In 1592 the Japanese launched a massive invasion of the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed that Korea would submit without much of a fight and that his army would very quickly...

For this throwback Sebastian takes you all the way back to a first season favorite. Ninjas, Japan’s shadow warriors, have been a pop-culture staple for generations. The legend of the ninjas has become so...

Our Fake History celebrates 200 episodes by opening up the phonelines and taking calls from listeners and past guests. Fans from all over the world pose questions and queries and Sebastian does his best to...

There are few Christian saints more misunderstood than St. Patrick. Ireland’s patron saint is best known for driving the snakes off the island, but that isn’t even close to the most interesting thing about...

The attempted invasion of England in 1588 was doomed even before the first ship left harbor. The Spanish plan was fatally flawed and pretty much every commander knew it. The plan was audacious, but it was...

The attempted invasion of England in 1588 was doomed even before the first ship left harbor. The Spanish plan was fatally flawed and pretty much every commander knew it. The plan was audacious, but it was...

In 1588 King Phillip II of Spain constructed the largest fleet ever seen on the Atlantic in attempt to invade England. This attempt famously flopped. At the time this was celebrated as an English triumph in...

In this throwback episode Sebastian take you all the way back to the very first episode of OFH ever released. Queen Elizabeth I is easily one of England’s most celebrated monarchs. The so-called “virgin...

The reign of the Emperor Caligula has been presented as a cavalcade of bizarre and violent behavior. From declaring war on the ocean to building a five kilometer floating bridge so he could ride his horse...

When the Emperor Gaius, better known as Caligula, was first elevated to the role of Princeps things seemed promising. He sought to repair the relationship with the Senate damaged by his predecessor, Tiberius....

The Roman Emperor Gaius, better known by his childhood nickname Caligula, is often counted among the worst rulers in the history of the world. According to some ancient sources his tumultuous four year reign...

Our Fake History is now releasing "throwback" episodes in the off-weeks between series. The regular show will still hit the feed every two weeks, but once a series has wrapped up listeners will get a little...

In 1791 Wolfgang Mozart was one the verge of a comeback. After being the toast of Vienna for half a decade, his music was starting to be considered passé by the late 1780's. A turbulent war between Austria...

Wolfgang Mozart made the transition from child prodigy to adult artist fairly seamlessly, but that does not mean there weren't road bumps. Many musicians were skeptical of the boy from Salzburg. Was he more...

There are few artists who are praised with the same level of hyperbole as Wolfgang Mozart. The German poet Franz Alexander von Kleist once said “Mozart's music is so beautiful as to entice angels down to...

The character of Zorro clearly had a number of inspirations, some literary and some historical. But the proto-Zorro with the deepest mythology is undoubtedly the Mexican bandit Joaquin Murrieta. The outlaw...

The co-creator of Batman has admitted that there would be no caped crusader had it not been for the inspiration of masked-avenger Zorro. In turn, the character of Zorro could not have existed without the...

The Salem witch panic of 1692 can sometimes feel more like a natural disaster than a human event. When the crisis reached its peak in the late summer of 1692 it had become as chaotic and destructive as any...

Can a psychological illness become contagious? Many experts believe that in rare cases a phenomenon known as a "mass psychogenic illness" can break out in a population. Can this strange quirk of group...

In 1692 in the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two young girls started acting very strangely. The girls suffered from uncontrollable fits, bouts of incoherence, and odd outbursts including barking and...

In 1906 an ex-convict named Wilhelm Voigt living pulled off one of the most audacious heists in European history. After cobbling together a realistic looking Captain's uniform, he convinced ten German...

In the world of pseudo-historical theories there are few more radical than the Phantom Time Hypothesis and the New Chronology. These theories propose that hundreds of years of human history never actually...

There are few tales of revenge as epic as that of Olga of Kyiv. In 945 AD Olga set out on a campaign of vengeance that would make a lasting mark on the history of Eastern Europe. However, there is good reason...

Most professional wrestling fans have accepted the scripted nature of wrestling for decades, but are we truly living in a post-kayfabe world? This week's guest, RJ City, thinks that maybe kayfabe never died....

Professional Wrestling had a long history of manipulated matches, but it took time to evolve into the pure theatre we know today. Along the road Professional Wrestling passed through a strange intermediary...

In 1957 the French philosopher Roland Barthes called professional wrestling a "spectacle of excess." That may be the most beautifully succinct description of sports entertainment ever written. For decades...

In 1721 the first Hell-Fire club caused a scandal in London and quickly disbanded, but the story did not end there. Soon new blasphemous rake's clubs were being founded all over England, Scotland and Ireland....

In Britain in the early 18th century private social clubs were all the rage. These societies grew out of the emerging coffeehouse culture and soon became an integral part of the social life of the British...

There is a long tradition of writers comparing Christopher Columbus to mythical figures. 16th century historian Peter Martyr believed Columbus was like a later-day Aeneas, the Trojan hero who travelled west...

A Columbus biographer once wrote that the famous navigator had an "an imperfect understanding of the line between truth and falsity." The Genoese mariner had a habit of lying, exaggerating, or revising...

There are few historical figures whose reputation has swung in as many extreme directions as Christopher Columbus. The Genoese mariner once credited with "discovering America" has in recent years been called...

On today's show Sebastian has the opportunity to talk to one of his favourite film critics, podcasters, and cultural observers, the great Amy Nicholson. Amy writes about film for the New York Times and is...

If you managed to get through elementary school math then you have almost certainly heard the name Pythagoras. The ancient Greek thinker has been celebrated as the man who first discovered the mathematical...

The myth of Mata Hari would have us believe that she was a turn-of-the-century super-spy. She has been celebrated as a master of the "honey trap" tactic, where a beautiful spy seduces her mark and extracts...

Between 1905 and 1908 the dancer professionally known as Mata Hari was one of the best known entertainers in Europe. Her nearly-nude dances were given an air of respectability thanks to her presentation as...

In 1905 a woman claiming to be a Javanese temple dancer rocketed to fame in Europe. Her name was Mata Hari and her nearly-nude dances were presented as profound religious experiences. But, Mata Hari was...

In the 1580's Japan was a on the precipice of a massive transformation. For over a century the country had been embroiled in war, but by 1581 the end seemed to be in sight. The powerful Lord Oda Nobunaga was...

Near the end of Japan's "Warring States" period a remarkable visitor arrived in the country with a group of European Jesuit missionaries. He was a soldier originally from East Africa acting as a bodyguard for...

Houdini had a truly impressive run as an entertainer. In the decade between 1904 and 1913 he developed a number of escapes and illusions that are still considered the gold-standard for stage magicians....

Over the course of 1899 Harry Houdini went from being an obscure circus performer to being one of the best known entertainers in America. He became known as the "Handcuff King" and made headlines challenging...

Over the course of 1899 Harry Houdini went from being an obscure circus performer to being one of the best known entertainers in America. He became known as the "Handcuff King" and made headlines challenging...

The word "iconic" gets thrown around pretty loosely these days, but there are some figures who truly earn the descriptor. Micheal Jordan and Mohammed Ali are icons because they truly transcended their sport....

In 1703 a curious character arrived in London claiming to be a native of the island of Formosa. These days Formosa is better known as Taiwan, but in early 18th century it was a place barely understood by most...

Some of the most legendary figures to emerge from the history of the American West were the rough-and-ready "mountain men". But, the most legendary mountain man of all had to be the cannibal, Liver Eating...

There is a story that as Galileo stood in front of the Inquisition and listened as they declared that the Earth did not revolve around the Sun, he whispered under his breath "and yet, it moves". This moment...

Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope, but he never made that claim. He simply whipped up his own take on the device and sold it to the Republic of Venice before his Dutch competitors could...

The Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei has been remembered as the "father of modern science." The discoveries he made with his telescope led to a completely new understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. The...

Did you know that the Amazons once waged war on Atlantis? According to the ancient historian Diodorus of Sicily, the Amazons conquered Atlantis while carving out an empire in Northern Africa. This may have...

When the conquistador Francisco Orellana was attacked by a band of female warriors deep in the heart of South America, he thought immediately of the Amazons of Greek mythology. His encounter with this group...

In this OFH throwback episode Sebastian is throwing you back to Episode #61 - What's the Problem with Socrates? Socrates has been celebrated as the “father of western philosophy”. This is particularly...

In this "throwback episode" we look back at episode #96. In the 1930’s a famous California history professor thought he had discovered a long lost historical treasure. It was a brass plate apparently...

In this SUPER SIZED season finale Sebastian explores the many myths and misconceptions about the city of Toronto. In his attempt to get a deeper understanding of the city he has called home, our host embarks...

In the stories of saints' lives written in the medieval era Attila the Hun was often used as a stock villain. He was called the "Scourge of God" and was understood as a blunt instrument used by God to punish...

The Huns were not a literate culture, which means their version of history was never written down. As a result we rely on sources written by outsiders to trace the rise of the Hunnic empire and the career of...

Attila the Hun has been saddled with a truly terrible historical reputation. In many parts of the world his name is synonymous with barbarism. But, despite the fact that Attila the Hun has excellent name...

In the last year the global conversation around the fate of the Benin Bronzes has shifted dramatically. In April of 2021 the German government announced that the vast majority of Benin Bronzes kept in German...

In 1897 Queen Victoria marked her diamond jubilee and Britain was in a celebratory mood. The British Empire had never been stronger. Few could imagine that this world-spanning empire might very well be...

Looting has been a part of warfare since the earliest times. Despite the fact that looting was common for much of history, it was always recognized as an especially harmful and humiliating by-product of armed...

The Titanic myth isn't really built on lies, so much as a series of amplified "half-truths". Stories about the Captain imploring his crew to "Be British" and the band playing even as water sloshed around...

When the wreck of the Titanic claimed over 1500 lives in 1912 the tragedy seemed too full of irony and meaning for it simply to be a freak accident. Surely someone was to blame. There had to be villain. Since...

The sinking of the RMS Titanic is one of the best remembered nautical disasters in history. Over 1500 passengers died after the luxury ocean liner struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the North...

In part two of this OFH Special Presentation Sebastian pulls a little something out from behind the Patreon paywall. What was once a massive extra episode on the history and weird mythology of the Knights...

In this OFH Special Presentation Sebastian pulls a little something out from behind the Patreon paywall. What was once a massive extra episode on the history and weird mythology of the Knights Templar is now...

Over the course of 150 episodes there have been theories, stories, and sidebars that have fallen through the cracks. Tales that don't quite fit the main thrust of an episode sometimes get cut for time....

The character of Stagger Lee has been one of America’s most enduring folk heroes. There have been over 400 songs written about the swaggering, gun-toting, bad man. He has gone by many names: Stacks Lee,...

In 1906 Alberto Santos-Dumont performed a number of short flights in front of a large crowd in Paris. These were done in his newly constructed heavier-than-air flying machine, the No.14-Bis. After these...

The late 19th century in France sometime gets called La Belle Époque or the "Beautiful Era". As the name suggests, this is a time that has been fondly remembered as an age of optimism marked by artistic and...

In mythology from around the world the ability to fly was reserved strictly for the gods. Stories about human beings constructing flying machines were usually punctuated with a moral about hubris. Vain...

The legendary hybrid creature known as the gryphon was said to have the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Despite this fantastical descriptions the ancient Greeks and Romans truly seemed to...

Eleanor of Aquitaine has been called the "Queen of the Troubadours" by fawning biographers. She has been credited with transforming medieval European culture through her patronage of the arts. It's also been...

When the King and Queen of France went on crusade in 1147 it nearly destroyed their marriage. The campaign led by King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine was an unmitigated disaster. But despite (or perhaps...

Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the best remembered medieval Queens. She has been celebrated as one of the most daring and consequential women of her age. But despite her fame Eleanor is often misunderstood....

The 30 Years War has reputation among history buffs as one of the most complicated conflicts you can study. Even though the war is filled with fantastic stories, it can sometimes scare away history podcasters...

There are three main culprits in the alleged burning of the Great Library of Alexandria. But weirdly they all lived roughly 300 years apart from one another. How is that even possible? It’s weird anomalies...

The Egyptian city of Alexandria was once the most magnificent city on the Mediterranean. It was a city of wonders, whose culture was the envy of the Greek world. Tragically many of Alexandria's ancient...

In this throwback episode Sebastian takes a look back at a show that explores one of the greatest legends in 20th century popular music. Did the legendary blues musician, Robert Johnson, really trade his...

In this OFH Throwback episode Sebastian takes a look at one of the most fun and accessible episodes in the OFH catalog. The world of food and drink is filled with colourful mythology. How much should we...

In this throwback episode we take a look at an episode Sebastian thinks may have been the best "one-off" show created over the podcast's six seasons. Take a listen to how the host thinks this one has held up....

In this throwback episode Sebastian revisits "Part II" in the Season One series on the conquest of Mexico. In the freshly recorded introduction the host reflects on criticisms that this episode first received...

In this throwback episode Sebastian revisits a series from Season One of OFH. After the shows on Jared Diamond it seemed like a good time to take another look at the conquest of Mexico. This was also the...

Season 6 wraps up with Sebastian taking questions from the listeners! He gets into everything from the name of the podcast, to his most loved shows, to the nature of humanity itself. Tune-in and find out how...

Is Jared Diamond's 1997 bestseller a work of staggering genius, or a piece of intellectual garbage? Has it moved our understanding of humanity forward, or has it set us back by decades? Are these binary...

When Sebastian first read Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize winning book Guns, Germs, and Steel as an undergrad, he thought it was brilliant. That was until a Professor he deeply respected, dismissed it as being...

Every spring thaw between 1812 and 1814 seemed to inaugurate a completely new war in North America. The momentum in the War of 1812 would swing wildly between the Americans and British until the two sides...

When Sebastian first learned about the War of 1812 when he was a Canadian middle-schooler, there were two words he was told he had to remember of the test: manifest destiny. Back then it was heavily implied...

American historians sometimes refer to War of 1812 as the "Forgotten War", but this has never really sat well with Canadians. You know who has not forgotten about the War of 1812? Canada, that's who! In the...

Ethiopia's history is nothing short of remarkable. The East African nation is home to one of the worlds oldest Christian traditions. For centuries the country was ruled by a line of kings who claimed to be...

The Ark of the Covenant is one of the most fascinating objects mentioned in the Old Testament. The ancient Israelites believed the Ark held a divine power that made them unstoppable on the battlefield. When...

The search for a historical Gilgamesh is filled with red herrings. As Mesopotamia's best loved epic hero, images of Gilgamesh are littered throughout the ruins of the ancient cities of the Tigris and...

The oldest known piece of literature on the planet is the epic tale of Gilgamesh, king of the Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk. The story was a staple of middle-eastern storytelling for well over a thousand...

There are few Christian saints more misunderstood than St. Patrick. Ireland's patron saint is best known for driving the snakes off the island, but that isn't even close to the most interesting thing about...

In 1611 a the Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, was confined to her castle of Cachtice, never to leave again. This sentence was imposed on her by the Lord Palatine of Hungary. But strangely, even though...

Throw the name Elizabeth Bathory into your favourite search engine and you will quickly find superlatives like “history’s most prolific female serial killer” and leading questions like “Was Dracula Woman?”...

In episode #125 a historical myth about the origins of karate snuck past Sebastian! In this bonus episode the host does his darndest to set the record straight. Many thanks to listener Philipp Surkov for...

Martial arts myths are have been described as "savvy marketing". But, the most enduring bits of of fake martial arts history also combine Zen tradition, a Confucian veneration of the past, and a healthy dose...

Asian martial arts are often coated in a thick layer of of legend. Many fighting styles have elaborate origin stories and mystical founding fathers. These stories often help enhance the prestige of a...

For this Bonus Episode Sebastian is sharing something he recorded earlier this year for a project curated by Daniele Bolelli, host of History on Fire. Sometime last year Daniele got the idea to pull together...

These days Nostradamus is best known for the predictions found in his book The Prophecies. But, surprisingly, that book only became popular after the French seers' death. During his lifetime Nostradamus was...

The 16th century French prophet, Nostradamus, has a way of rearing his head anytime humanity finds itself in the midst of a crisis. Anytime there's a collective tragedy, the world is plunged into conflict, or...

In 1763 twenty indigenous people in the colony of Pennsylvania were murdered by an armed gang. The victims had been a peaceful group of Conestogas, who had been wrongfully accused of aiding in violent raids...

What does a Voodoo Queen even do? It turns out that much of it had to do with a ceremony in New Orleans known as St. John's Eve. Much of Marie Laveau's legend is deeply tied to that yearly voodoo ritual....

Voodoo might be one of the most misunderstood religious traditions in the world. This unique combination of traditional West African spirituality and Roman Catholicism has been slandered for centuries as an...

One of the many things that makes New Orleans one of the most unique cities in North America is its history of Voodoo. When it comes to New Orleans Voodoo there is no figure more important than the great...

The island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, has been called "the clearest example of a society that destroyed itself." For years it was taken for granted that the people of Rapa Nui had depleted their natural...

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the indigenous islanders call it, may be the most misunderstood place on planet Earth. For centuries outsiders have tried to unravel what they perceived to be the islands many...

William Shakespeare is easily the best known playwright in the English language. His works are praised as some of the greatest feats of writing and are still required reading throughout the English speaking...

In November of 2017 OFH did a series on the birth of Rock 'n Roll. Back then Sebastian was so terrified about getting sued that he did not include any of the music discussed in the episode. He has since been...

In November of 2017 OFH did a series on the birth of Rock 'n Roll. Back then Sebastian was so terrified about getting sued that he did not include any of the music discussed in the episode. He has since been...

On this OFH Throwback we return to an episode from two summers ago called "Who Invented Your Favourite Sport?" This re-release is being done in honour of the postponed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan,...

In 1324 the Malian Emperor, Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to Mecca that would stun the Islamic world with its magnificence. If the sources are to be believed, the emperor traveled with an entourage 60 000...

One of the most pernicious historical myths to ever circulate is the wrongheaded belief that sub-Saharan Africa was uncivilized and devoid of history before the era of European colonialism. The sophistication...

There are few tales of revenge as epic as that of Olga of Kyiv. In 945 AD Olga set out on a campaign of vengeance that would make a lasting mark on the history of Eastern Europe. However, there is good reason...

In this quick announcement Sebastian lets everyone know that the next Our Fake History will be released on June 23. Sebastian also expresses the podcast's solidarity with all of those protesting for an end to...

After unifying the "Warring States" the first emperor of China turned his attention to an even more lofty goal: becoming an immortal. When describing the first emperor the ancient sources paint a picture of...

In Chinese folklore the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is never presented as a hero. Instead he is always presented as villain who is undone by his own arrogance and impiety. He is often introduced in folk...

If you were going to make a list of the most historically influential people to have have ever lived, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, should probably be in the top 10. In the mid 2nd century BC,...

The rebellion led by Boudica, the Iceni warrior woman, nearly dislodged the Roman empire from the island of Britain. She had the numbers, the momentum, and a righteous cause. So why was she ultimately not...

The ancient rebel leader Boudica has become an icon in her native Britain. She is celebrated as a symbol of resistance and female power. However, getting a sense of her true character is nearly impossible...

They say that history is written by the winners. While it's a trite cliché, there might be some truth in it. It's especially true when examining a figure like the Celtic-British freedom fighter Boudica. In 60...

When did the Renaissance begin? When did it end? Do these questions even have proper answers? In this episode Sebastian frets over the so-called "Renaissance Myth" and tries to draw some conclusions. Should...

The Renaissance has been touted as one of the most important moments in European history. 19th century historians like Jules Michelet and Jakob Burckhardt made the case that a "rebirth" starting in the 1300's...

In the 1890's a team of physicians and scientists discovered the cause of bubonic plague, a bacteria they named Yersinia Pestis. It was assumed for most of the 20th century that Yersinia Pestis also caused...

When studying the plague of the 14th century it can be easy to focus on the death, but on Our Fake History we are so much more interested in life. The people who lived through the plague dealt with the horror...

The epidemic known as the Black Death struck Europe in 1347 and completely upended medieval society. It's been estimated that roughly half of the European population was killed by this gruesome disease....

In November 2019 Sebastian was asked to perform at the Toronto Hot Docs Podcast festival. Our Fake History was featured on a show called "Sounds of the Six". Sebastian was given 15 minutes to both introduce...

The Santa Claus legend may be one of the most sturdy pieces of mythology in modern times. While other magical creatures have faded from our common lore, the legend of Santa Claus has only grown. However, the...

In celebration of Our Fake History's 100th episode Sebastian runs the podcaster's gauntlet in front of a live crowd. Your host tells tales, plays guitar, and interviews an illustrious guest. But the show is...

These days it's impossible to speak about the mysteries of the pyramids without saying something about aliens from outer space. Thanks to the writings of authors like Eric Von Danieken and a slew of cheesy...

The most elaborate theories concerning the pyramids of Giza usually position those monuments as deeply different and distinct from all other Egyptian pyramids. However, to fully understand the pyramids of...

The Egyptian pyramids are easily the most mythologized pieces of architecture on the planet. They have inspired historical myths and misconceptions essentially as long as "history" has been a literary genre....

In the 1930's a famous California history professor thought he had discovered a long lost historical treasure. It was a brass plate apparently inscribed by the famous English adventurer Sir. Francis Drake....

Since The Prince was first published in 1532 it has attracted an eclectic group of admirers. Figures as diverse as Napoleon Bonaparte, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, and Tupac Shakur, have managed to find some deep...

There are few political thinkers with as evil a reputation as the Florentine writer Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli's philosophy was believed to be so cutthroat and cynically ruthless that some thought it...

Once someone has embraced the moon landing hoax conspiracy it can be hard to change their mind. More often than not it's arguments concerning the Van Allen radiation belts and tiny photographic cross-hairs...

The foundational text for all moon landing conspiracy theories is a humble little book called We Never Went To The Moon. It was self-published by the author, Bill Kaysing, in 1976 and soon became the de-facto...

As we near the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission many have started to reflect on the legacy of the moon landings. However, in 2019 it's hard to discuss this amazing human achievement without...

Thanks to the mysterious pirate historian Captain Charles Johnson, Blackbeard became a truly legendary villain. According to the Captain, Blackbeard indulged in practically demonic behavior. The devil himself...

Blackbeard may be the most iconic pirate to ever roam the seas. His fearsome reputation and distinctive sense of personal style have made him the template upon which countless fictional pirates have been...

There are few periods in history as hotly contested as the so-called "Dark Ages". Traditionally, the 5th to 10th centuries in Europe have been characterized as "bizarre and monstrous". But is this perception...

There is evidence out there that King Arthur was more than just a myth. However, that evidence often comes in the form of tiny scraps found in questionable sources. Those bits of evidence can be arranged and...

The Arthurian legend has been described by at least one scholar as a giant mythical vacuum. It has a reputation for sucking in and absorbing previously independent legends and making them part of Arthur's...

King Arthur is easily the most requested topic in the history of this podcast. This probably isn't a surprise given Arthur's stature in world of mythology. But is Arthur more than a myth? Was there a real...

Vodka may be the most controversial alcohol in history. The origin of the distilled liquor continues to be one of the culinary world's most bitterly contested historical debates. This is partially due to the...

Some of the most enduring historical myths have to do with food and drink. Food history can sometimes be seen as frivolous, which makes it particularly vulnerable to myth-making. As a result some of the...

Recounting the atrocities that took place in the Congo Free State during the reign of King Leopold II is a daunting process. It was a state where sadism was the norm and severed human hands became a grizzly...

The creation of the Congo Free State was one part cheap hustle and one part military occupation. King Leopold II managed to convince Europe he was a noble humanitarian while he was secretly building one of...

There are few colonial enterprises as infamous as the Belgian King Leopold II's Congo Free State. While most people have a vague understanding of the atrocities that took place there, many don't know the...

Graham Hancock's hypothesis that an advanced global civilization was lost from history after a cataclysm at the end of the last ice age, sounds like it should be fun. It isn't. Wading through all of Hancock's...

They are few researchers as controversial as Graham Hancock. He first found fame in 1995 when he published his international bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods. In that book he first proposed his hypothesis...

The fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm can often surprise modern readers with their violence and cruelty. There is something particularly haunting about the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the...

When I spoke to Jon Waterlow he reminded me that George Orwell once said that every joke is a tiny revolution. Well, it turns out jokes can be even more than that. In his fantastic new book, It's Only a Joke...

There are few moments in Joseph Stalin's life that are not the subject of historical controversy. These controversies inevitably become more heated when we start discussing the deaths that occurred during...

Stalin's biography may be one of the most contested in modern times. As early as the 1930's his life story was being written by friends and foes alike. The competing versions of Stalin's past has made finding...

The are few 20th century figures as perplexing as Josef Stalin. Historians widely agree that Stalin was responsible for the deaths of some 20 million human beings. Despite that his legacy has remained the...

In the first episode of Season 4 Sebastian looks at the historical reputation of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian has been celebrated as one of Rome's "five good emperors", but is that reputation actually...

In this final episode of Season Three Sebastian turns his attention to sports! The question of who invented a particular sport can sometimes be a matter of national pride. As such sports history can become...

In a small town outside of Canada's capital city of Ottawa there sits a remarkable relic of the atomic age. It is a massive bunker that would have become the headquarters of the Canadian government if the...

When I was researching Helena Blavatsky I was often amazed at how someone so weird, with such an outrageous life story, could inspire so much dull writing. That was until I discovered Gary Lachman's 2012...

In the final chapter of our series on the occult guru Helena Petrovna Blavatsky we look at her surprising move to India and the scandal that ultimately destroyed her reputation. After being publicly called...

Occult guru Helena Blavatsky lived a life that defied explanation. However, her books might be even harder to explain. Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine are massive collections of esoteric thought that...

There are few stranger figures from the 19th century than Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Her absolutely unbelievable life story has puzzled biographers since the 1800s. Nevertheless, her occult spiritual...

The legend of the fountain of youth is one of humanity's oldest pieces of lore. Tales of magical water sources that can reverse the aging process exist in dozens of different cultures around the world. But...

An essential part of Cleopatra's legend is her relationship with the Roman Marc Antony. Everything from their first meeting, to their decadent courtship, to their inevitable suicides has become the stuff of...

Ancient authors would have us believe that the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, used an intoxicating blend of sexuality and extravagant living to manipulate powerful men. In fact some have gone so far as to lay...

There are few ancient women as well-known as the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. However, most of what we know about her comes from sources that were edited and censored by her enemies. She has been portrayed as a...

Socrates has been celebrated as the "father of western philosophy". This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider "Socratic...

In the summer of 1096 the "People's Crusade" led by Peter the Hermit was on the cusp of flaming out spectacularly. Luckily for the Europeans this group of zealous peasants were not the only crusaders on route...

Peter the Hermit was one of the most important people of the medieval era. He was instrumental in rousing the peasants of Europe and convincing them to march east on crusade. However, for someone so...

There are few medieval events that are still as politically loaded as the Crusades. Even though the First Crusade was launched well over 900 years ago people are still debating it's merits. The debate becomes...

In the 10th century a letter started circulating that had been allegedly written to the Byzantine Emperor by a mysterious eastern King. The King identified himself as Prester John and claimed that he was...

In classic samurai films the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi was always presented as rough but honourable. The real Musashi may have been considerably more complicated. If we look closely at some of the samurai's...

The samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is the archetypal lone-wolf warrior. Legend has it that in course of his life he fought over sixty duels and never once lost. His psychological strategies and unique two...

It's been said that finding the first rock 'n roll song is akin to finding the spot on the colour spectrum where blue becomes indigo. The task might be impossible, but Our Fake History has never been afraid...

One of the most contentious questions in American pop culture revolves around who should get the credit for inventing rock 'n roll music. Rolling Stone magazine helped propagate the myth that the genre was...

Richard the Lionheart did his best to make himself a legend in his own time. He was flamboyantly chivalrous in a way that was designed to get attention. His charm campaign seemed to work. Generations of...

There are few English kings as legendary as Richard the Lionheart. In Robin Hood stories he was portrayed as the ultimate "good King". For the Victorians he represented everything that was noble about...

Almost as long as people have been telling stories about Robin Hood, historians have been trying to find the real person who inspired the legend. Over the centuries dozens of researchers have cooked up...

Robin Hood is easily one of the most beloved characters in English storytelling. For centuries the forest outlaw has been the ultimate hero of the downtrodden. He steals from the rich, gives to the poor, and...

The podcast is celebrating its second birthday! For our season finale we have something a little special. This week Sebastian is joined by New York Times Bestselling author Mark Adams. Mark is the author of...

Piracy on the high seas has existed for as long as human beings have had boats. For most of history these maritime marauders were almost exclusively men. However, there have also been a handful of notable...

The 1683 Siege of Vienna often gets described in apocalyptic terms. It has been characterized as the ultimate showdown between Christianity and Islam. There is no doubt that it was a dramatic and significant...

In July of 1683 the Ottoman Turks were closing in on the city of Vienna. The outnumbered Austrians frantically prepared their defenses and did their best to manage the panic that was gripping the city. The...

The 1683 Siege of Vienna has been remembered as one of the most dramatic moments in European history. The Ottoman Turks threw the might of their empire against the walls Vienna in an attempt to capture a...

In the world of pseudo-historical theories there are few more radical than the Phantom Time Hypothesis and the New Chronology. These theories propose that hundreds of years of human history never actually...

The Lincoln County War was once called "a war without heroes". However, it did manage to produce an American legend. Billy the Kid would eventually be celebrated as a righteous avenger who fought for the...

There are few times and places as romanticized as America's "Old West". It has a robust mythology peppered with gunslingers, outlaws, and rugged pioneers. One of the most recognizable of these legendary...

In the world of Atlantis research there are many who believe that ruins of the lost city can, and will, be found. By carefully considering the details in Plato's dialogues some researchers believe that fabled...

The world of Atlantis research can be a very strange place. Some researchers believe that Atlantis was a real Bronze Age city whose ruins might one day be found near the rock of Gibraltar. Others believe that...

In 360 BCE the Greek philosopher Plato wrote of a powerful island nation that had been sunk to the bottom of the ocean by wrathful gods. Plato called this lost city Atlantis. Little did he know that this...

In the history of the Blues there are few musicians as revered as the great Robert Johnson. Although he saw little success in his own lifetime, his music would go on to influence generations of singers,...

In the early 1600's most English people assumed that Captain John Smith was a liar. His memoirs were peppered with romantic stories of shipwrecks, duels to the death, and exotic lovers. His contemporaries...

The story of Pocahontas is one of the most enduring legends of America's early colonial period. Her relationship with the Englishman John Smith would become the inspiration for everything from cheesy romance...

Archimedes was one of the ancient world's most important mathematicians. His discoveries would form the foundation upon which all future western science was built. However, he's probably best remembered for...

P.T Barnum did everything he could to curate his own historical legacy. He was deeply concerned with how people would remember him after he was gone. Would he go down as a greasy hustler, or would he be...

In the 19th century there were few Americans more famous than P.T Barnum. Long before he founded the circus that would bear his name, Barnum made a name for himself by pulling off elaborate hoaxes. Barnum's...

The Crimean War cavalry action known as "the charge of light brigade" was immortalized by the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson . The poet described a glorious charge into the mouths of Russian cannon carried out by...

When Tsar Nicholas II was executed in 1918 the Bolsheviks pumped the Russian media full of misinformation. The official story was that the Tsarina and the Prince had been spared and moved to a safe location....

If there is anything stranger than the life of Grigori Rasputin, then it has be his unbelievable death. As Rasputin's influence at court increased the rumours about his debauched personal life became even...

There are few twentieth century figures as mysterious as Grigori Rasputin. The Siberian mystic has been portrayed as a scheming dark magician who seduced the Russian Queen and made a cuckold of Tsar Nicholas...

The deeper you dig into the claims made in 1421: The Year China Discovered America the weirder the story becomes. The author Gavin Menzies boldly asserts that the fleets of the Chinese Admiral Zheng He...

One of the most controversial historical theories to emerge in the last 15 years is the so-called "1421 thesis". The theory was originally formulated by the former British submarine commander Gavin Menzies....

Our Fake History is celebrating its one year anniversary! In honour of this milestone we have turned the show over to the listeners. In this episode Sebastian does his best to answer as many of your questions...

Ty Cobb has been remembered as one of baseball's greatest villains. Despite being universally recognised as one of the game's most talented players, Ty Cobb is mostly remembered as violent racist who was...

It has been nearly six hundred years since Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake in Rouen. Since that time there have been no shortage of conspiracy theorists and armchair psychologists who have tried to explain...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace is so deeply enveloped in mythology that finding the real man can seem almost impossible. His life story has doubled as both entertainment and propaganda since it...

William Wallace is not only one of Scotland's best loved national heroes, he's also one of the most internationally well-known. His role as a leader in Scotland's medieval wars of independence against the...

The spear that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross has been one of the most fabled holy relics in history. The so-called "Spear of Destiny" is said to possess incredible supernatural powers that...

The story of the war between the Aztec (Mexica) empire and the Spanish conquistadors is one of the most dramatic in world history. The accounts of the conquest are diverse and, at times, contradictory. Some...

Before the Spanish arrived in the early 1500's, the Aztec, or Mexica, people had built an impressive civilization. Their empire was composed of bustling cities that were larger, cleaner, and more...

When Marco Polo returned from his travels in Asia he brought back with him tales of lands previously unimagined by Europeans. One of his strangest stories was that of the so-called "old man of the mountain"...

After seizing power in 1799 Napoleon's legend would only continue grow. In the years after the coup d'etat that brought him to power Napoleon would redraw the map of Europe and refashion himself as an...

Napoleon is simultaneously one of the most well-known and most misunderstood figures in Western history. He has been portrayed as both the ultimate romantic hero and the most despicable war-mongering...

William Shakespeare is easily the most well-known playwright in the English language. His works are praised as some of the greatest feats of writing and are still required reading throughout the English...

Ninjas, Japan's shadow warriors, have been a pop-culture staple for generations. The legend of the ninjas has become so overblown, that some have gone so far to suggest that they never truly existed. But that...

Is the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur just a bedtime story for morbid children or does it contain the kernels of real history? This week we dive into this classic myth and discover how it might hold clues...

The "Great Fire" of 64 AD was the 9/11 of the ancient world, complete with it's own "truther" conspiracy. Could Emperor Nero actually have been behind the great fire? Did he play the fiddle as Rome burned?...

Queen Elizabeth I is easily one of England's most celebrated monarchs. The so-called "virgin queen" has been credited with leading England through a golden age. However, she is also the subject of countless...