Histories of the Unexpected

I call the Living I mourn the Dead I break the Lightning

(inscribed on the Great Bell of the Minster of Schaffhausen)

Join the Preacher of the Past, Dr Sam Willis and the Antidote to Antiquity, Professor James Daybell, as they steer their very own DeLorean through the unexpectedly charged history of lightning. It will be a high voltage flight from Nelson to Dickensian ghosts. Along the way, they will make the lightning flash links between American Independence, superstitious English sailors, Protestant winds and Nazi P.E kits.

Take a seat, for as Dickens himself said: ‘Bring in the bottled lightning, a clean tumbler and a corkscrew,’ for this unexpected history may get a little electrifying.This episode is all about the unexpected history of lightning. Which is all about American independence, and Horatio Nelson's front porch...

Dr Sam Willis - @DrSamWillis Professor James Daybell - @JamesDaybell Follow the show's new Twitter: @UnexpectedPod HistoryHit Network - TwitterFacebook Producer - Dan Morelle