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Half-Arsed History
Update: Half-Arsed History in 2026
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 History
List of historical figures likely to appear in the card game: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KEsNw2oTfuXZOn-dU3-dtVhHJAvY0dt0DNbzhIVBbMY
More episodes
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10401. Episode 401: The East India Company - Part 1: Spices and Stocks
56:26||Ep. 10401In this week's episode, learn about the global 16th century trading conditions that ultimately led to the formation of the East India Company, an institution that would eventually grow to effectively rule as a nation in its own right.
50009. Week 9: The Great Fire of Meireki
38:13||Ep. 50009This week in history we’ve got the first Europeans in Australia, we’ve got the first Sherlock Holmes stories, we’ve got famous composers and an even famouser crook, and we’ve got the time the city that would go on to become Tokyo burnt to the ground.
10400. Episode 400: What Half-Arsed History Could Have Been
01:20:10||Ep. 10400In this week's episode, get a taste of what this show might have sounded like if it had begun as a podcast of a different genre.
50008. Week 8: Three Presidents in One Hour
35:26||Ep. 50008This week in history we’ve got monuments, calendars, and the disastrous premiere of a popular opera, we’ve got the birthdays of astronomers and diarists and presidents, and we’ve got that time that Mexico got through three presidents in a single hour.
10399. Episode 399: Nicolaus Copernicus and Copernican Heliocentrism
55:34||Ep. 10399In this week's episode, get to know Nicolaus Copernicus, the 15th-century astronomer who brought about a historical paradigm shift with his radical proposal that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the centre of the solar system.
50007. Week 7: The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre
40:40||Ep. 50007This week in history we’ve got famous martyrdoms, global car races, and the discovery of former planets, we’ve got the birthdays of scientists and leaders and activists, and we’ve also got the story of an infamous Chicago bloodbath.
10398. Episode 398: The Foundation of Modern Singapore
58:20||Ep. 10398In this week's episode, discover how, why, and perhaps most importantly where modern Singapore was founded, back in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles.
50006. Week 6: The Sack of Baghdad
33:32||Ep. 50006This week in history we’ve got riots and treaties, we’ve got the discovery of the world’s biggest gold nugget, we’ve got the birthday of a famous Victorian author, and of course, the end of the Islamic Golden Age with the Sack of Baghdad.
10397. Episode 397: Catherine the Great, the Enlightened Empress
01:15:47||Ep. 10397In this week's episode, meet Catherine the Great, the empress who successfully ruled Russia for almost 35 years despite usurping a throne she had no claim to.