

Half-Arsed History
Riley Knight
Pre-order History's Strangest Deaths and get 17% off: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.htmlWelcome along to Half-Arsed History! It's a weekly podcast highlighting absurd and entertaining stories from history. Three times a week, it helps host Riley Knight feel as though his useless history degree has some kind of real-world relevance.Get in touch: halfarsedhistory@gmail.comSupport the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/halfarsedhistorySubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/halfarsedhistoryBuy Half-Arsed History merch: https://halfarsedhistory.theprintbar.comIf you've just discovered the show and aren't sure which of the 350+ episodes to start with, here are some suggestions:Episode 139: The History of the Toilet - https://sptfy.com/PK3J • https://apple.co/3Giftt3Episode 75: The Great Emu War - https://sptfy.com/PK3K • https://apple.co/4jKCvr7Episode 197: The History of Nuclear Weapons - https://sptfy.com/PK3L • https://apple.co/4jygYlcEpisode 233: The 1930 FIFA World Cup - https://sptfy.com/PK3M • https://apple.co/4iltL9PEpisode 106: The First Circumnavigation - https://sptfy.com/PK3N • https://apple.co/4jewsLjHalf-Arsed History acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the unceded Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) Land on which the podcast is written and recorded, and pays respect to First Nations Elders past, present, and emerging. Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. This continent always was, and always will be, Aboriginal Land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 22, 2025 • 56min
Episode 365: Sir Francis Drake, the Dragon of the Seas - Part 2
In this week's episode, finish off the story of the famed Sir Francis Drake, and hear about his later campaigns agains the Spanish - both successful and unsuccessful. History's Strangest Deaths, the first Half-Arsed History book, releases on the 5th of August across the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand region. Pre-order your copy at Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 20, 2025 • 22min
Inventions Episode 25: Railways
Railways revolutionised the world of transport, enabling people and goods to be transported great distances at great speed, more cheaply and efficiently than ever before. History's Strangest Deaths, the first Half-Arsed History book, releases on the 5th of August across the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand region. Pre-order your copy at Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 18, 2025 • 19min
QAH Episode 115: The St Scholastica Day Riot
Quarter-Arsed History presents: the St Scholastica Day Riot, when the English university town of Oxford was thrown into the midst of a three-day riot over a disagreement about the quality of some wine. History's Strangest Deaths, the first Half-Arsed History book, releases on the 5th of August across the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand region. Pre-order your copy at Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 15, 2025 • 1h 6min
Episode 364: Sir Francis Drake, the Dragon of the Seas - Part 1
In this week's episode, meet Sir Francis Drake, whose lifelong vendetta against the Spanish led to a life of high adventure - including the circumnavigation of the globe.Pre-order History's Strangest Deaths and get 17% off: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 13, 2025 • 31min
Inventions Episode 24: The Steam Engine
The steam engine is a foundational modern technology that underpins today's industrialised world; it also tended to explode and helped to precipitate a climate crisis. So there's that.Pre-order History's Strangest Deaths and get 17% off: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 11, 2025 • 21min
QAH Episode 114: The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef
Quarter-Arsed History presents: the legend of Lasseter's Reef, a supposed immense fortune in gold that is lost somewhere out in the Australian desert. Pre-order History's Strangest Deaths and get 17% off: https://www.booktopia.com.au/history-s-strangest-deaths-riley-knight/book/9781761472589.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 8, 2025 • 54min
Episode 363: The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
In this week's episode, uncover the details of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, when something caused nine Soviet hikers to abandon their mountainside tent and perish in the middle of a freezing night - for reasons that have never been conclusively determined. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 6, 2025 • 26min
Inventions Episode 23: The Thermometer
The thermometer has had a huge impact on many aspects of modern life, none more important than in the field of medicine - where it has helped in revolutionising diagnosis and patient monitoring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 4, 2025 • 23min
QAH Episode 113: Mad Jack Mytton, the Regency Rake
Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of Mad Jack Mytton, a wild and eccentric character who wasted a colossal fortune away living a life of unbridled, reckless hedonism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 1, 2025 • 55min
Episode 362: The Sacred Band of Thebes
In this week's episode, meet the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite heavy infantry unit, made up of 150 pairs of lovers, that took part in immensely important ancient battles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.