Latest podcast episodes

This is an early history of the failed attempt to found the colony of North Australia at Gladstone, in what is now Central Queensland. (Summary by Timothy Ferguson)

A Child's History of England first appeared in serial form, running from January 25, 1851 to December 10, 1853 and was first published in three volume book form in 1852, 1853, and 1854. Dickens dedicated the book to "My

On the gently rolling farm lands surrounding the little town of Gettysburg, Pa., was fought one of the great decisive battles of American history. For 3 days, from July 1 to 3, 1863, a gigantic struggle between 75,000 Co

Here is a look at the evolution of thought and events that led Benjamin Franklin to make this statement: "British subjects, by removing to America, cultivating a wilderness, extending the domain, and increasing the wealt

Bushido: The Soul of Japan is a study of the way of the samurai. A best-seller in its day, it was read by many influential foreigners, among them US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, as well as Robert Ba

Please note: this recording contains strong language. Also known simply as "1601", this is a humorously risque work by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880, and finally acknowledged by the author in 1906. (Sum

This is the third and final volume of Isaac D'Israeli's monumental work Curiosities of Literature. It covers a great range of diverse topics, by no means limited to literature only, but also containing numerous essays on

F1王者に輝いたドライバーたちのF1デビュー戦、F1初勝利を振り返る連載企画『F1王者たちのデビュー戦と初優勝の物語』を全4回でお届け。最終回／第4回目となる今回は、戴冠4回のアラン・プロスト、セバスチャン・ベッテル、 […]

The fourth and final volume of Lea's monumental work on the Spanish Inquisition. This volume discusses how the Inquisition dealt with mysticism, solicitation of illicit relationships, bigamy, theological propositions, wi

The title, "History of Holland," given to this volume is fully justified by the predominant part which the great maritime province of Holland took in the War of Independence and throughout the whole of the subsequent his

The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the 18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated English historian Edward Gibbon. The books cover the perio

A group of six masked thieves on dirt bikes are conducting a crime spree across Sydney's inner west, targeting small businesses including cafes, bars and hotels in Alexandria, Surry Hills, Stanmore and Annandale. The gro

Ben-Hur is a story of two very different heroes. Judah Ben-Hur, a prince of Jerusalem, is involved in an accident to the Roman procurator which is taken to be intentional. He is seized and sent to the fleet as a galley-s

In this volume, we have the Virginia Dynasty of presidents: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. America at this time was involved in expansion with the Louisiana Purchase and the annexation of the Floridas. Then too we were

Volume VII of a series containing anecdotes and stories, some well-known, others less so, of particular countries. This seventh volume covers the history of Spain from before the Moorish conquest to the loss of overseas

A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a 1724 book containing biographies of contemporary pirates. It's author uses the name Captain Charles Johnson, generally considered a pseudo

This is the first volume in ten volume series of great epochs in the history of the United States, from the landing of Columbus to the building of the Panama Canal. In large part, events composing each epoch are describe

On a trip to Spain in 1830, our narrator recounts his encounters with two strange characters: a thief named Don José Navarro and a beautiful Romani woman named Carmen...little does he know that soon, these two will be en

Twenty years ago, John Balthazar, a notable and brilliant Cambridge mathematician, left England abruptly as he found himself falling in love with a woman who was not his wife. No one hears from him for 20 years and it's

Buccaneers is non-fiction, a highly readable history of how piracy began and spread throughout the region in response to the plundering of Spanish colonialism. It is written with great flair for the dramatic by the autho

Never have bright romance and black scandal been more attached to the name of lovely woman," writes a quaint and susceptible chronicler, " than to that of fair Anne Boleyn." Certainly no girl ever flashed so meteor-like

This sixth installment in the series, as one would expect, deals with events in the northern settlements that were taking place at the same times as those in the southern. The opening passage explains: "The Pilgrims and

The Reverend Edward John Hardy, ordained in the Church Of Ireland, was a chaplain in the British army for thirty one years. His 1915 collection of anecdotes is by and about the British soldier, the “Tommy” or “Mr. Thomas

World War I stories, as told through the eyes of someone who was there, but leavened with humour and an eye for the ridiculous side of human nature. This is a collection of McNeile's early short stories, drawing on his e