The Real Network Blind History

Blind History

Blind History is a crash course in getting to know history’s greatest men and women - and by great we don’t always mean good.

Hosted by Gareth Cliff and Anthony Mederer, this series will tell you what the history books sometimes leave out - the sordid stories, the less well-known details, some of the stuff they didn’t teach you at school.

Each person will help you put a piece of the puzzle in place, and bring history to life.
Weekly English South Africa History · Education
98 Episodes
20 – 40

Picasso

Probably the most famous and successful artist of all time, this Spanish creative genius founded Cubism, produced thousands of works, and bedded many women. Perhaps his talent allowed us to see the world differently, but it is indisputable that his influence went much further than beautiful pictures.
25 Jan 2022 27 min

Hannibal

When we think of Ancient History, we think of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Undoubtedly the greatest and most well-understood of these civilisations was Rome, but who were the ancient Romans frightened of? The answer is Carthage, and their most famous leader was Hannibal. One of the greatest strategic military thinkers…
18 Jan 2022 19 min

Karl Marx

The father of communism and socialism, to some a wicked ideologue with the worst plans for social engineering; to others a heroic thinker who conceived of a freer, fairer world order. No matter what you think of him, Karl Marx’s shadow looms large in modern politics, in history, and in…
14 Dec 2021 19 min

William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror was one of the great medieval warrior-kings. In fact, he set the standard for the next 500 years of English kingship. In war, he was undefeated, but in many ways he was unconventional, and plagued by family troubles and constant rebellion. His talent for administration produced a…
7 Dec 2021 20 min

The Great Inventors

Between Edison and Tesla there are some 1,200 patents for inventions and innovations that birthed the modern world. To fully appreciate their contribution, you would have to remember that at the time of their birth, technology was steam-powered locomotion, and candlelight. Over the course of their years of discovery and…
30 Nov 2021 20 min

Margaret Thatcher

Though equally loved and vilified by modern historians and analysts, it is beyond question that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain remains one of the most audacious women of history. This Iron Lady, who came to be respected by her enemies and friends alike, held firm in the face…
23 Nov 2021 18 min

Peter the Great

The story of Pyotr Alekséyevich is the story of Russia emerging from the cold. It is a story which continues to play out in the centuries which followed, and which galvanised the character of not just a new nation, but a nascent empire. Join us on the bewildering journey of…
16 Nov 2021 25 min

Royals Behaving Badly

Kings and Queens aren’t always the best of us. Sometimes they’re weak, pathetic, unimpressive or downright evil! Just as history has shown us a range of glorious and exemplary monarchs, it is also full of examples of the kinds of men and women who might have been better suited to…
5 Jul 2021 37 min

Constantine the Great

The Romans were a decaying bunch, with not very much to boast about and a rotten empire that was divided in half, ruled by four weak emperors. The only thing that arrested its slide into ignominy was the character and action of an ambitious, military, pious man called Constantine, whom…
28 Jun 2021 20 min

Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu was the most powerful man in France, and the architect of absolute monarchy. His strategic mind and dedication to French interests made it possible for Louis XIV, and later Napoleon, to make France the envy of the world. Join us as we transport you back to the early…
21 Jun 2021 15 min

Hedy Lamarr

Women in 2021 talk about sexism and not being taken seriously by the scientific, corporate or engineering world. Imagine what that was like during World War Two? Hedy Lamarr was called the most beautiful woman in the world, but in her own words, she wished they’d been more interested in…
14 Jun 2021 19 min

Nostradamus

Nostradamus was either a genius with magical powers, or a very lucky bullshitter. In 16th century France, there may have been many mysterious men with the ability to convince the mighty they could foretell the future, but only one name survived down the ages. Even now, books about him and…
7 Jun 2021 20 min

Jesse James

The most famous bandit of the Wild West, Jesse James and his gang terrorised many American cities for more than a decade. Apart from a treacherous death, a crazy mom and many crimes, we’ll tell you all about one of the most dangerous men the USA ever knew…
31 May 2021 17 min

Hernán Cortés

To the Spanish he was a conquering hero, a conquistador, spreading Christianity to the 'savage tribes' of the new world. To the Aztecs and the native people of Central America, he was a harbinger of death, a destroyer of culture, and a frightening apparition that heralded the end of their…
24 May 2021 21 min

Leopold II

We know you love the bad guys, but this one is close to impossible to like. The fact that he perpetrated his crimes against humanity only three generations ago makes it somehow more monstrous. When the story of humanity is told, King Leopold II of the Belgians will not find…
17 May 2021 18 min

Vikings

The fearsome northmen in all their violence, strength, courage and ferocity probably shouldn’t be summarised in one lowly episode, but we’ll tell you how much more they gave us, and not just words like pillage and ransack. Their gods, society, women and sophistication were every bit as crucial as their…
10 May 2021 18 min

Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII lived at a great intersection of history... where Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collided. She was undoubtedly one of the personalities of the age - and a woman of tremendous power and influence. While the story ended in Shakespearean tragedy, to have seen history unfold through…
3 May 2021 18 min

Robert Sobukwe

Robert Sobukwe was one of the great thinkers and leaders of the struggle for democracy and freedom in South Africa. A humble man of academic bent, he ended up founding the Pan-Africanist Congress and was sentenced to solitary confinement on Robben Island. His story is both sad and inspiring, but…
27 Apr 2021 20 min

King George III

The longest reigning King of England watched the birth of America, the French Revolution, the dawn of modern science and the Agricultural revolution without ever leaving England. In fact, he hardly left Windsor. He was proud to be English and his bizarre eccentricities eventually proved to be real madness -…
19 Apr 2021 20 min

Al Capone

Before the words ‘gangster', ‘thug', ‘mafia' and 'mob boss' were used by pretenders, rappers and small-time thieves, those words were used to describe really dangerous, wily, streetwise and charismatic underworld people... people who started modern organised crime in America. Al Capone was the most real of them all.
12 Apr 2021 20 min
20 – 40