Blind History
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Blind History
Blind History is a crash course in getting to know history’s greatest men and women - and by great we don’t always mean good. Hosted by Gareth Cliff and Anthony Mederer, this series will tell you what the history books sometimes leave out - the sordid stories, the less well-known details, some of...
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Nelson Mandela
The most famous South African, the first democratically elected president of the Rainbow Nation, the anti-apartheid icon, and the man who spent 27 yea...
Howard Hughes
Long before Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, there was a billionaire playboy who set the standard - a genius with a passion for flying and designing planes,...
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
The fiery, furious relationship between the medieval era’s most famous power couple led to glory and terrible failure. The empire they presided over w...
Lord Nelson
Vice Admiral Viscount Horatio Nelson was the greatest British sailor of all time, possibly the greatest sailor in all the world’s history. His adventu...
Gannibal
In 1742 a Russian aristocrat and military engineer, fluent in Turkish and French, rose to prominence in the Imperial court of Peter the Great. He had...
Mao Zedong
If there were a prize for genocide, one man would have unbeatable odds at claiming it. He began life as a bright young revolutionary with enormous ent...
Lucky Luciano
Long before Mario Puzo wrote 'The Godfather', and before Brando and Pacino brought the book’s characters to life on the big screen, the real Godfather...
Tuthmosis III
Unlike most great people from history, you can actually still look into the faces of some of the Pharaohs. At the Egyptian Museum of Civilisation, 22...
Mansa Musa
Once upon a time, there lived a king... a king who had so much wealth that he could fill great halls to their roofs with it. When he visited the bigge...
William Marshall
Chivalry, jousting, coat-armour, knights on horseback and the great glory of the Middle Ages are mostly made up. The real Middle Ages were a dirty, bl...
Ashoka the Great
Within living memory of Alexander the Great, a vast, powerful and extraordinary empire rose up in Northern India - forged by the strength, intelligenc...
Gilles de Rais
Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc - the patron saint of France, the heroine who was burnt at the stake for her valour and her faith. History has...
Captain James Cook
The creaking ship rose and fell in massive swells, the waves as high as 10 men stacked on top of each other. Blistering Antarctic winds seemed determi...
Dr Emma Southon
Dr Emma Southon specialises in Roman history, and has written some incredibly interesting - and very funny - books. As a bonus episode of Blind Histor...
Jesus
Some believe he was the greatest man who ever lived, the son of God. Some historians mentioned him in passing as a Jewish rebel and philosopher. Eithe...
Adolf Hitler
We’ve been avoiding this one, but eventually we had to do it ... the arch-villain of modern, if not all history - Adolf Hitler. The Fuhrer of Germany...
Charles Martel
Charles Martel was born in the palace of Austrasia - which it turns out is neither in Australia nor Austria. If you’re confused, just imagine being Fr...
Elizabeth Bathory
Elizabeth Bathory might not be the most famous Hungarian in history, but once you hear her story, you’ll never forget her name. A tale of sadism, tort...
Hideki Tojo
Coming hot on the heels of last week’s episode, the villains can add another ugly monster to their number. Hideki Tojo was Japan’s fascist, genocidal...
Heinrich Himmler
If you were to compile a list of the most evil men in history, Heinrich Himmler would undoubtedly be near the top of it. Hitler’s chief executioner an...
Picasso
Probably the most famous and successful artist of all time, this Spanish creative genius founded Cubism, produced thousands of works, and bedded many...
Hannibal
When we think of Ancient History, we think of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Undoubtedly the greatest and most well-understood of these civilisations was Rom...
Karl Marx
The father of communism and socialism, to some a wicked ideologue with the worst plans for social engineering; to others a heroic thinker who conceive...
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror was one of the great medieval warrior-kings. In fact, he set the standard for the next 500 years of English kingship. In war, he...
The Great Inventors
Between Edison and Tesla there are some 1,200 patents for inventions and innovations that birthed the modern world. To fully appreciate their contribu...
Peter the Great
The story of Pyotr Alekséyevich is the story of Russia emerging from the cold. It is a story which continues to play out in the centuries which follow...
Royals Behaving Badly
Kings and Queens aren’t always the best of us. Sometimes they’re weak, pathetic, unimpressive or downright evil! Just as history has shown us a range...
Constantine the Great
The Romans were a decaying bunch, with not very much to boast about and a rotten empire that was divided in half, ruled by four weak emperors. The onl...
Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richelieu was the most powerful man in France, and the architect of absolute monarchy. His strategic mind and dedication to French interests...
Nostradamus
Nostradamus was either a genius with magical powers, or a very lucky bullshitter. In 16th century France, there may have been many mysterious men with...
Jesse James
The most famous bandit of the Wild West, Jesse James and his gang terrorised many American cities for more than a decade. Apart from a treacherous dea...
Hernán Cortés
To the Spanish he was a conquering hero, a conquistador, spreading Christianity to the 'savage tribes' of the new world. To the Aztecs and the native...
Leopold II
We know you love the bad guys, but this one is close to impossible to like. The fact that he perpetrated his crimes against humanity only three genera...
Vikings
The fearsome northmen in all their violence, strength, courage and ferocity probably shouldn’t be summarised in one lowly episode, but we’ll tell you...
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII lived at a great intersection of history... where Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collided. She was undoubtedly one of th...
Robert Sobukwe
Robert Sobukwe was one of the great thinkers and leaders of the struggle for democracy and freedom in South Africa. A humble man of academic bent, he...
King George III
The longest reigning King of England watched the birth of America, the French Revolution, the dawn of modern science and the Agricultural revolution w...
Al Capone
Before the words ‘gangster', ‘thug', ‘mafia' and 'mob boss' were used by pretenders, rappers and small-time thieves, those words were used to describe...
Bonus episode: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Blind History has spanned centuries of incredible people and events. We’ve marvelled at the heroic efforts of titans, and could scarcely believe the e...
Maximilien Robespierre
The Terror! That’s what they called it. Nobody was safe from the depraved madness of the peak of the French Revolution… and the fearsome man who becam...