It's not high kicks, it's not karate kicks, oh no, it's sidekick week.
A bit of a tricky one this week, if we're being honest. Tom's been looking at the odd triangle of sidekickery between the Byzantine emperor Justinian, his wife Theodora (known for her very public and quite voracious sexual appetites), general Belesarius and two-faced, bet hedging historian Precopius, whose unfortunate job it was to write about all three.
Meanwhile, Sam's been looking into duelling. Specifically women duelling, and extra specifically the bizarre (alleged) duel between Princess Pauline Matternich and Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg, who took up swords in a disagreement over flower arrangements. They also happened to be fighting topless for... erm, medical reasons.
Subscribe and listen to us! Apple Music // Podbean // Overcast // Stitcher // TuneIn // Spotify
Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.
Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history and used to live in New Zealand but is now in the UK as well), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.
From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.
We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!
That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.
The Muffled Screams of Thriller from the Mortuary (Ancient Laws week) - That Was Genius Episode 46
The Soily Fondue Jazz Quartet (Treasure week) - That Was Genius Episode 45
A Triple Suplex in the Name of Love (Badass Women week) - That Was Genius Episode 44
Brazilian Samba Dancing Nurses with Incredible Moustaches (Charlatans week) - That Was Genius Episode 43
One Dead President and a Scottish Woman's Bottom (Spooky week) - That Was Genius Episode 42
Thomas the Self-Pleasuring Engine (40 week) - That Was Genius Episode 41
Toilet Paper of the Ancients (discovery week) - That Was Genius Episode 40
Revenging the Nazi Tap-Dance Troupe (Badass week) - That Was Genius Episode 39
A Noble and Historic Parking Lot Brawl (Revenge week) - That Was Genius Episode 38
Hold Me Closer Zombie Dancer (Health week) - That Was Genius Episode 37
He's Not The Messiah, Hes a Very Naughty Serial Killer (The Law week) - That Was Genius Episode 36
Watch Where You Waggle That Broomstick (Pope week) - That Was Genius Episode 35
Sam Meets History With Hilbert - The Other Genius Episode 1
The Gassy Floridians Are Coming By Sea (Ships week) - That Was Genius Episode 34
Welcome to That Was Genius - A Rather Silly History Podcast
When in Rome, do as the Chinese do (Silk Road week) - That Was Genius Episode 33
One Monkey, Two Giant Balls, and 6,000 Eastern Europeans (Japan Week) - That Was Genius Episode 32
The Purple Headed Wibbler in the Garden (Vegetables Week) - That Was Genius Episode 31
Attack of the Burping Lecherous Bum Otters (Rivers Week) - That was Genius Episode 30
Attention Passengers This Is Your Toilet Speaking (Plane Crash Week) - That Was Genius Episode 29
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
If You Give A Dad A Podcast
Cheeky Chops comedy podcast.
Adam Carolla Show
Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!
Office Ladies