Episodes

The Open University began welcoming students on 10th January 1971 – but they did not meet up for Fresher’s Week, due to this innovative institution (brainchild of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson) having been created to offer mature students the opportunity for tertiary education without stepping foot on campus. Instead, students would study for their […]

Naval commander Horatio Nelson became the first non-Royal to receive a full British state funeral on 9th January, 1806, when tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of London to pay tribute to their fallen hero – including, surprisingly, his defeated counterpart, French admiral Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve.  The anticipation for the burial was fuelled

In New York City on 8th January, 2007, an unexplained pervasive egg smell was reported. Baffled authorities scrambled to try to work out whether it had been caused by a gas leak, a chemical spill, a terrorist attack or something else entirely. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly open (and close) their own investigation

Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was published in the USA on 5th January, 1886. It had been intended for release as a Christmas horror story the previous month – but Stevenson’s wife Fanny had been so disturbed by the initial draft that she reportedly asked him

Billboard introduced the first-ever pop music chart on 4th January, 1936. Catering to jukebox operators, rather than everyday music fans, the chart was an occasional magazine feature, listing top tracks from each of the major record labels based on sheet music sales, record sales, requests from band leaders, and mail-in requests to radio stations.  Big

A dramatic standoff between Metropolitan Police and Latvian anarchists unfolded in the East End of London on 3rd January, 1911 – when two men suspected of murdering policemen in a jewellery heist were surrounded by armed authorities. As tensions escalated, Winston Churchill, then the Home Secretary, mobilised a significant military force to Sidney Street, where

Former actor and SAG President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as Governor of California just after midnight on 2nd January, 1967: the end of the beginning of a hugely successful political career that would propel him all the way to the White House. Reagan’s used oratory to gain prominence, notably his 1964 speech ‘A Time for

Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2024 recalls Today In History in 1842 – the day P.T. Barnum opened his ‘American Museum’ in New York, replete with a flea circus, ‘Siamese’ twins, and a ‘mermaid’ skeleton. The ‘museum’ merged authentic specimens with audacious hoaxes, blurring the line between reality and fiction, exploiting many of

We’re back with new episodes on New Year’s Day, but, before we finally turn our backs on 2023 for good, here’s Olly’s choice for his favourite episode of the year – our story from 23rd May, the day in 1701 when sea captain William Kidd was executed for piracy and murder.  From the gallows, Kidd

Arion’s favourite episode from 2023 is this romp from May 12th, the day on which, in 1911, Richard the Lionheart finally got hitched. His Bride? Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI – a key ally in extending his Kingdom across Europe. Sure, he may have already slept with her brother, but hey, that’s