Half-Arsed History

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Defenestrations of Prague, an account of the multiple time that angry Bohemian Protestants have hurled Catholics out of windows as acts of political protest.

In this week's episode, learn all about the papal conclave: what preceded it, its origins, its centuries of history, and all that we know about how it elects popes today, in the 21st century.

Eyeglasses, as a very important invention, have evolved from an expensive and somewhat unreliable piece of specialist equipment to something that half the world's population makes daily use of. 

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the (somewhat unverified) tale of Timothy Dexter, who amassed a vast fortune by making some of the most ludicrous business decisions you'll ever hear. 

In this week's episode, learn all about Australian elections - how they originated, how they've changed, how they work today, and how their results lead to parliamentary governments being formed.

The compass has been used as a navigational tool for a thousand years, guiding ships and aeroplanes around the world - but for a thousand years before that, it served a different (and slightly less useful) role.

Quarter-Arsed History present: the tale of the 14th-century noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson, who, after the execution of her husband at the hands of the French king, turned to a life of piracy and terrorised French shipping in the English Channel.

In this week's episode, get stuck into another tragic chapter in Scottish history with the stories of the Jacobite Risings and the famous Battle of Culloden.

Gunpowder revolutionised human warfare, ushering in a new chapter in the history of our species as we left behind swords and shields to fire guns and cannons instead.