Our Fake History

The search for a historical Gilgamesh is filled with red herrings. As Mesopotamia's best loved epic hero, images of Gilgamesh are littered throughout the ruins of the ancient cities of the Tigris and ...

7 Apr 20211h

The oldest known piece of literature on the planet is the epic tale of Gilgamesh, king of the Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk. The story was a staple of middle-eastern storytelling for well over a tho...

24 Mars 20211h 15min

There are few Christian saints more misunderstood than St. Patrick. Ireland's patron saint is best known for driving the snakes off the island, but that isn't even close to the most interesting thing ...

10 Mars 20211h 5min

In 1611 a the Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, was confined to her castle of Cachtice, never to leave again. This sentence was imposed on her by the Lord Palatine of Hungary. But strangely, even...

24 Feb 20211h 9min

Throw the name Elizabeth Bathory into your favourite search engine and you will quickly find superlatives like “history’s most prolific female serial killer” and leading questions like “Was Dracula Wo...

10 Feb 202151min

In episode #125 a historical myth about the origins of karate snuck past Sebastian! In this bonus episode the host does his darndest to set the record straight. Many thanks to listener Philipp Surkov ...

3 Feb 202116min

Martial arts myths are have been described as "savvy marketing". But, the most enduring bits of of fake martial arts history also combine Zen tradition, a Confucian veneration of the past, and a healt...

27 Jan 20211h 13min

Asian martial arts are often coated in a thick layer of of legend. Many fighting styles have elaborate origin stories and mystical founding fathers. These stories often help enhance the prestige of a ...

13 Jan 202155min