No One Saw It Coming

Dr Tim Madge, writer and former journalist who narrates historical tales, recounts the rise of Angelo Mariani and his coca-infused Vin Mariani. He covers its creation as a tonic for fatigue and hunger. He explains how Mariani marketed to celebrities and clergy. He traces the wine’s role in normalizing cocaine and its link to later stimulant drinks.

Marta Braun, retired director of photographic and film preservation and expert in 19th-century motion photography, guides a vivid history of Eadweard Muybridge. She traces his reinventions from bookseller to pioneering motion photographer. Listens cover his Yosemite work, the twelve-camera setup that proved the “flying” horse, the zoopraxiscope projector, legal battles over credit, and a shocking murder trial.

Dr William Murphy, a modern Irish history professor at Dublin City University, explains how prisons became unexpected hubs of resistance. He recounts hunger strikes, brutal force-feeding and the deaths that ignited outrage. The conversation traces how martyrdom in jail reshaped public opinion, radicalized movements and helped tilt Ireland toward independence.

Dr Matt Sakakeeny, Tulane ethnomusicologist and department chair, traces jazz from Congo Square to global stages. He explores ring shouts and call-and-response, the colony-era quirks that allowed musical life, New Orleans’ multicultural mixing pot, and how figures like Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong synthesized traditions into early jazz.

Brooke Kroeger, journalist and NYU emeritus professor who studies journalism history, guides us through Nellie Bly’s daring undercover asylum stunt. She recounts how Bly planned and pulled off the fake insanity act, the shocking conditions she exposed, and the fame and controversies that followed. Short, vivid stories about investigative courage and legacy.

Mark Segal, veteran gay rights activist and journalist who witnessed Stonewall and helped found the Gay Liberation Front, recounts the night a routine raid turned into resistance. He describes the gritty, mafia-run bar, the sudden collective pushback, the marches that followed, and how those moments launched organized Pride and long-term activism.

Dr Lauren Samuelsson, Associate Lecturer and food historian, traces the potato's journey from Andean staple to Western sensation. She unpacks fears and fashions around the tuber, royal endorsements that reframed its image, the potato's role in empire and famine, and how frying traditions traveled from France to America. Short, surprising tales connect politics, culture and cuisine.

Dr Katrin Schreiter, a historian of German division and senior lecturer at King’s College London, shares a personal take on the fall of the Berlin Wall. She recounts a surprising press‑conference slip, the chaotic media spread, confused border guards letting people through, and the grassroots courage of ordinary East Germans.

Mary McGillivray, art historian and storyteller, unpacks the 1911 theft that flipped the Mona Lisa into a global icon. She traces how Vincenzo Perugia pulled off the heist, the bungled Louvre security, and the myths that grew around the crime. The story covers Perugia’s nationalist motive, the painting’s two-year absence, and how its disappearance launched worldwide fame.

Mark Horton, archaeologist who led digs at Fort St Andrew, gives a vivid account of the Darien Scheme. He describes the terrible choice of harbour, swampy conditions and daily life revealed by artefacts. He also covers the failed relief efforts, English trade embargo and how the disaster bankrupted Scotland and pushed it toward union with England.