After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Artemisia Gentileschi's paintings personify female rage against men. She paints women beheading men, hammering nails into their skulls, brandishing their dead faces. In her personal life, Artemisia was the victim of sexual abuse, torture and public shaming. Can we read her traumatic personal life into her work?Edited by Anna Brant and Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Hear a chapter of Maddy's new book, "Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment". It's out now! It's the story of three women and their hoaxes in the age of Enlightenment. One saw ghosts, the other claimed magic powers, the third was a Princess. Were these hoaxes entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed?For more information, click here.After Dark will return to its normal programming on Monday (Sunday for subscribers).

When you think of the Aztec Empire, what do you picture? Human sacrifice?In today's episode, Anthony is joined by Aztec expert Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock, to unpack why we fetishise the Aztecs in this way, why ritualised violence is certainly not limited to this civilisation in this time in history, and who it benefitted to think of them in this way.Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the stories from it. This is the story of a fake Princess from far-off lands who hoaxed Georgian Britain. What was the truth of her story?Get your copy here: https://profilebooks.com/work/hoax/Edited by Hannah Feodorov and Anna Brant. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the stories from it. The haunting of Cock Lane is the most iconic ghost story in London's long history, taking place in the year 1762. Was it a hoax?Pre-order your copy of Maddy's book now: https://profilebooks.com/work/hoax/Maddy tells Anthony Delaney the story today.Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

In Ancient Mesopotamia, the boundary between the living and the dead was not always fixed... some even believed it could be crossed. But why would the living seek counsel from the dead? How common were these practices? And what answers did people hope the spirits might reveal?In this episode, Anthony is joined by the brilliant Dr. Irving Finkel! Irving is a returning guest and Curator in the Department of Middle East at the British Museum. Be sure to check out our other episode with Irving, Earliest Evidence of Ghosts... Edited by Hannah Feodorov and Anna Brant. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Across prehistoric Britain people raised vast stone circles, buried their dead in monumental tombs, and left offerings in rivers and bogs. Archaeologists have uncovered skeletons bearing signs of violence, carefully arranged human bones, and bodies that may have been killed in ritual…Out guest today is fan favourite Ronald Hutton. Ronald is a returning guest, having been on numerous episodes of After Dark including the the Execution of Charles I and the Dark Side of the Celts.Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

On a summer day in Sarajevo in 1914, a young man fired two rounds of his pistol in the middle of the street, killing a Royal couple... He didn't know it then, but his actions would cause a chain reaction, resulting in the First World War. But who were Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Duchess Sofie? What kind of relationship did they have? And how did a single, chaotic day unravel into one of history’s most devastating turning points?Anthony is joined for the final time this month by the marvellous Gareth Russell to retell this tragedy. Gareth's book is “The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War”.Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Is it true that third-class passengers were locked below decks? Or that more lifeboats would have saved more lives? Did the band really play as the Titanic went down? Anthony is joined once again by the marvellous Gareth Russell to debunk the myths around the disaster. Gareth's book is The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era.Research by Phoebe Joyce. Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.For tickets to see Anthony and Maddy talking about her new book, Hoax, click here: https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/hoax/Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.