The Iliad and Odyssey: heroic epics from ancient Greece

Anne Bonny and Mary Read: real-life pirates of the Caribbean

Greg Jenner is joined in the eighteenth-century Caribbean by historian and curator Hannah Cusworth and comedian Kemah Bob to learn about the swashbuckling lives of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. These women and their adventures on the high seas have become the stuff of legend, helped along by the sensational account of their lives written shortly after their capture. Though they are famous for the short period they spent together on a pirate ship, dressed as men to hide their true identities, the two had very different backgrounds. Anne was the well-off and rebellious daughter of a merchant and plantation owner in Carolina, while the working-class Mary already had experience dressing in men’s clothing and working as a sailor and soldier. This episode traces their biographies, exploring their upbringings, romantic entanglements (with men and each other), and time aboard the pirate ship captained by the infamous Captain 'Calico Jack' Rackham, as well as their ultimate fate. And it looks at the wider context of the Caribbean, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and the Golden Age of piracy which shaped their lives and choices, and asks what place they have in queer and trans histories of the period. If you’re a fan of swashbuckling pirates, women in male professions, and the complicated history of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean, you’ll love our episode on Anne Bonny and Mary Read. If you want more from Kemah Bob, listen to our episodes on Hatshepsut or Prohibition in the USA. And for more swashbuckling women, check out our episodes on duellist and opera singer Julie d’Aubigny, Chinese pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao, or Irish pirate Grainne O’Malley. You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Naomi Weaver Written by: Naomi Weaver, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Medieval Saints: miracles, relics and pilgrimage

Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Europe by historian Dr Simon Yarrow and comedian Rachel Parris to learn all about the cult of saints and their relics. The veneration of saints still plays an important role in the lives of Catholics all over the world, but what did the cult of saints – and especially devotion to their relics – play in medieval Europe? This episode explores all aspects of the topic: who became a saint, and how the canonisation process changed over the centuries as the papacy tried to more tightly control it. What sorts of signs and miracles proved someone’s sanctity. What relics are, and how medieval churches acquired them, both legitimately and illegitimately. What people in the Middle Ages thought saints could do for them, and the pilgrimages they took to their tombs in search of aid. And it asks whether everyone believed in the power of saints’ relics – and the gruesome fate awaiting some sceptics. If you’re a fan of marvellous miracle stories, the fascinating history of the Catholic Church, and the odd gory martyrdom, you’ll love our episode on medieval saints. If you want more from Rachel Parris, listen to our episode on Eleanor of Aquitaine. And for more on the history of Catholicism, check out our episodes on the Early Medieval Papacy, Medieval Ghost Stories and Benedetta Carlini. You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Lily Tidman Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Francis Galton: Victorian scientist and pioneer of eugenics

Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by historian and curator Subhadra Das and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about the life of scientist and eugenics pioneer Francis Galton. He was many things: a Victorian gentleman scientist, an inventor of whacky devices, a pioneer of fingerprinting technology, the less famous cousin of superstar naturalist Charles Darwin, and an important figure in the development of statistics. But more importantly – and more troublingly – Francis Galton originated the now discredited science of eugenics. His theories about how to apply principles of good breeding to humans, and his advocacy of ways to improve Britain’s so-called ‘racial health’, led directly and indirectly to many horrors in the decades after his death, from the forced sterilisation of certain groups to the Holocaust. This episode traces his life from child prodigy to prolific scientist, exploring his obsession with understanding the world through measurement and statistics, and how this mindset eventually led him to pioneer eugenic theories. Along the way it takes in his African travels, unwise self-experimentation during his medical degree, and his troubling views on women. If you’re a fan of debunked scientific theories, whacky historical inventions and the unsavoury origins of modern beliefs, you’ll love our episode on Francis Galton. If you want more biographies with Desiree Burch, listen to our episodes on Pythagoras, Paul Robeson or Lena Horne. And for more on the history of eugenics, check out our episodes on the Kellogg Brothers and Victorian Bodybuilding. You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Naomi Weaver Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

The Iliad and Odyssey: heroic epics from ancient Greece

Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by historian Dr Emily Hauser and comedian and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe to learn about the epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey. Traditionally attributed to the poet Homer, these works tell parts of a legend that has fascinated us for centuries: the story of the Trojan War. Featuring a cast of unforgettable characters – Achilles, Odysseus, Paris, Helen, Hector and Agamemnon – the war between ancient Greece and Troy has inspired writers, artists and filmmakers for over a millennium. But the Iliad and Odyssey only recount episodes of this much bigger story. The Iliad, focusing on the hero Achilles, takes place in the closing stretches of the war. And the Odyssey tells the tale of Odysseus’s perilous voyage home after the Greeks have triumphed. In this episode, we trace the origins of the poems in the 8th century BCE, looking at whether Homer really wrote them and how these originally oral tales came to be written down, before exploring the fantastical tales they tell. Along the way, we also look at whether or not the Trojan war really happened, how the ancient Greeks defined heroism, and examine the role of gods and monsters in the poems and the lives of their heroes. If you’re a fan of fantastical myths and legends, heroes behaving badly, and ancient Greek culture, you’ll love our episode on the Iliad and Odyssey. If you want more from Kiell Smith-Bynoe, listen to our episode on Viking explorer Leif Erikson. And for more historical epics, check out our episodes on the Legends of King Arthur, and the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Auréliane Perrin Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

El Cid (Radio Edit)

Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Spain by historian Professor Nora Berend and comedian Toussaint Douglass to learn about the colourful life and afterlife of the warrior known as El Cid. El Cid – real name Rodrigo Díaz – was a mercenary in eleventh-century Spain who fought for both Christian kings and Muslim rulers before setting himself up as ruler of Valencia. This episode explores his dramatic life in the period before religious divisions were key on the Iberian Peninsula, and an ambitious warrior might fight for whoever would pay him. It then traces the legend that grew up around him after his death, taking in the medieval romances written about El Cid, the surprising role his bones played in the Napoleonic wars, his appropriation by General Franco after the Spanish Civil War, and even the classic Hollywood film starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Adam Simcox Written by: Adam Simcox, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars