What Came Before

The Crossing of the Rubicon (49 BC)

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:30:00 GMT

The late Roman Republic had survived reform, faction, and civil bloodshed, but Caesar's march across the Rubicon pushed it past the point of no return.

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The Berlin Tunnel (1954)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 23:30:00 GMT

In 1954, the CIA and MI6 dug a tunnel from West Berlin into the Soviet sector to tap military phone lines. It was one of the most audacious intelligence operations of the Cold War. There was just one problem - the KGB knew about it before the first shovel broke ground.

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The Cato Street Conspiracy (1820)

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In February 1820, a group of desperate radicals plotted to murder the entire British Cabinet at a private dinner, behead two ministers, and spark a revolution in the streets of London. This is the story of the Cato Street Conspiracy - the men behind it, the government spy among them, and the last public beheading in England.

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The Gunpowder Plot (1605)

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In November 1605, a group of English Catholics led by Robert Catesby attempted to blow up Parliament and King James I. This is the story of the Gunpowder Plot - how it was planned, how it was betrayed, and how it ended.

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The Suez Crisis (1956)

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:10:38 GMT

In the summer of 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, seizing control of one of the world's most strategically vital waterways from its Anglo-French owners. What followed was a secret conspiracy, a coordinated invasion, and one of the defining humiliations of the post-imperial age.

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The Siege of Malta Part 2 - The Grand Harbour (1565)

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:30:00 GMT

After the fall of Fort St. Elmo, the full weight of the Ottoman army turns on the twin peninsulas of Birgu and Senglea. Through months of relentless bombardment, underground mining, and massive infantry assaults, Grand Master La Valette and a dwindling garrison of Knights and Maltese civilians fight to hold walls that are crumbling around them, all while waiting for a relief force from Sicily that may never come.

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The Siege of Malta Part 1 - The Corsairs and the Cross (1565)

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 01:00:00 GMT

In the summer of 1565, the Ottoman Empire dispatched an armada of nearly 200 ships and 40,000 men to the Mediterranean island of Malta. Their target was the Knights Hospitaller, a Catholic military order operating as state-sponsored corsairs.

In Part 1 of our two-part series on the Great Siege of Malta, we explore the history between these two factions and how the capture of a single Ottoman galleon triggered a massive invasion. We cover the defensive preparations of Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette, the divided Ottoman high command upon their arrival, and the grueling, month-long battle for Fort St. Elmo that set the stage for the rest of the siege.

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The 47 Ronin Part 2 - The Snowy Night (1701-1702)

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In the aftermath of Lord Asano's forced seppuku and the total confiscation of the Ako domain, over 300 samurai are abruptly cast out as masterless ronin. But behind their peaceful surrender to the Tokugawa shogunate, a dedicated core of retainers has secretly sworn a blood oath of vengeance.

In this episode, we follow former chief retainer Oishi Yoshio as he orchestrates a brilliant campaign of psychological misdirection, ending with the the meticulously planned, two-hour siege of Kira's heavily fortified Honjo estate.

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The 47 Ronin Part 1 - The Insult and the Blade (1701)

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In the spring of 1701, a feudal lord named Asano Naganori was assigned to host imperial envoys at Edo Castle - one of the most important ceremonial duties in Tokugawa Japan. His instructor in court protocol was a senior official named Kira Yoshinaka. What followed was weeks of public humiliation that ended in an act of violence in the shogun's own corridors, a death sentence carried out before nightfall, and the destruction of an entire domain. Over 300 samurai lost everything. But 47 of them refused to accept that the story was over. This is Part 1 of a two-part series on the forty-seven ronin.

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The Life of Winston Churchill Part 3 - The War Premiership and The Final Phase (1940-1965)

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:30:00 GMT

Churchill becomes Prime Minister as France falls and Britain stands alone. From the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain to the forging of the Grand Alliance with Roosevelt and Stalin, we follow Churchill through the pivotal moments of the Second World War, and his life following the Second World War.

The final episode of our Churchill series takes the story from its dramatic peak to its end - a state funeral within sight of Blenheim Palace, where it all began.

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The Life of Winston Churchill Part 2 - Rise, Fall, and The Gathering Storm (1901-1939)

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:24:17 GMT

From the green benches of Parliament to the mud of the trenches, this episode tracks Winston Churchill's turbulent path through the early 20th century. His meteoric rise as a Liberal reformer, the disaster of Gallipoli that nearly ended his career, and his decade-long political exile. We examine how the "Wilderness Years" transformed a political outcast into the lone voice warning the world of the coming apocalypse.

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The Life of Winston Churchill Part 1 - The Making of a Hero (1874-1900)

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:30:00 GMT

Born into privilege but dismissed by his father as a failure, young Winston Churchill set out to prove the world wrong. From self-education in India to the last great cavalry charge at Omdurman and a thrilling escape from a Boer POW camp, this episode charts how a "social wastrel" forged his own legend to become a Member of Parliament by the age of 25.

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The Siege of Vienna (1683)

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In the summer of 1683, the fate of Europe hung in the balance on the banks of the Danube. A massive Ottoman army led by Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa laid siege to Vienna, intent on capturing the "Golden Apple" of the West. In this episode, we follow the desperate struggle of the city's defenders against starvation, disease, and underground mine warfare.

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The Tiananmen Square Protests - China (1989)

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In the spring of 1989, a spontaneous wave of grief for a fallen leader transformed into a massive movement that paralyzed the Chinese capital. For seven weeks, millions of students and workers occupied Tiananmen Square, erecting the "Goddess of Democracy" and challenging the Communist Party to live up to its own ideals.

As martial law failed to break the will of the people, the hardline leadership prepared a ruthless solution to save the regime. We cover the tragic events of June 4th, the violent crackdown at Muxidi, and the iconic defiance of the "Tank Man."

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The Cultural Revolution - China (1966-1976)

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a decade-long campaign to purify the Communist Party that plunged China into total anarchy. This episode traces the descent into chaos, from the mobilization of the Red Guards and the violent destruction of the "Four Olds" to the factional street battles that brought the nation to the brink of civil war.

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The Great Leap Forward - China (1958-1962)

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:30:00 GMT

In 1958, the People's Republic of China embarked on one of the most radical social experiments in human history: the Great Leap Forward. Aiming to surpass the industrial output of the West in just fifteen years, Mao Zedong mobilized the nation to replace capital with sheer willpower.

This episode details the unprecedented restructuring of Chinese society, from the collective life of the People's Communes and the mania of the backyard steel furnaces to the ecological disaster of the campaign to exterminate the sparrow.

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The Russian Revolution Part 7: The House of Special Purpose (July 1918)

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:30:00 GMT

In the finale of the series, we enter the "House of Special Purpose" - the ominous code name for the villa where the Romanov dynasty met its end. As the White Army closed in on Ekaterinburg in the summer of 1918, the Bolsheviks made a cold calculation: the Tsar could not be allowed to live as a banner for the counter-revolution.

We follow the family's descent from imperial boredom behind painted-over windows to the terror of the night of July 16th.

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The Russian Revolution Part 6: Red October (October 1917)

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:30:00 GMT

The most consequential revolution of the 20th century did not happened with a change of the guard. In this episode, we dismantle the myth of the "storming" of the Winter Palace to reveal the reality of the Bolshevik seizure of power: a methodical, invisible coup d'etat masterminded by Leon Trotsky. While the citizens of Petrograd rode the trams and attended the opera, the Military Revolutionary Committee quietly seized the city's bridges, telegraphs, and banks without firing a shot.

We follow the surreal timeline of October 25th, from Prime Minister Kerensky fleeing the capital in a borrowed American car, to the "siege" of the Winter Palace - defended only by teenage cadets and the Women's Battalion of Death. The episode concludes in the smoke-filled halls of the Smolny Institute, where Trotsky consigns his political enemies to the "dustbin of history" and Lenin announces the birth of the Soviet state.

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The Russian Revolution Part 5: The Summer of Chaos (May-August 1917)

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:30:15 GMT

By the summer of 1917, the optimism of the February Revolution had dissolved into violence. Alexander Kerensky, the "Persuader-in-Chief," attempted to save the crumbling nation with a suicidal military offensive that destroyed the last remnants of the army's morale. The resulting power vacuum triggered the "July Days," a premature uprising of armed sailors that forced Vladimir Lenin to shave his beard and flee into the swamps of Finland.

The chaos culminated in the Kornilov Affair, a bizarre standoff between the socialist Prime Minister and a general with "the heart of a lion but the brain of a sheep." Facing a military coup, the government made a fatal calculation: opening the armouries and handing 40,000 rifles to the Bolsheviks, effectively arming their own executioners.

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The Russian Revolution Part 4: Lenin's Ultimate Gamble (April 1917)

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:30:20 GMT

In the spring of 1917, the German General Staff decided to deploy a new kind of weapon against the Russian army: a revolutionary exile named Vladimir Lenin. In this episode, we follow the journey of the "plague bacillus", Vladimir Lenin, as he travels from a cramped apartment in Zurich to the steps of the Finland Station.

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The Russian Revolution Part 3: Five Days in February (February 1917)

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:51:18 GMT

In the bitter winter of 1917, the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty ended with a bread riot. What began as a march by female textile workers demanding food spiraled into a revolution when the Tsar's ultimate enforcers, the Cossacks, refused to charge the crowd.

We follow the chaotic escalation from snowballs to machine-gun fire, leading to the decisive moment when Sergeant Kirpichnikov convinced the Volhynian Regiment to shoot their own officers rather than their people. Finally, we board the "Ghost Train" with Nicholas II, trapping him in a railway siding at Pskov where, isolated and abandoned by his generals, the Autocrat of All the Russias was forced to sign his empire away with a pencil.

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The Russian Revolution Part 2: The War to End an Empire (1914-1916)

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 19:39:57 GMT

When World War I began, the Allies believed the "Russian Steamroller" - an army of millions - would crush Germany by Christmas. Instead, the Imperial Army marched into a catastrophe that would break the back of the regime. In this episode, we move from the palaces of Petrograd to the frozen trenches of the Eastern Front to witness the military collapse of the Russian Empire.

We tell the tragic story of the Battle of Tannenberg, where a personal feud between two generals led to the annihilation of an entire army and a suicide in the dark forests of East Prussia. We explore the horrors of the "Great Retreat" and the "Shell Famine," where soldiers were sent into battle without rifles. Finally, we witness the fatal decision of Tsar Nicholas II to dismiss his generals and take personal command of the war, tying the fate of the monarchy directly to the dying war effort.

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The Russian Revolution Part 1: The Hangman's Noose and the Holy Devil (1906-1916)

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:06:52 GMT

After the chaos of the 1905 Revolution, the Romanov dynasty had one final decade to save itself from extinction. In this episode, we explore the strange twilight of the Russian Empire, a period dominated by two men who could not have been more different: Pyotr Stolypin, the ruthless Prime Minister who tried to force Russia into the 20th century with the "hangman's noose," and Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian mystic who dragged the monarchy back into the dark.

From the assassination at the Kiev Opera House to the terrifying secret of the Tsarevich's hemophilia, we trace the path of a government paralyzing itself from within. Join us as we recount the "Ministerial Leapfrog" of World War I and the bizarre, chaotic night in the basement of the Moika Palace where a prince, a grand duke, and a politician tried to save the Tsar by murdering his favorite holy man.

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The Hunt for the Bismarck

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:30:11 GMT

In May 1941, the balance of the war at sea shifted on a knife-edge. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in Europe, slipped into the North Atlantic with orders to sever the convoy lifelines sustaining the United Kingdom. What followed was one of the most intense naval operations in history, spanning thousands of square miles of ocean.

In this episode, we follow the narrative of the chase from the first sightings in the Baltic to the freezing mists of the Denmark Strait. We examine the shocking destruction of the HMS Hood, the desperate cat-and-mouse game that followed, and the critical role played by the Swordfish biplanes of the HMS Ark Royal. This is the complete story of the hunt, the tactical decisions made by Admirals Lutjens and Tovey, and the final destruction of the German giant.

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The Norman Conquest: Three Kings and a Throne

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:30:12 GMT

In January 1066, the death of King Edward the Confessor triggered a succession crisis that would change the course of English history. Three men laid claim to the English throne: Harold Godwinson, the powerful English Earl; William, the bastard Duke of Normandy; and Harald Hardrada, the last great Viking warrior.

In this episode, we reconstruct the narrative of the momentous year that followed. We detail the contrasting lives of the three contenders, the exhausting forced march to the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the tactical stalemate at the Battle of Hastings.

The Scientist on the Throne - Frederick II

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:30:12 GMT

He travelled with a zoo of elephants and giraffes, spoke six languages, and was excommunicated four times. To the Pope, Frederick II was the Antichrist; to his admirers, he was the Stupor Mundi (Wonder of the World).

This episode dives into the wild life of the 13th-century Emperor who prioritized scientific observation over religious dogma. From his ruthless experiments on human subjects to winning the Sixth Crusade without drawing a sword.

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https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

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https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

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The Golden Pilgrimage of Mansa Musa

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 22:57:03 GMT

In 1324, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, embarked on a journey that would redefine wealth and power in the medieval world. We explore the logistical marvel of the trek, the diplomatic standoff in Cairo that crashed the Egyptian economy, and the enduring architectural legacy that transformed Timbuktu into a global center of learning.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Unlikely Emperor - Claudius

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:30:11 GMT

On a January day in forty-one AD, the Roman Empire's future was hiding behind a curtain. When soldiers found Claudius trembling after Caligula's murder, they made him emperor - not because he was capable, but because they thought they could control him. They were wrong.

This episode follows the man Rome mocked for his stammer and limp as he outmaneuvers the Senate, conquers Britain with war elephants, and survives countless plots.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Day the Tsar Lost His People - Bloody Sunday (1905)

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:30:13 GMT

On Sunday, January 22nd, 1905, tens of thousands of unarmed workers marched through St. Petersburg to deliver a petition to their emperor, Tsar Nicholas II. Led by the charismatic priest Father Georgy Gapon, they carried religious icons and portraits of the Tsar, whom they called their "Little Father," believing he would protect them from the brutal conditions of their lives.

Instead of finding their protector, they were met with rifle fire. This episode tells the story of Bloody Sunday: the day a peaceful procession turned into a horrific massacre, shattering the sacred bond between the Tsar and his people forever. Discover how this single, tragic event destroyed the myth of the benevolent ruler and became the spark that ignited the 1905 Revolution, setting Russia on a direct path to the overthrow of the monarchy.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

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The Battle of Midway

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 21:12:47 GMT

Six months after Pearl Harbor, the US Navy was on the brink of collapse, and the victorious Japanese fleet planned a final, decisive blow. At a tiny atoll named Midway, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto prepared an intricate trap to annihilate America's last aircraft carriers. What he didn't know was that US naval intelligence had broken Japan's codes, turning his ambush into a deadly gamble for both sides.

This episode tells the story of the codebreakers who revealed the plan, the admirals who risked everything on that intelligence, and the pilots whose incredible courage during five fateful minutes would turn the tide of the entire Pacific War.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 23:30:14 GMT

In the summer of 1381, an army of tens of thousands of commoners - farmers, blacksmiths, and villagers - marched on London with a revolutionary list of demands. This was the Peasants' Revolt, one of the most terrifying, violent, and significant popular uprisings in English history.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 23:30:16 GMT

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, the most potent symbol of the Cold War, crumbled overnight. This episode tells the incredible true story of how a series of miscalculations, growing protests, and one fumbled sentence at a routine press conference accidentally triggered the fall of the Wall.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The "Unkillable Soldier" - Adrian Carton de Wiart

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 23:30:14 GMT

He was shot in the face, head, stomach, leg, and hip. He survived multiple plane crashes, tore off his own fingers when a doctor hesitated, and escaped a POW camp in World War Two while in his sixties.

This is the story of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, the man Winston Churchill called a "model of chivalry and honour."

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Rise and Fall of Agrippina

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 23:30:12 GMT

This episode charts the rise of Agrippina the Younger from political exile to the heights of power as she schemed to place her son, the infamous Nero, upon the imperial throne.

But her ultimate triumph became her undoing.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Great Schism - The Tale of Two Popes

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 23:30:11 GMT

In the 14th century a disputed papal election sparked a spiritual civil war. European kingdoms were forced to take sides, powerful dynasties backed their chosen pontiff, and the two Popes busied themselves excommunicating each other and their followers.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Double Agent Who Fooled Hitler

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 13:35:30 GMT

Juan Pujol Garcia was a Spanish chicken farmer who became the most important double agent of the Second World War. Initially rejected by British intelligence, he conceived an audacious plan: become a fake Nazi spy to get their attention.

Eventually recruited by the British and codenamed "Garbo," his masterful performance culminated on D-Day, where he convinced the German High Command that the Normandy invasion was merely a diversion.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:30:14 GMT

In October 1962, the world stood on the precipice of nuclear annihilation for thirteen agonizing days. When U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba, a high-stakes political thriller unfolded in real-time.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

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The Storming of the Bastille

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:51:37 GMT

July 14th, 1789. In a city simmering with hunger, fear, and revolutionary fervor, the eyes of Paris turn to a single, ominous structure: the Bastille.

It was the ultimate symbol of royal tyranny, a place where the king could make his enemies disappear without a trial. Its fall would become the single most iconic event of the French Revolution.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Wars of the Roses

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:57:43 GMT

For three decades in the 15th century, England was ripped apart by a dynastic civil war known as the Wars of the Roses. The red rose of Lancaster, the ruling house, was pitted against the white rose of York, its ambitious challenger.

What began as a political struggle over the weak and ineffectual King Henry VI soon exploded into open warfare, launching a cycle of betrayal, revenge, and slaughter. This episode untangles the complex claims and fierce personalities, from the brilliant Edward IV to the notorious Richard III and the formidable "Kingmaker" that defined the conflict.

Discover how this bloody Cousins' War led to the death of the Plantagenet dynasty and the birth of a new royal house that would change England forever: the Tudors.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Carrington Event of 1859

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:40:43 GMT

This episode tells the story of the great solar storm of 1859, from the amateur astronomer who first saw the flare to the global chaos that followed. We then explore how a similar event today could cripple power grids, destroy satellites, and plunge our planet into a prolonged blackout.

Discover the science behind space weather and the race to protect our civilization from a cosmic knockout punch.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Year of the Four Emperors

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 18:04:37 GMT

In the year 69AD, the Roman Empire was torn apart by a devastating civil war. Following the death of Emperor Nero, a power vacuum emerged, leading to the rapid and violent rise and fall of four different emperors: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and the eventual victor, Vespasian.

This episode explores that tumultuous year, a conflict that revealed the true power of the legions and forever changed how a Roman emperor was made.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml

The Printing Press

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 22:38:09 GMT

This episode explores the single invention that dragged the world out of the age of scribes and into the modern era: the printing press.

We begin not in Germany, but centuries earlier in China and Korea, uncovering the remarkable but often overlooked history of woodblock printing and the world's first movable metal type. We then travel to fifteenth-century Mainz to meet Gutenberg himself, revealing how his true genius lay not in one device, but in creating a complete and efficient system for manufacturing books, from his unique metal alloy to his powerful press.

Finally, we witness the explosive consequences of this new technology. Discover how the press fuelled the Renaissance, powered the Protestant Reformation, and ignited the Scientific Revolution. Learn how this single invention standardized language, spurred literacy, and ultimately laid the foundation for the complex, information-rich world we inhabit today.

Contact: whatcamebeforepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatCameBeforePodcast

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-came-before/id1839699689

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3eRPO23EzaKSZYL7rJ0XPt

Amazon Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7b3c1fc1-8bed-4d81-9989-5d49853557bd/what-came-before

RSS Feed:

https://what-came-before.adscott1982.workers.dev/feed.xml