Episodes

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first big-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, had its premiere in London’s Leicester Square on November 4th, 2001. Among the glittering guest list were Sting, Cliff Richard, and the Duchess of York, but Baby Spice spoke for all of us when she told reporters “I don’t […]

Rerun. Attending or producing raves was made illegal in Britain with the passing of the Criminal Justice Act on 3rd November, 1994. The government even legislated against electronic dance music, “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” These unprecedented restrictions were partly in reaction to the moral panic caused

Publishing House Penguin Books was found unanimously not guilty of obscenity for printing an unexpurgated Lady Chatterley’s Lover on November 2nd, 1960. The novel’s author, D.H. Lawrence, had died 30 years earlier, but the court’s landmark ruling had a significant impact on the publishing world, paving the way for greater freedom of the written word.

John Adams became the first US president to move into the White House on November 1st, 1800, even though construction work was still underway and most of the building was unfinished. There was a reason for his determination to get in as quickly as possible: he clearly wanted to be the first president to live

One of Giacomo Casanova’s most famous deeds was his daring midnight, cross-rooftop escape from the dreaded “The Leads” prison in Venice on the night of October 31st, 1756. Key to his escape plan was a Bible, a large iron bar and an oversized bowl of pasta. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why

The life of Harvard University – the oldest institution of higher learning in the US – officially began on 28th October, 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony appropriated £400 for its construction. It;s fair to say the first few years of Harvard’s existence were not a success, featuring whippings, poisonings, and way too little beef

Rerun. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov may not have the name recognition of Castro, Kruschev and Kennedy – but his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27th October, 1962 almost certainly prevented World War Three from erupting.  On-board a sweltering Russian submarine, he talked Captain valentyn Savitsky down from firing a nuclear torpedo at

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral – a 30-second shootout between lawmen and outlaws – occurred on October 26, 1881, in the small US mining town of Tombstone. When the smoke cleared, three people lay dead.  The gunfight might have remained little more than a minor footnote in the history of the Old West, except

On 25th October, 1668, Elizabeth Pepys walked in on her maid and her husband – the inveterate restoration shagger Samuel Pepys – in a position so compromising that Samuel himself could only bear to describe it using a mixture of French and Latin. And even though Pepys charted a period that included the Great Fire

Mr Blobby made his anarchic television debut on 24th October, 1992, in a new segment called “Gotcha” on the hugely popular BBC show Noel’s House Party. The googly eyed, perma-grinning, yellow and pink character was an immediate hit, selling masses of merchandise to British kids and adults alike. At the height of Blobbymania, Mr Blobby