
Half-Arsed History
Welcome 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.
Latest episodes

Feb 9, 2025 • 1h 7min
Episode 346: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
In this week's episode, meet Harriet Tubman, the US activist and abolitionist who aided countless enslaved people in securing their freedom before she went on to take part in the American Civil War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 7, 2025 • 25min
Inventions Episode 6: Rubber
Rubber has a history that is a lot longer than you might expect - it dates back over 3,500 years, to ancient Mesopotamia, and has had a long and interesting journey to become the commonplace material it is today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 5, 2025 • 16min
QAH Episode 96: A Brief History of Stone Tools
Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of stone tools, one of if not the oldest pieces of technology in history - so old, in fact, they predate humanity itself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 2, 2025 • 1h 12min
Episode 345: The History of Greenland
In this week's episode, become familiar with 4,500 years of Greenlandic history, from the settlement of pre-Inuit, Norse, and Inuit peoples, through to the current importance it has in global affairs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 31, 2025 • 38min
Inventions Episode 5: Glass
Glass, technically, may be a naturally-occuring material, but the way that humans have learn to create, shape, and change it over the millennia has had a strong influence on the way we live our lives - an influence that we take for granted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 29, 2025 • 20min
QAH Episode 95: The War of Jenkins’ Ear
Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief account of how a relatively minor colonial spat between Britain and Spain became known by one of the silliest names in history - the War of Jenkins' Ear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 26, 2025 • 1h 17min
Episode 344: The Mutiny on the Wager
In this week's episode, hear the tale of the mutiny on the Wager, when a group of sailors stranded off the South American coast rose up against their stubborn captain, leaving him for dead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 24, 2025 • 25min
Inventions Episode 4: Soap
Soap has been used by humans for thousands and thousands of years to keep our things clean, and for hundreds and hundreds of years to keep our bodies clean. By most people, anyway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 22, 2025 • 36min
QAH Episode 94: Samuel Pepys’ Account of the Great Fire of London
Quarter-Arsed History presents: the biggest cop-out episode in this podcast's entire history, one that involves Riley just reading out a week of entries from Samuel Pepys' diary. More like Eighth-Arsed History tbh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 19, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 343: The Great Fire of London
In this week's episode, learn all about the Great Fire of London, which ripped through the city in 1666, turning it into a smoking ruin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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