palestinian terrorists. The last release is William Tell, the story of Switzerland's epic folk hero who shot the apple on his son's head.

This episode of History in Minutes completes a short overiew of recent releases historical works. Shane Appel the presenter surveys three new contemporary releases from Amazon's new realeases list and Cambridge University Press.Want to get in touch? Email [email protected]

This our short introductory welcome to the show, we hope you enjoy!