History's Greatest Scandals
History's Greatest Scandals
Podcast Description
Poisoned sweets. Criminal misdeeds. And a sex scandal involving… the prime minister. In the first series of History’s Greatest Scandals we’re delving into the murky underworld of the Victorians.
Join journalist Ellie Cawthorne and historian Professor Rosalind Crone, as they take a journey through the backstreets of 19th-century Britain. They’ll be sneaking into private parlours, descending into candlelit mines, frequenting grim workhouses and paying a visit to an unscrupulous confectioner, to uncover some of the biggest scandals of the day – and explore what they can reveal about Victorian age.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into several key themes including social justice, historical injustices, and moral dilemmas of the Victorian era. Examples of specific episode topics include investigations into child labor in coalmines, the brutal conditions of workhouses, and infamous poisoning cases linked to confectionery, along with explorations of major public scandals involving figures of authority.
Join us for series two of History’s Greatest Scandals, where Ellie Cawthorne and Professor Hannah Greig are uncovering the secrets of the Georgian era.
They’ll be following on the trail of forgers, exposing illicit liaisons, meeting cross-dressing celebrity spies and getting involved in some high-stakes gambling, as they search out some of the most salacious stories of the day, and explore what they can reveal about this fascinating period of history.
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne examine the story of the Zong massacre, in which more than 130 enslaved people were murdered – and their deaths claimed on insurance
In the 1780s, an extraordinary insurance claim made its way through Britain’s courts – against the lives of more than 130 enslaved people who had been intentionally thrown overboard a slaving ship in the Caribbean. In this episode of History’s Greatest Scandals, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the notorious Zong massacre, and explore how it exposes the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.
History’s Greatest Scandals is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, History’s Greatest Battles and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
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This episode was hosted by Ellie Cawthorne and produced by Jack Bateman.
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