Podcasts about victorians

Author Mark Beatty joins to explore three Victorians who shaped their era in very different ways yet rarely get the spotlight. We trace Grace Darling's 1838 sea rescue and the birth of tabloid celebrity; Josephine Butler's fearless campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts and for raising the age of consent; and George Biddell Airy's half-century as Astronomer Royal, standardising Greenwich Mean Time for a world on the move. It's a conversation about media, morality, science, empire—and how private grief and public purpose can collide.Mark's trilogy on Darling, Butler and Airy is out now. If you can, please support independent bookshops or buy direct from the publisher.Go Deeper: Visit our website at www.explaininghistory.org for articles and detailed explorations of the topics discussed.▸ Join the Conversation: Our community of history enthusiasts discusses episodes, shares ideas, and continues the conversation. Find us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast/Substack: https://theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com/▸ Support the Podcast: Explaining History is a listener-supported production. Your contribution helps us cover the costs of research and keep these conversations going. You can support the show and get access to exclusive content by becoming a patron.Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/explaininghistoryExplaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Victorian era transformed Britain into the world's foremost industrial and imperial power. The rise of factories saw the expansion of sprawling cities, inhabited by a working class trapped in grinding poverty. But while the ever-growing ranks of impoverished residents were dogged by dangerous conditions, slums and the perpetual fear of the workhouse, industrialists became rich on the back of their labour.   As Britain continued its march forward, advancements in science, technology, and machinery began to expose the dark underbelly of the empire. Victorians grappled with the consequences of their own progress, as moral and religious ideals collided with a rapidly changing world. But in what way did these new ideologies of gender, power, and class challenge society? And how would this epic, nation-defining era finally come to an end?   This is A Short History Of The Victorians, Part Two. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Amy Milne-Smith, Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, and Dr Onyeka Nubia, a British historian, writer and presenter. Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You'll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 242 is about putting ploughs into the ground, how the rural areas of much of the country was experiencing something of an agricultural revolution. It's rather a fascinating tale, because there are tremendous contradictions in what we're going to talk about this episode. As usual, there we will need to combine a global story with our local story —without doing so would be to stunt our awareness of the strands and tendrils that spread and connect. By the 1850s, Great Britain was manipulating trade and military as well as political power as reciprocating elements. This is a technique adopted by pretty much every empire since before Carthage. Political influence was used so as to extend and secure free exchange, in Britain's case commerce and anglicisation, spread political influence and welded alliances. As Lord Palmerston so aptly pointed out “…It is the business of Government to open and secure the roads for the Merchant…” Antiquated regimes were its enemy and foreign tariffs were its enemy, as anyone knows, the greatest enemy of free trade are tariffs. Empires were broken, the gouty and outdated Chinese, the religion-strangled Turkey, innumerable sheikdoms, sultanates and chieftancies were drawn into the invisible British empire of informal sway. When merchants manage affairs instead of men with guns, it's harder to pin down the essence of power — and also the dangers. The results of this grand vision were not encouraging by the 1870s and the Victorians were less sure of their panacea for both Asia and Africa. Among the ancient and invincibly conservative Confucian and Islamic rulers, no effective westernising collaborators had been found. The Tai'ping rebellion in China and the growing chaos in Muslim states appeared never ending. It was the United States that was gobbling up immigrants — most of Britain's emigrants went there, and the Victorians bought and sold more there than in any other single country. It had dawned on the British political elite that their commerical experience impressed a single portentous fact — that their most successful trading associations with the exception of the Indian Empire, were with Europeans transplanted abroad. They accounted for around 70 percent of all her investment overseas. The white communities in the temperate zones had the outlook and the institutions favourable to progress which the Asiatics and Africans seemed to lack. They offered customers with European tastes and money to spend. Mutual self-interest with whites of their empire meant private business of Great Britain commingled freely with that of Greater Britain and the once-colonial societies of the New World — the Americans and many in South America too. At the same time, the colonists were growing more bitter about Downing Street control and self-government appeared one solution. The aim was to avert the loss of more colonies and more American Wars of independence. So by the 1870s, confederated Canada, responsibly governed Australia and the Cape were regarded as constitutional embodiments of collaboration between British and colonial interests — all working at their best. The number of trading stores in the Transkei quadrupled to a few hundred, and all of this meant that there was a major qualitative shift in the cumsumption patterns of Africans. New permanent wants replaced needs, metal was now preferred to traditionally crafted pots and baskets, the cow-hide kaross was replaced by the Witney blanket, ploughs and all manner of tools flooded into these developing farms. Around South Africa, energy seemed to be surging. Take the highveld for example. The sour veld of the Harrismith district to be precise. Largely used for summer grazing, the farmers here often moved their herds into Natal every autumn. Below the Berg as they put, OnderBerg. Underberg.

Episode 242 is about putting ploughs into the ground, how the rural areas of much of the country was experiencing something of an agricultural revolution. It's rather a fascinating tale, because there are tremendous contradictions in what we're going to talk about this episode. As usual, there we will need to combine a global story with our local story —without doing so would be to stunt our awareness of the strands and tendrils that spread and connect. By the 1850s, Great Britain was manipulating trade and military as well as political power as reciprocating elements. This is a technique adopted by pretty much every empire since before Carthage. Political influence was used so as to extend and secure free exchange, in Britain's case commerce and anglicisation, spread political influence and welded alliances. As Lord Palmerston so aptly pointed out “…It is the business of Government to open and secure the roads for the Merchant…” Antiquated regimes were its enemy and foreign tariffs were its enemy, as anyone knows, the greatest enemy of free trade are tariffs. Empires were broken, the gouty and outdated Chinese, the religion-strangled Turkey, innumerable sheikdoms, sultanates and chieftancies were drawn into the invisible British empire of informal sway. When merchants manage affairs instead of men with guns, it's harder to pin down the essence of power — and also the dangers. The results of this grand vision were not encouraging by the 1870s and the Victorians were less sure of their panacea for both Asia and Africa. Among the ancient and invincibly conservative Confucian and Islamic rulers, no effective westernising collaborators had been found. The Tai'ping rebellion in China and the growing chaos in Muslim states appeared never ending. It was the United States that was gobbling up immigrants — most of Britain's emigrants went there, and the Victorians bought and sold more there than in any other single country. It had dawned on the British political elite that their commerical experience impressed a single portentous fact — that their most successful trading associations with the exception of the Indian Empire, were with Europeans transplanted abroad. They accounted for around 70 percent of all her investment overseas. The white communities in the temperate zones had the outlook and the institutions favourable to progress which the Asiatics and Africans seemed to lack. They offered customers with European tastes and money to spend. Mutual self-interest with whites of their empire meant private business of Great Britain commingled freely with that of Greater Britain and the once-colonial societies of the New World — the Americans and many in South America too. At the same time, the colonists were growing more bitter about Downing Street control and self-government appeared one solution. The aim was to avert the loss of more colonies and more American Wars of independence. So by the 1870s, confederated Canada, responsibly governed Australia and the Cape were regarded as constitutional embodiments of collaboration between British and colonial interests — all working at their best. The number of trading stores in the Transkei quadrupled to a few hundred, and all of this meant that there was a major qualitative shift in the cumsumption patterns of Africans. New permanent wants replaced needs, metal was now preferred to traditionally crafted pots and baskets, the cow-hide kaross was replaced by the Witney blanket, ploughs and all manner of tools flooded into these developing farms. Around South Africa, energy seemed to be surging. Take the highveld for example. The sour veld of the Harrismith district to be precise. Largely used for summer grazing, the farmers here often moved their herds into Natal every autumn. Below the Berg as they put, OnderBerg. Underberg.

Over the course of Queen Victoria's reign, Britain transformed into the world's foremost industrial and imperial power. The Victorians built railways that spanned continents, invented life-changing technologies, and expanded a vast realm that stretched from the Caribbean to India. Yet, for all their achievements, they grappled with social unrest, stark inequalities between the rich and poor, and the dark side of imperialism.    So how did the Victorians justify their colonial project, while they tolerated such inequality at home? How did their moral values shape the way they treated those at the fringes of their rigid society? And how do the Victorians' struggles with industrialisation, governance, and poverty echo in the modern world?  This is A Short History Of The Victorians, Part One A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Amy Milne-Smith, Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, and Dr Onyeka Nubia, a British historian, writer and presenter. Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You'll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we're discussing book adaptations, visiting Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Back to Backs. Plus Asher is talking about the board game design course he's doing, Mirabelle's talking about some books she's working through in her Victorians topic, and Eden's reflecting on two weeks back at college and various groups. Plus the kids are making recommendations again at the end of the show.

The Losers return for another round of recommends in The Stacks, our monthly series about all the good shit we've been reading, watching, and listening to this month. For this installment, Randall, Mike, and Ashley discuss Stephen King's take on Hansel & Gretel with the late Maurice Sendak. They also go over new releases, what they've been reading as of late, and more. Here's a list of all the titles covered: Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story by Rich Cohen; The Troop by Nick Cutter; The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis; All Hallows by Christopher Golden; Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture by Brandon Grafius; Certain Nocturnal Disturbances: Ghost Hunting before the Victorians by Tim Prasil; Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson; Hole in the Sky by Daniel H Wilson; The Andromeda Evolution by Michael Crichton and Daniel H Wilson; Demonlover (movie); and TASK (TV show). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Victoria continues to be screwed over by the state's land tax rules. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dairy industry wants to grow, the governments plan to cut emissions and Victorians buy bulls

Just 59 per cent of Victorians have a first aid kit at home - the lowest of any place in Australia, according to new St John Ambulance research. St John’s Ambulance Victoria finds Victorians falling behind on emergency preparedness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Victorian government has launched a new body, Multicultural Victoria, tasked with developing safety plans for communities affected by serious or distressing events. Premier Jacinta Allan said the move reflects her vision of creating a “united Victoria.” The new body will be headed by a Coordinator General, supported by two deputies, including one based in regional Victoria, and guided by a five-member advisory council. The announcement follows the state's multicultural review, led by George Lekakis AO, which gathered input from more than 640 Victorians through 57 consultation sessions.

Hey comrades! In this episode, I'm chatting about what the heck "historical accuracy" is anyway with my new favorite historical romance author (and 19th c. English lit professor) Alexandra Vasti, author of the upcoming sapphic romcom, LADIES IN HATING. We talk about falling into research rabbit holes, when to throw that research in the trash, and assign an appropriate amount of hate toward Georgette Heyer and the Victorians. And of course, we're stuffing your TBRs with our favorite historically accurate recs. Enjoy the show! Connect with Alexandra: www.alexandravasti.com; Instagram &  Tiktok: @alexandravasti RESOURCES Heyerisms Tiffany Problem Pride & Predators Female Husbands by Jen Manion When We Were Trans by Kit Keyam   Subscribe! Follow! Rate! Review! Tell your friends and family all about us! Support the podcast and buy us coffee WRION merch! Our feminist, sapphic, bookish Etsy shop! Instagram/Threads: @wereaditonenight TikTok: @wereaditonenight Facebook: We Read It One Night Email: wereaditonenight [at] gmail.com

The Victorians called it ‘pernicious vomiting of pregnancy', but modern medicine has offered no end to the torture of hyperemesis gravidarum – until now. By Abi Stephenson. Read by Nicolette Chin. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Hard to imagine but fad diets go back as much as 5000 years. It was took the Victorians to make it a massive business. These days we all want the new and very expensive weight loss injections, but they used everything from arsenic, to tapeworms, to rubber underwear to get that svelte shape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Broski Report, Fearless Leader Brittany Broski explores Victorian history (again), talks curio shops, and reads your ghost stories.  The OFFICIAL Songs of The Week Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ULrcEqO2JafGZPeonyuje?si=061c5c0dd4664f01 

State Nationals Leader Danny O'Brien says he's saddened to hear how Victorians have been impacted by the increase to their rates.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Western metro MP Legalise Cannabis Party David Ettershank revealed new feedback from Victorians exposing the 'unreliability' of Public Buses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the second in a two-part mini series on forensic taphonomy centres or body farms. This week Lynda and Cass are meeting Dr Anna Williams, Professor of Forensic Science at the University of Central Lancashire.  At present there are only a dozen body farms established around the world and none in the UK, but Anna has been advocating for establishing one in the UK for over a decade. In this episode we look at the reasons why Anna has found it so challenging to establish a UK body farm and what value it might bring to our forensic sciences.  Forensic taphonomy is the study of what happens to a body between death and discovery. It's one of the oldest forensic disciplines and one of the most controversial. Why? Because to properly study forensic taphonomy you need bodies. The Victorians took them from graveyards, these days we have body farms.  Body farms have proved to be a vital resource for forensic scientists to learn more about how and why bodies decompose in certain conditions. It's a hugely complex subject which brings in factors like climate, soil, insects, scavengers, diet and many more.  To learn more about Anna's work on Forensic Taphonomy in the UK, visit: https://htf4uk.blogspot.com and http://www.forensicanna.com —— Lynda La Plante's new book The Scene of the Crime, featuring a team of forensic scientists, is out on the 31st July 2025 in all formats. To find out more about upcoming episodes of Listening to the Dead and Lynda's other books, visit www.lyndalaplante.com Credits: This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK Hosts: Lynda La Plante, Cass Sutherland and Jon Watt Director: Jon Watt Producer: Laura Makela Theme Music: Game Over by Magic in the Other 

It can be a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to women returning to work after childbirth. Seven's AFL commentator Abbey Holmes was recently trolled after announcing she would be returning to work seven weeks after having a baby. So why does society judge, and what can the potential impact of that judgement be?Also in this edition, more Victorians died of drug overdoses last year compared to any other year in the past decade, according to findings from the Coroners Court of Victoria. We explore what role Naloxalone, a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, could play in reducing these deaths.Plus, we also talk why cuts to US Scientific agencies could put Australia's long range weather forecasting at risk and a curious death notice that appeared in the paper today.

Cooo-eee Adventurers! Roles were reversed this week with TOC heading west to the South and Mel in the West and then staying west. The office is looking cleaner, the Big Apple is ripe for the picking but a cancellation closer to home brings discussion. There are roving reports from Downsview in Canada, Billericay in the UK plus a magical report and celebration from Trentham Gardens. Reginald champions Ireland and with that, the office door is locked up as the Victorians head North.

Forensic taphonomy is the study of what happens to a body between death and discovery. It's one of the oldest forensic disciplines and one of the most controversial. Why? Because to properly study forensic taphonomy you need bodies. The Victorians took them from graveyards, these days we have Body Farms.  Body Farms have proved to be a vital resource for forensic scientists to learn more about how and why bodies decompose in certain conditions. It's a hugely complex subject which brings in factors like climate, soil, insects, scavengers, diet among other things.  This week Lynda and Cass meet Dr Daniel J. Wescott, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University. The Texas Body Farm where Danny works is largest in the world and has helped to further the knowledge of scientists and law enforcement around the world.  This is the first in a two-part mini series on Body Farms. Next week we're looking at the picture in the UK.  To learn more about the Texas Forensic Anthropology Center visit: https://www.txst.edu/anthropology/facts.html  IG: @factxstate  FB: @forensicanthcenterTXST  ------------ Lynda La Plante's new book The Scene of the Crime, featuring a team of forensic scientists, is out on the 31st July 2025 in all formats. To find out more about upcoming episodes of Listening to the Dead and Lynda's other books, visit www.lyndalaplante.com     Credits: This podcast was made by Bonnier Books UK Hosts: Lynda La Plante, Cass Sutherland and Jon Watt Director: Jon Watt Producer: Laura Makela Theme Music: Game Over by Magic in the Other 

Communities across regional and rural Victoria are set to lose access to piped gas, and it has Tom Elliott warning it will eventually happen to all Victorians.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Victorian Government wants to make work-from-home legal in Victoria. Their plan is to allow all Victorians to work from home for at least two days a week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mistrust, fear and systematic barriers, these are the reasons why Victorians experiencing racism are hesitant to report the incidents, according to a new study by Victoria University. It also found that almost eight in ten people didn't know where or how to report racism, while nine in ten people believe that reporting would result in no change. What could be done to encourage people to speak up against racism? Wing Kuang spoke to Associate Professor Mario Peucker from the research team.

Amazing as it may seem, our panel of experts came back for a second episode, like they might even be regulars now! Join Talon King, Mrs. Horace "Thingy" Thimbleberger, Dr. Janet Peters, and Shecky Spielberg as they explore Christmas pudding in July. How many Victorians named "John H. Something" with six wives were there? Who does Sherlock Holmes seem more frightened of than Professor Moriarty? And how is this podcast still on the air? You can answer some of those questions right here.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2025 is: embellish • im-BELL-ish • verb To embellish something is to make it more appealing or attractive with fanciful or decorative details. // The gift shop had cowboy shirts and hats embellished with beads and stitching. // As they grew older, the children realized their grandfather had embellished the stories of his travels abroad. See the entry > Examples: "Shell art isn't a new genre; it's been with us for centuries. The Victorians often framed their family photos with shells. ... The medium also came to the fore in the 1970s when everything was embellished with shells, from photo frames and mirrors to trinket boxes and even furniture." — Stephen Crafti, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 2025 Did you know? Embellish came to English, by way of Anglo-French, from the Latin word bellus, meaning "beautiful." It's in good company: modern language is adorned with bellus descendants. Examples include such classics as beauty, belle, and beau. And the beauty of bellus reaches beyond English: its influence is seen in the French bel, a word meaning "beautiful" that is directly related to the English embellish. And in Spanish, bellus is evidenced in the word bello, also meaning "beautiful."

One quarter of employers classify people over the age of 50 as old, that's according to a study into employer attitudes from the Australian Human Rights Age Commissioner and the Human Resources Institute. In this edition of The Conversation Hour we look at what role AI recruitment systems play in age discrimination and speak with a careers coach on the measures some are taking to circumvent the system.Also in this edition, infidelity in the age of social media and how far will additional mental health clinics go in supporting the mental health of Victorians

So who killed privacy? It's the central question of Tiffany Jenkins' provocative new history of private life, Strangers and Intimates. The answer, according to Jenkins, is that we are all complicit—having gradually and often accidentally contributed to privacy's demise from the 16th century onwards. Luther started it by challenging Papal religious authority and the public sacraments, thereby creating the necessity of private conscience. Then came Enlightenment philosophers like Locke and Hobbes who carved out bounded private political and economic spheres establishing the foundations for modern capitalism and democracy. Counter-enlightenment romantics like Rousseau reacted against this by fetishizing individual innocence and authenticity, while the Victorians elevated the domestic realm as sacred. Last but not least, there's Mark Zuckerberg's socially networked age, in which we voluntarily broadcast our private lives to a worldwide audience. But why, I ask Jenkins, should we care about the death of private life in our current hyper-individualistic age? Can it be saved by more or less obsession with the self? Or might it require us to return to the world before Martin Luther, a place Thomas More half satiricizes Utopia, where “private life” was a dangerously foreign idea. 1. Privacy is a Historical Accident, Not a Natural Human Condition"There was a sense in which you shouldn't do anything privately that they wouldn't do publicly... This wasn't a kind of property-based private life." Jenkins argues that before the 17th century, the very concept of leading a separate private life didn't exist—privacy as we understand it is a relatively recent invention.2. Martin Luther Accidentally Created Modern Privacy Through Religious Rebellion"Luther inadvertently... authorized the self as against, in his case, the Catholic Church... if you follow the debates over the kind of beginnings of a private sphere and its expansion, whether you're reading Locke or Hobbes, there's a discussion about... the limits of authority." Luther's challenge to religious authority unintentionally created the need for private conscience, sparking centuries of development toward individual privacy.3. The Digital Age Represents a Return to Pre-Privacy Transparency"I think we do live in a period where there is little distinction between public and private, where the idea that you might keep something to yourself is seen as strange, as inauthentic." Jenkins suggests our current era of social media oversharing resembles pre-modern times more than the Victorian peak of privacy.4. Modern Loneliness Stems From Social Fragmentation, Not Individual Psychology"I sometimes wonder if we're pathologizing, actually, what is a social problem, which is a society where people are fragmented, not quite sure how to go beyond themselves... I would see that as a social problem." Rather than treating loneliness as a personal issue, Jenkins argues it reflects the breakdown of intermediate institutions between family and state.5. Technology Doesn't Determine Our Privacy—We Do"Can't blame the tech, tech isn't the problem... It comes down really to what sort of society we want to live in and how we want to be treated. That's not a technical thing. That has not to do with technology. That's to do humans." Jenkins rejects technological determinism, arguing that privacy's fate depends on human choices about social organization, not inevitable technological forces.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology

Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy: Beautiful Mechanism (Oxford UP, 2025) by Dr. Meegan Kennedy examines a revolutionary period in microscopical technology and practice. At first considered a mere toy, by 1900 the microscope rivaled the railway and telegraph as an emblem of modernity and enjoyed an astonishing diversity of applications. This technology could drive scientific debates on subjects like cell theory, vitalism, and bacteriology; guide workers in classrooms, laboratories, and businesses; and inspire a personal hobby or a mass entertainment. Victorian microscopy productively cuts across the ostensibly separate domains of science, religion, commerce, art, education, entertainment, and domestic life.Writing Embodiment in Victorian Microscopy reads nineteenth-century microscopy across scientific, literary, religious, and popular texts. It argues that Victorian microscopists saw their vision and cognition as fully embodied experiences, the images emerging through a material entanglement of bodies (observer, instrument, apparatus, object) in a dynamic, unstable system. These ideas echo the work of physiological psychologists, who proposed mind as a system of embodied, distributed, and dynamic processes shaped by automatic or unconscious reflex action, attention, mental training, and fatigue. Striving to regulate this complex system, microscopists circulated tropes of embodiment through the varied forms of nineteenth-century print culture. They adapted existing concepts (such as beauty, the sublime, natural theology, and fairylands), or coined new phrases (such as many-sided comprehension), to promote favored forms of embodiment and enculturate microscopy as a difficult but valuable pursuit. Writing Embodiment draws on important work in book history and periodical studies by emphasizing the circulation of these tropes in intermedial conversations across diverse print forms.Victorians understood wonder and skepticism not as incommensurate approaches to scientific observation but rather as complementary forms of embodiment. Romantic tropes of wonder solicit affective flows from observer to wriggling animalcule and back; while skeptical, realist tropes offer to train the reader's eye, hand, body, and judgment and to formalize microscopical practice. Microscopical narratives may manipulate wonder and skepticism in productive tension or create virtual storyspaces that enlist the reader in virtual witnessing. These tropes shape every level of microscopical interest and proficiency. By analyzing their use and circulation, Writing Embodiment illuminates wider patterns of Victorian thought on embodiment, scientific practice, and community. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

RACV is calling on Victorians to share their insight into the state's most dangerous intersections as they launch the My Melbourne Road survey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 135 - Allan Chapman - The Victorians and the Holy LandIn this episode of Still Unbelievable! Matthew chats with Allan Chapman, who teaches history of science at Oxford University, and has written extensively on history and science, including the relationship between the two. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a founder member of the Society for the History of Astronomy. He is the author of several books, including the one we will be discussing this episode. If you have any interest in the history of Christianity, then we recommend this book as an enjoyable read. As always, see the show notes to for links to the book and topics that are referenced in the book. There are items in the links that we do not specifically cover in this conversation, so please to check them out for a taste of what the book covers.1) The Victorians and the Holy Land: Adventurers, Tourists, and Archaeologists in the Lands of the Biblehttps://amzn.eu/d/j7QAYC52) Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelley - referenced in Chapter 2https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias3) A description of the East, and some other countries ... / By Richard Pococke - referenced in Chapter 2https://wellcomecollection.org/works/me6h66jf/items4) Petra by John William Burgon - referenced in chapter 2http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/3771/petra.html5) Johann Ludwig Burckhardt - explorer(includes links to his published works)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Ludwig_Burckhardt6) Lady Amytis, wife of Nebuchadnezzarhttps://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/amytis-of-babylon/amytis-of-babylon-the-queens-hanging-gardens-of-babylon/7) Remarkably preserved shrines recovered at Assyrian temple of Ninurta in Nimrud, Iraqhttps://archaeologymag.com/2024/12/remarkably-preserved-shrines-recovered-in-nimrud/8) Biblical Researches - by Edward Robinson & Eli Smith - referenced in chapter 7https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc01smitgoog9) Sinai & Palestine - by AP Stanley - referenced in chapter 7https://archive.org/details/sinaipalestinei00stan/page/n9/mode/2up10) A thousand miles up the Nile by Amelia B. Edwards - referenced in chapter 13https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70565To contact us, email: reasonpress@gmail.comour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonpress2901Our Theme Music was written for us by Holly, to support her and to purchase her music use the links below:https://hollykirstensongs.com/https://hollykirsten.bandcamp.com/

What does feel like to live helplessly in a world that is coming undone? If you're alive in 2025, you are probably very familiar with this feeling - and if you'd been alive in the age of Victorian literature, you might have felt that way too. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Nathan K. Hensley about his book Action without Hope: Victorian Literature after Climate Collapse, which studies how authors like George Eliot, Emily Brontë, H.G. Wells, Lewis Carroll, and Christina Rossetti used aesthetic strategies to deal with the anxiety and despair of ongoing climate disaster. What did they face? How did they cope? And can we learn from their examples? PLUS Jacke dives into some news from Italian museums, where people have been "losing their brains." What's going on with them? AND two Dickens experts, Stephen Browning and Simon Thomas, co-authors of The Real Charles Dickens, stop by to discuss their choice for the last book will they ever read. Will they choose something by Dickens? Note: The "My Last Book" conversation in this episode was recorded before the untimely passing of Stephen Browning. He was a wonderful guest, and we at the History of Literature Podcast are very grateful to have had the chance to speak with him. Our deepest sympathies are with his friends, family, and loved ones. May he rest in peace. Special Announcement: The History of Literature Podcast Tour is happening in May 2026! Act now to join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. Find out more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠historyofliterature.com⁠. Or visit the ⁠History of Literature Podcast Tour itinerary⁠ at ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠gabrielruizbernal.com ⁠. Help support the show at ⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠or ⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature ⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tess Hills is an amazing performer - both street performance/immersive theatre and puppeteer. I had the sheer honor of working with Tess on Brainland as puppeteers.  She is the kind of person that elevates the whole quality of the project. Tess is fun to be on set with (we kept trying to hide stage clips on each other when the other one wasn't paying attention) and she also brings professional guidance to the project. I learned SO MUCH just by being around her. It was incredible. Tess owns and runs a company called Curious Cargo which has some fun shows for festivals and live events. They have a sketh/show called The Temperance Society described as, "Then never fear, the Victorians are here to help you mend your ways. They're frightfully proper, sombre and stern, with a terribly stiff upper lip." Truly an incredible performer. And one of those incredibly talented people who is also so so so humble. Her backbone is in play and always connecting. I loved doing this interview.  Hope you enjoy it!

Jacqui Felgate called out the decision, questioning how Victorians are lumped with tax whilst politicians are being financially rewarded. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ancient tombs. Angry mummies. Sudden deaths? In this episode, we drink and break down the legendary Curse of the Pharaohs—aka the reason everyone thought opening King Tut's tomb was a death sentence. And it was. Or was it?!

During the 1800s, the Victorians had the natural world pretty much figured out, or so they thought. Then a 12-year-old discovered the first dinosaur tracks.

Send us a textI'm speaking today with M. A. McLaughlin, author of The Lost Dresses of Italy listed in the Textile Arts category on Art In Fiction.View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rDe_rXrLC2kOverview of the story of The Lost Dresses of Italy as a dual time novel taking place in 1947 and 1864 and inspired by a three-week trip to Italy taken by Victorian poet Christina RossettiPoetry of Christina Rossetti and why it has enduredChristina's sonnet sequence Monna Innominata as inspiration for the plotCombining a costume history and design with the story of Christina's time in ItalyReasons for setting the modern story in post-war VeronaResearching costume design and preservationThe role of pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the novelSome of the challenges of fictionalizing real peopleWhat is it about the Romantics and Victorians that Marty is attracted to?Reading from The Lost Dresses of ItalyThings that Marty learned from writing her novel - the complicated nature of Italy's participation in World War II and its aftermath.Read more about M. A. McLaughlin on her website: https://martyambrose.com/Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction.Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2300+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other.Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany and Love Among the Recipes. Find out more on her website.

For thousands of years, ancient cuneiform - the script of the ancient Mesopotamians was lost to time, until being dramatically rediscovered in the 19th century by an adventurous group of unlikely Victorians. A dashing archaeologist, an officer turned diplomat and a reclusive clergyman raced to decipher it and unlock the secrets of long-lost empires. Joining us is Joshua Hammer, a former war correspondent and author of 'The Mesopotamian Riddle'. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Tim Arstall.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.We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Ghosts and Things: The Material Culture of Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism (Cornell University Press, 2025) by Dr. Aviva Briefel argues that Victorians turned to the dead to understand the material culture of their present. With the rise of spiritualism in Britain in the early 1850s, séances invited participants to contact ghosts using material things, from ordinary household furniture to specialized technologies invented to register the presence of spirits. In its supernatural object lessons, Victorian spiritualism was not just a mystical movement centered on the dead but also a practical resource for learning how to negotiate the uncanniness of life under capitalism. Dr. Briefel explores how spiritualism compelled séance participants to speculate on the manufacture of spectral clothing; ponder the hidden histories and energies of parlor furniture; confront the humiliations of consumerism as summoned spirits pelted them with exotic fruits; and comprehend modes of mechanical reproduction, like photography and electrotyping, that had the power to shape identities. Dr. Briefel argues that spiritualist practices and the objects they employed offered both believers and skeptics unexpected frameworks for grappling with the often-invisible forces of labor, consumption, exploitation, and exchange that haunted their everyday lives. Ghosts and Things reveals how spiritualism's explorations of the borderland between life and death, matter and spirit, produced a strange and seductive combination of wonder and discomfort that allowed participants to experience the possibilities and precarities of industrial modernity in novel ways. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Why did Victorians value pale skin so highly? And how were black bodies viewed by Victorian society?In this episode Kate is joined by author and historian Dr Rochelle Rowe of the University of Edinburgh.This episode was edited by Tom Delargy. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.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.Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Ghosts and Things: The Material Culture of Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism (Cornell University Press, 2025) by Dr. Aviva Briefel argues that Victorians turned to the dead to understand the material culture of their present. With the rise of spiritualism in Britain in the early 1850s, séances invited participants to contact ghosts using material things, from ordinary household furniture to specialized technologies invented to register the presence of spirits. In its supernatural object lessons, Victorian spiritualism was not just a mystical movement centered on the dead but also a practical resource for learning how to negotiate the uncanniness of life under capitalism. Dr. Briefel explores how spiritualism compelled séance participants to speculate on the manufacture of spectral clothing; ponder the hidden histories and energies of parlor furniture; confront the humiliations of consumerism as summoned spirits pelted them with exotic fruits; and comprehend modes of mechanical reproduction, like photography and electrotyping, that had the power to shape identities. Dr. Briefel argues that spiritualist practices and the objects they employed offered both believers and skeptics unexpected frameworks for grappling with the often-invisible forces of labor, consumption, exploitation, and exchange that haunted their everyday lives. Ghosts and Things reveals how spiritualism's explorations of the borderland between life and death, matter and spirit, produced a strange and seductive combination of wonder and discomfort that allowed participants to experience the possibilities and precarities of industrial modernity in novel ways. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Would you live with a ghost if it meant getting a mansion at half the price? From cursed Victorians to infamous crime scenes, these haunted houses come with history, mystery… and maybe a few unexpected roommates.Download The FREE PDF For This Episode's WORD SEARCH Puzzle: https://weirddarkness.com/HomeSweetHauntedHomeGet the Darkness Syndicate version of #WeirdDarkness: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateDISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.IN THIS EPISODE: Are you brave enough to live in a haunted house? If so, and you're ready to make a move, you might find a good deal in one of the homes I'm about to tell you about. (They Sold Their Haunted Houses) *** The Nazca Lines of Peru span for miles and are visible only from the sky. These mysterious designs have sparked theories ranging from astronomical markers to extraterrestrial landing strips, challenging our understanding of ancient civilizations. We'll look at the mystery behind them – and consider a few theories for their existence. (Mystery of the Nazca Lines) *** Armin Meiwes placed a personal ad for a volunteer. He was looking for someone to give themselves over to him… to eat. It's one of the most infamous cases of modern cannibalism. (The Cannibal Who Placed a Personal Ad) *** On May 28, 1903, Dr. Francis J. Tumblety, a man with a deep-seated hatred for women and surgical skills, died in St. Louis. Intriguingly, Tumblety was in London during the gruesome Jack the Ripper murders in 1888, sparking speculation that he might be the infamous slasher. (Was Jack The Ripper From St. Louis?) *** Imagine a duel between two women. One a princess, the other a countess. Now picture them dueling topless. It really happened… and the reason for the duel? A disagreement over flower arrangements. (The Topless Duel Between Two Ladies)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate and Only Accurate For the Commercial Version)…00:00:00.000 = Lead-In00:01:28.929 = Show Open00:3:48.289 = They Sold Their Haunted Houses00:24:27.614 = The Mystery of the Nazca Lines00:33:55.877 = Was Jack The Ripper From St. Louis?00:47:46.731 = The Topless Duel Between Ladies01:00:59.421 = The Cannibal Who Placed a Personal Ad01:05:53.928 = Show CloseSOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…“They Sold Their Haunted Houses” source: Sonja Ska, Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2ezeefr9“The Mystery of the Nazca Lines” source: Marcus Lowth, UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9dumsu“The Cannibal Who Placed a Personal Ad” source: The Scare Chamber, https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3vy977m8“Was Jack The Ripper From St. Louis?” by Troy Taylor (used with permission): https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yyj892ws“The Topless Duel Between Ladies” source: Genevieve Carlton, Weird History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/bdcs6zuk=====(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: June 12, 2024EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/HomeSweetHauntedHomeTAGS: haunted houses, haunted homes for sale, real haunted houses, haunted real estate, ghost stories, famous haunted houses, haunted mansions, buy a haunted house, Enslin House, Sowden House, Ackley House, Amityville Horror, Pillars Estate, Conjuring House, Dunsmuir Victorian, Ann Starrett Mansion, Priestley House, Charming Forge Mansion, living with ghosts, paranormal real estate, haunted house history

Welcome Spooky Lovelies! The fireplaces are lit, the Hospitality Tray is set, and everything that would make you run in panic is waiting beyond the cordoned-off areas, mostly. We thought it was time to visit our long-dead friends, The Victorians, and to learn to admire their strict and strange mourning customs, some of which are still with us today. From how long your black veil should be, to how to keep mice from burrowing into a corpse, we have all the dirt on their fascinating habits! So, strap on your best black bonnet and join us in The Reading Room! Special Thanks to Sounds Like an Earful Music Supply for the amazing music AND sound design.

A rollicking adventure starring three free-spirited Victorians on a twenty-year quest to decipher cuneiform, the oldest writing in the world—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu.It was one of history's great vanishing acts.Around 3,400 BCE—as humans were gathering in complex urban settlements—a scribe in the mud-walled city-state of Uruk picked up a reed stylus to press tiny symbols into clay. For three millennia, wedge shape cuneiform script would record the military conquests, scientific discoveries, and epic literature of the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Sumer, Assyria, and Babylon and of Persia's mighty Achaemenid Empire, along with precious minutiae about everyday life in the cradle of civilization. And then…the meaning of the characters was lost.London, 1857. In an era obsessed with human progress, mysterious palaces emerging from the desert sands had captured the Victorian public's imagination. Yet Europe's best philologists struggled to decipher the bizarre inscriptions excavators were digging up.Enter a swashbuckling archaeologist, a suave British military officer turned diplomat, and a cloistered Irish rector, all vying for glory in a race to decipher this script that would enable them to peek farther back into human history than ever before.From the ruins of Persepolis to lawless outposts of the crumbling Ottoman Empire, The Mesopotamian Riddle whisks you on a wild adventure through the golden age of archaeology in an epic quest to understand our past.Joshua Hammer is a veteran foreign and war correspondent for Newsweek who has covered conflicts on four continents. He is the author of two previous books, A Season in Bethlehem and Chosen by God: A Brother's Journey. He has contributed articles to The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and many other publications. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with his wife and two sons.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.