Podcasts

The Lavender Scare: Being Gay in Washington DC

Why were gay federal employees seen as a national security threat during the 20th century? How might they in fact have been more of an asset? And...

Napalm

Napalm. One of the most controversial weapons of the 20th century, it's an incendiary substance that if it comes into contact with your skin, it...

Shakespeare’s First Folio: Politics, People & Printing

Shakespeare’s First Folio — the first book to contain 36 of his plays, 18 of which had not been in print before — was published in...

Chevalier: France's Revolutionary Maestro

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is perhaps the most accomplished classical musician that you've never heard of. A composer, soldier and...

Locks and the Great Lock Controversy

In Victorian England, a prisoner was promised their freedom if only they could pick a lock...

This week on Patented it's the history of...

Human Origins: Australopithecus

For millions of years, Australopithecus thrived in Africa's vast landscapes, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Homo genus. Later,...

The Greatest Medieval Divorce Scandal

In 855, the Carolingian king Lothar II was married to the aristocratic Teutberga for political reasons. But there was a third...

Vietnam War & Australia

With discussions of the Vietnam War often focusing on the United States' role and position on the Asian continent, countries like Australia...

Victorian Pregnancy & Childbirth: The Untold History

Why did Victorian doctors recommend women to lie still in solitary confinement for days after giving birth? What was the 'sit up and cough'...

The Wright Brothers

Approximately 100 thousand flights take off and land each and every day. A months long journey on a boat is condensed to just a few hours with the...

Ravenna and the Fall of Rome

The fall of the Western Roman Empire stands as one of the most monumental moments in ancient history, symbolising the end of centuries of Roman...

Elizabethan 'Travel Liar': The Truth about David Ingram

In 1567, a sailor named David Ingram sailed from Plymouth with 400 others on a slaving expedition. The ensuing events read like a fantastic...