Our Fake History

If Joan of Arc's rise to fame was unexpected, then her success on the battlefield was completely flabbergasting. Joan would score a series of impressive victories over the English and clear a path to Rheims so her Dauphin could become King of France. But what's a girl to do when her mission from God wraps up more quickly than anticipated? How should a modern lover of history make sense of a life so filled with miracles and impossible deeds? Tune in and find out how foot spikes, a proud bastard, and an archer named Lionel all play a role in the story.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An historical myth managed to get loose and pass itself off as a fact in Episode #21! In this "Mini-Episode" Sebastian does his utmost to wrangle the loose myth and banish it to the pit. What results is a brief history of the most obscene gesture in the western world. Tune in and find out how Socrates, The Boston Bean Eaters, and the namesake of the "Charlie Horse" all play a role in the story!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The story of how Joan of Arc, an unassuming peasant girl, became the leader of French armies is one of the most dramatic in all of European history. In many ways Joan's biography can read like a fairytale, or like the classic hero's journey. As you might imagine it is a story that is coated in a healthy layer of mythology and exaggeration. Parsing the legends from the verifiable historical facts can get messy when it comes to France's most unlikely national hero. Tune in find out how a man made of glass, the history of obscene gestures, and the best way to shut down a cat-caller all play a role in the story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are few expeditions from the so-called "age of discovery" as harrowing as Ferdinand Magellan's attempted circumnavigation of the globe. The journey was plagued by storms, scurvy, starvation, and mutiny. By the time the expedition was over only one leaky boat and 18 traumatized sailors managed to make their way back to Spain. What became of the man who has so often been celebrated as the first person to sail around the world? Tune in and find out how blood filled goblets, vengeful slaves, and Quentin Tarantino all play a role in the story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Famous historical "firsts" tend to be controversial as a rule, and the world's first circumnavigation is no exception. Ferdinand Magellan is often celebrated as the first person to sail around the world, but is that actually true? In many ways the expedition that is given credit for completing the first circumnavigation may have actually been one of the era's most disastrous sea-voyages. Who really deserves the title of "first person to circle to globe?" Tune in and find out how the flat earth, an island of people with no heads, and a retirement plan based on cloves all play a role in the story! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The story that a woman disguised as man was once elected Pope has been floating around since the 1200's. In fact it was widely believed for hundreds of years that there had once been a real female Pope. But during the tumult of the Protestant Reformation the story was rejected by the Catholic Church, and it has subsequently been scoffed at as a myth. Was Pope Joan just a strange medieval legend, or was her legacy erased by a conspiracy? Tune in and find out how transvestite nuns, anti-popes, and a weird chair with a hole in the seat all play role in the story! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have explored the myth of Trojan War and we have sung the Ballad of Heinrich Schliemann. All that's left is to answer the question that has inspired this entire trilogy of episodes. To determine whether or not the Trojan War was based on a verifiable historical event we are going to have to scour the Iliad for clues, peruse ancient Hittite clay tablets, and examine all the archaeological evidence that wasn't thrown in the trash by Heinrich Schliemann. Will we solve the great Trojan puzzle? Tune in and find out how multiple Homers, Sea People, the god of earthquakes, and mean twelve-year-old girls all play a role in the story.     See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our quest to discover if the Trojan War was a verifiable historical event we have to grapple with the amateur archaeologist who first tried to solve that mystery. Heinrich Schliemann believed that he had found real proof that the city of Troy actually existed. His discoveries were some of the most celebrated archaeological finds of the late 19th century, which earned him the moniker "the father of archaeology".  But Schliemann was also a prolific liar who freely misrepresented his findings and invented wild stories about his personal life. Can we trust one of academia's greatest scoundrels? Tune in and find out how missing gold dust, fake treasures, Mike Meyers, and PT Barnum all play role in the story! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The story of the Trojan War is one of humanity's oldest tales of armed conflict. For the Ancient Greeks the war represented the bloody end of an historical epoch. The fall of the city marked the end of the so-called "Age of Heroes", and heralded a new era where superhuman demi-gods would no longer walk the earth. But is the Trojan War just a myth, or was there a real conflict that provided the inspiration for the story? It's going to take three whole episodes to find out, so strap in! Tune in and find out how Oceans 11, heroes in drag, and divine bribery all play a role in the story! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Pacific Ocean is the most expansive body of water on planet earth. Despite this fact ancient people managed to venture forth into its immensity and create a civilization of incredible sophistication. The question of how the ancients managed to settle the Pacific perplexed academics for generations. This left the door open for some pretty wild theories about the origins of the Polynesians. Chief among these theorists was the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdhal . Heyerdahl's audacious stunts would make the world question the conventional wisdom on the Polynesians. But should his theories be trusted? Tune in and find out how stone giants, Gilligan's Island, and the last cannibal on Fatu Hiva all play a role in the story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.