3rd May 2025

The final episode before a well-earned break takes us to a New Year’s Eve dinner at the Ingunandon, Crystal Palace, as the year closes where it began: talking nonsense with purpose. We reflect on a full year of daily episodes, unexpected stories, strange history, and the relentless grind of turning up every single day. Mungo delivers the usual boring old stuff - a fitting end.

31 Des 202524min

Grigori Rasputin’s rise from Siberian mystic to royal powerbroker is explored as we trace how he gained influence over Russia’s last imperial family. This episode covers his reputation for healing, rumours of excess and manipulation, repeated assassination attempts, and the violent night that finally ended his grip on the Romanovs. A factual look at how Rasputin became one of history’s most notorious and misunderstood figures.

30 Des 202514min

Michael Schumacher’s devastating skiing accident is revisited as we look at what happened in the French Alps in 2013, the severity of his head injuries, and how the crash abruptly ended one of the greatest careers in Formula One history. This episode covers the immediate aftermath, the medical response, the intense privacy surrounding his recovery, and how Schumacher’s legacy continues to shape F1 long after the accident that changed everything.

29 Des 202515min

A bizarre case of 12 chickens found dead takes a strange scientific turn when the frozen bodies appeared to breathe fire. This episode explains what actually happened, how gases produced during decomposition can ignite, why freezing preserved the effect, and how the incident spread as a viral mystery. A grounded look at the science behind one of the internet’s strangest animal stories.

28 Des 202516min

Mehmet Ali Ağca’s attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II is examined as we trace how the Turkish gunman opened fire in Vatican City in 1981. This episode looks at Ağca’s background, claims of militant training, the shooting in St Peter’s Square, and the international investigations that followed. A factual breakdown of one of the most shocking attacks on a religious leader in modern history, and the unanswered questions that still surround the man who pulled the trigger.

27 Des 202515min

Boxing Day gets unpacked properly as we explore where the name actually comes from, the history behind the “boxes” of charity and gifts, and how the day evolved from Victorian Britain into a modern mix of traditions. This episode covers classic Boxing Day customs, from sporting fixtures to leftovers and sales, and why the day still sits so oddly between Christmas and normal life.

26 Des 202514min

This Christmas special brings together Charlie Chaplin and the James Webb Space Telescope, linking silent-film genius with the sharpest eye humanity has ever sent into space. We explore Chaplin’s life, influence, and cultural legacy alongside how JWST is rewriting our understanding of the universe, from distant galaxies to the origins of light itself. A festive episode balancing cinema history with cosmic discovery.

25 Des 202517min

Wow, it’s a Christmas miracle indeed. This new segment explores astonishing true events that happened against all odds, including the World War I Christmas Truce football match, the Apollo mission broadcast from space on Christmas Eve, and a devastating plane crash that somehow produced moments of survival and hope. A focused look at how humanity keeps finding light in history’s darkest winters.

24 Des 202515min