The Gallimaufry
Two lovers of the past look at the weird, the wonderful and often overlooked bits of history. Gallimaufry means a confused jumble or collection of things and that basically sums us up. Crafted lovingly in a carpet shop basement. New episodes every month.
(We are not the pub in Bristol, but happy to hear music acts who wish to perform with us.)
Episodes
40 episodes
Æthelstan, King of the whole of Britain
Think Alfred was great? Check out his grandson. Raised by his badass warrior aunt, Æthelstan was famously pious, a bit of a clever cloggs and a decent fighter. He came to the throne later than most but would have a major impact on the developme...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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55:12
Bloody Sunday
On the 30th January 1972 a peaceful protest march in Derry, Northern Ireland turned into a civilian massacre. 14 people lost their lives as the British military opened fire on unarmed crowds. It was an event that started the longest and bloodie...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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59:50
The Dancing Plague of 1518
Dance, dance, dance till you're dead, literally. In 1518 the poor inhabitants of the city of Strasbourg were struck with the most unusual affliction, they began to strut their stuff and just couldn't stop, so what caused this horrifically pecul...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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59:34
Number Stations: Cold War Cryptography
Creepy staccato voices, playful jingles, and random numbers. Welcome to the weird and haunting world of number stations, shortwave radio made especially for your friendly neighbourhood spy. Delve into these cold war mysteries with us.Sp...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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58:09
England in the 1930s
Unemployment, benefit cuts, the rise of facism, royal mishaps and lack of quality housing...No it's not present day Britain, but the era of the Great Depression, the 1930's. In a truly hodgepodge episode, we pick out some of the things ar...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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1:19:22
The French Wine Blight: How wine was saved
Bienvenue les amis and welcome to an episode all about one of the greatest catastrophes in France's history. The decimation and near extinction of its wine industry. All caused by a tiny visitor from the new world wreaking havoc. Makes a change...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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1:02:57
Observing the Masses: How the everyday person made history
Back in the 1930's three upper class blokes got together to start the first big social history project in Britain. The fruit of their work was Mass Observation, a project that gathered the real thoughts and opinions of ordinary working people o...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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1:04:46
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
The first English colony in North America ended in a mystery that has entranced people for centuries. Colony leader John White left and returned three years later to find no trace of hundreds of people, including his own daughter. We trace the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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1:02:34
The Milgram Experiment
One of the most controversial social psychological experiments ever, Milgram's Obedience tests shocked the real world for its results, and the psychological world for his methods. Find out what they were, their impact and also who the people we...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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1:07:24
The Profumo Affair: Sex, lies and soviet spies
Sex, politics, Russians, dodgy police. This story has it all. Tory sex scandals may not be an eyebrow raiser anymore, but here's where it all began. This is the affair that rocked the British political establishment and gave birth to the media ...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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1:07:48
Tea: From leaf to cup
How about a nice cup of Rosy Lee, cha, builders or just a plain brew? Tea is one of the mos popular drinks in the world, the second as it stands, but how much do we know about where its from? How its made? Or even what the right amount of milk ...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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1:14:44
Sputnik: The beginnings of the space race
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a silver beach ball with extensions. It's Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite, launched by the USSR on October 4th 1957 to the shocked, amazed and terrified world. Come here the story of how it was made ...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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1:11:25
Ancient Serial Killers
We tend to think of serial killers as a modern thing and indeed the term is very recent (in the grand scheme of things!) but what about before we knew the term? Were there serial killers roaming the streets of...well Rome? Was saucy Jack just c...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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1:02:59
The Knights Templar
Although they've been gone over 700 years, the Knights Templar fascinate and inspire many across the globe. We take a look at the real organisation, how they began, what they got up to and their grisly downfall. Sadly the real story is less mys...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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1:11:16
The Royal Mail
Where would the world be without the trusty post? The medium of many a crank, soppy poet and aggressive coupon chancers everywhere. We take a look at one of the longest running public mail systems, a national institution (quite literally), that...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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58:30
Cockney
Wotcha saveloy? Were going to get a bit Piccadilly today aren't as we delve into the wondrous world of cockney, the people and the slang, so hold on your Alan Wickers for the Harry Lime of your fork and knife. Translation: Cockn...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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58:50
Caroline Norton: Pioneer of women's rights
Life for women in the 19th century was hard, really hard. As a married woman you basically didn't exist, everything that was yours, was actually your husbands, even your kids. Then along came Caroline Norton, a strong minded, intelligent author...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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50:27
The Act of Union 1707
Come discover the birth of Great Britain and learn about the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England, which the Scottish totally, honestly, wanted... and launched one of the biggest empires the world has ever seen.
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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46:50
The Fruit Bowl: How we came to munch on nature's candy
The wonderful succulent world of fruit awaits. We've been scoffing it for centuries, but how did the fruit we all come to know and admire from afar on our kitchen tables (or tv's in some cases...) get there in the first place. So prepare to go ...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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1:15:19
Lord North: The Prime Minister who Lost America
When we think of great Prime Ministers, Lord North is probably close to the bottom of the list. A corpulent and charismatic figure, he led the British Government during the war of American Independence, a staggering defeat that finally kn...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:00:53
The Pyramids
Ancient, pointy, symmetrically impressive, no this is not Keith Richards, but the Pyramids. Engineering marvels from one of the oldest and greatest nations to exist. Find out how, why and who built this majestic tombs in the episode, but honest...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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59:52
Plastic: Is it fantastic?
Is it "fantastic?" A truly 21st century invention, although actually, plastics go back centuries and most modern plastics were actually discovered in the 19th century...however it certainly embodies the sprit of capitalist consumerism. From our...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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59:46
The Enron Story
The story of Enron is one of greed, corruption, incompetence and toxicity, all the hallmarks of a successful American enterprise. One of the biggest financial scandals in business history kicked off the 21st century. Once described as "the smar...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:15:59
The 1919 British Race Riots
The Great War has ended, thousands of citizens from across the colonies have answered the call of the Empire, but now the dust has settled, the troops are home, they are no longer welcome. Despite also existing as communities for centuries in B...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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50:08
Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar
Often called the Russian Lincoln, we take a look at the life of Alexander the 2nd of well...Russia. Thought of as too emotional and lazy by his peers, he certainly showed them! Known for emancipating the serfs and trying desperately to reform R...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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49:24
