Half-Arsed History

Changes are coming to Half-Arsed History in 2026! Some positive, some negative - here is the TL;DL:• There will now only be two episodes released each week: the usual full-length episode and a new series called This Week in History, replacing QAH• I'm pulling back a little bit to try to bring my unsustainable workload back under control, reduce burnout, and find better balance• Half-Arsed History's second book is coming later in 2026, the manuscript is currently being written and edited• A brand-new Half-Arsed History card game is in the works, and you can be involved with playtesting and illustration • The show's merch will undergo a full and proper refresh later in the year - artists are encouraged to submit portfolios• A big goal for the show in 2026 is growth, so please tell your friends, enemies, and people about whom you feel largely ambivalent about Half-Arsed HistoryList of historical figures likely to appear in the card game: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KEsNw2oTfuXZOn-dU3-dtVhHJAvY0dt0DNbzhIVBbMY

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the very amusing history of Sealand, an unrecognised micronation located on an abandoned military fort off the coast of Britain.

In this week's episode, meet five more historical figures with strange epithets: Æthelred the Unready, Constantine V Koprónymos, Louis Do-Nothing, Malcolm the Maiden, and Piero the Unfortunate.

The internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. 

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of the Stone of Scone, a block of sandstone upon which Scottish, English, and then British kings and queens have been coronated for well over a thousand years.

In this week's episode, hear the incredible tale of Air Canada Flight 143, when a Boeing 767 ran out of fuel mid-flight and so had to be flown and landed as a glider on a not-quite-abandoned airfield in the Canadian town of Gimli.

The Global Positioning System began as top-secret military technology, before a series of interesting (and some tragic) events opened up a world of convenience and logistical optimisation to the world at large.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of Morse code, an encoding and transmission system that helped to transform long-distance communication in the mid 19th-century.

In this week's episode, hear about the series of ridiculous setbacks and disasters that took place as part of the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, a revolutionary step forward in global communications.