Shows / The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Will and Patrick explore strange and rarely told tales of history - from ancient Indian assassins and Baghdad scientists to Irish rebels and New York mob queens, and everything in between…
And if you want to see even more for each episode, including sneak peeks, accompanying images and bonus facts, check out our instagram @cloakanddaggerpodcast
Episodes
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Worshipful Numbers - The Cult of Pythagoras, 530 BCE
Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? Maybe not, or at least maybe not lately. But humans throughout our history have pondered questions like…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Hero of the Fist - London, 1810s
Some men fight for sport, some men fight for their lives. Bill Richmond was man who fought for both. Fighting not only for the life he had, but for the better…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Queen the Empire Feared - Jamaica, 1728
Over course of 350 years, from the dawn of the 16th century till the second half of the 18th century, over 5 million men, women and children were kidnapped…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Mountain of Silver - Bolivia, 16th Century
From across the vast seas they came. First a trickle, then a torrent of pale men with fire in their hands and hunger in their eyes. While they spoke a strange…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Look on my Works - Persia, 480 BCE
Empires rise, and empires fall. The never ending march of time will eventually grind all civilisations into the dust, preparing the ground for new nations to…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Devil’s Advocate - Boston, 1770
In the streets of 1770 colonial Boston, working men and woman are a flame with ideas of revolution. Straining under the ever growing economic oppression of the…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Going Off Piste - Scandinavia
Since the dawn of time, humanity has looked out across wide lands that we inhabit, captivated by the wonder and the beauty they see before them. But I’m…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Tattooed Girl - Arizona, 1851
It takes a truly remarkable spirit to pack up all your worldly possessions, load your loved ones into a wagon, and brave the wilds on unknown lands in search…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The First Louvre Heist - Paris, 1911
We’ve all been astonished by the thieves who stole 88 million euros worth of jewellery from the Louvre earlier this year. But this was hardly the first heist…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Great Gamble - Scotland, 1698
For many a nation throughout history, a grand overseas empire was their path to wealth, power and glory. It worked for the Romans, it worked for the English…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Scourge of the Channel - Guernsey, 13th Century
A monastic life, is a simple life. Daily prayer. Quiet contemplation. A pursuit of inner peace over worldly excitements. A pirate’s life on the other hand, is…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Capitalist Catalyst - Madeira, 15th Century
Life on this planet must endure a lot to survive. Earthquakes and tsunamis rock entire regions. While floods and wildfires destroy complex ecosystems in a…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Letters by Midnight - Japan, 11th Century
In the elite world of 11th-century Japan, matters of the heart unfold alongside matters of state. Where the ability to compose poetry and display quick wit…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
“What Girls Are Good For” - Pittsburgh, 1880s
In 1885, a Pittsburgh journalist wrote an article about women and their role in society - it argued that their only purpose was to get pregnant and keep up…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
EXODUS: Talent or Trash Movie Review
Hey guys, welcome to another special episode! The Film in our sights this time? Exodus: Gods & Kings. The 2014 biblical epic directed by Ridley Scott, with…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Diamond in the Bluff - Paris, 1784
Someone once said, that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Sage words such as these should always be followed, and woe betide those who…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Vengeance of the Prophet - New Zealand, 19th Century
As the New Zealand government militia treks through the jungle pass, they have no idea what might await them in the shadows. Tales of the man they are hunting…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
7 Minutes to Midnight - Cuba, 1962
Humanity has spent an alarmingly large amount of it's existence at war with itself. Wars full of pain and loss and terror. But for most of our existence, we…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Soldier's Secret - USA, 19th Century
As the US Civil War entered its second bloody year, a young man recently arrived from Ireland enlists in the 95th Illinois Volunteer Regiment and marches to…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Grave Misconduct - Rome, 897
Pope Stephen was furious. So angry, in fact, that he was going to make his predecessor feel his wrath - no matter the consequences. His cardinals were too…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Unbowed, Unbroken - England, 16th Century
Everyone thinks they know about Katharine of Aragon but beyond a few nursery rhymes and inaccurate tv shows, the true story of Katharine is far more compelling…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Against the Current - London, 1843
Happy festive season listeners! Whether you're celebrating Christmas or just enjoying the day off work, we've got a tale for you. A spectacular story of a…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Hell Hath No Fury - Crimea, 1943
Vengeance is a fire that burns white hot. A life once filled with joy, can become shadowed with the dark specter if revenge. But sometimes in a time of horror…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Bonded by Bourbon - Lynchburg Tennessee, 1856
As an old Irish proverb says “What whisky will not cure, there is no cure for”. And while I’m no doctor, I am Irish so I do believe there is something in that…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Cousins of Anarchy - England, 12th Century (Part 2)
Well this has gotten out of hand. The new and improved England seemed to be going so well, but a sunken ship, a flurry of royal bastard, and few too many…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Cousins of Anarchy - England, 12th Century (Part 1)
Ever have a family spat go a bit too far? Well 12th Century two cousins did just that, and their little argument over who got to sit in their grandfathers…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Mind for War - Sicily, 287 BCE
Can a great mind cut deeper than a sword? If the history of humanity’s endless wars with itself is anything to go on, the answer is undoubtably yes. Again and…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Sequins and Secrets - New York, Mid-20th Century
1930s New York was a city of opportunity. Where any man with enough grit and determination could make his fortune... inside or outside the law. But this was a…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Swamp Had Eyes - Burma, 1945
War is terrible. But some stories of war are even more terrible than others. Fighting on a strange island, in a strange land, for a lost cause, the Japanese…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Hammersmith Haunting - London, 1803
Do you believe in ghosts? This may seem an inappropriate question for this incredibly serious history podcast, but sometimes to broaden ones mind, one must…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Pirate King - Indian Ocean, 1695
On a misty morning off the Yemeni coast, the jewel of the Mughal Emperor's treasure fleet sails slowly eastwards. She is carrying a full cargo of solid gold…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Study in Pink(ertons) - USA, 19th Century
In a factory in Homestead Pennsylvania, thousands of steel workers have downed tools and striking - their boss Andrew Carnegie is about to lower their wages…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Duel and the Duke - London, 1829
In the misty dawn of a March morning in 1829 a duel is about to take place in Battersea. Whilst duels were still fairly common at the time, they were frowned…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Dutch Corsair - Barbary Coast, 17th Century
A pirate, a president and a Dutchman are the last things a humble fisherman on the shores of Iceland might expect to see sailing in on the evening tide. But on…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
For Love or Money? Montreal 1642-1692
This one is a special case, that's for sure. Jacques Bizard - a Swiss Calvinist mercenary - met a French Catholic general called Louis de Frontenac. Their bond…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Great Peace - Montreal, 1701
After reading the histories of civilisation (or just by listening to this podcast) you may get the idea that war is humanity’s natural state. But the truth is…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Defending the Faith - Carcassonne, 1209
Will and Patrick delve deep into the purge of the Cathar faith in Southern France. Sanctioned by the Pope and supported by the King of France, crusading…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Father to an Empire - Kabul, 1504
How far would you go to live up to a family name? If your ancestry included not one but two founders of empires, do you really have much choice in what life…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Go to your God - Kabul, 1842
War is hell. Unfortunately however, when an empire grows large enough it starts to forget that fact. Which makes it all the more horrifying when that harsh…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Dictator for a Day - Rome, 458 BC
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Or that's at least how the saying goes. And a cursory glance at the last 12,000 years of human history…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Martyr to Science - Rome, 1600
Are Science and Religion perhaps the oldest of rivals? Reason vs faith. Scripture vs hypothesise. Maybe, or maybe it’s just the power-hungry people who live…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Crisis of Cod - Reykjavik, 1958 - 1976
Icelanders are a people forged in the fires of volcanoes and tempered in the frosts of glaciers. They are the descendants of Vikings who found the freezing…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Lesser of Two Hitlers - Dublin 1900
Long before the rise of his brother Adolf Hitler to Fuhrer of the Third Reich, Alois Hitler left his home in Austria and landed on the Emerald Isle to start a…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
How to Lose a Revolution in Five Days - Dublin 1916
The glorious revolution is a tale that almost every country in world considers part of its history, in one form or another. An underdog tale of dashing…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
God Awful Gods of Egypt Review
Hello hello everyone! We are so happy that we have finally got a new episode to give to you after a long pause! Here Patrick and Will chat with fellow…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
A Holy Heist - 1307 Westminster
Will and Patrick had the great honour of being asked to make an episode for the History of England Podcast and this was the result! 1307, Westminster. King…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Fleet of Flames - China, 208 CE
War is a time when heroes and villains are born from the crucible of battle. Or at least that’s what the legends and tales that sprout forth from a war-torn…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Immortals Movie Review
Check out this bonus episode where we join our friends from A Little History Podcast and The Jammy History Podcast to review to fantastically unique 2011 film…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Cows 1 Empire 0 - Tondibi, Songhai Empire 1591
War is a time where ingenuity can win the day, even in some unusual circumstances. As it is in martial arts, one sure path to victory on the battlefield can be…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Enemy of My Enemy - Austria, 1945
War is a time when soldiers fight and die for reasons bigger than themselves. For a soldier, the world collapses down to the comrades at their side, the gun in…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Frozen Fleet - The Netherlands, 18th Century
War is a time where cunning and daring can often win the day. The skill to look at what some may see as insurmountable odds and see opportunity, can mean life…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Man Behind the Mask - Venice, 18th Century
The bankers and merchants of Venice's storied past would claim it was coin and trade that was the lifeblood of the City on the Water. But the poets would say…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Theft of the Century - Venice, 829 CE
Power and prestige. Two things that kings, queens and emperors have sought since civilisation began. But how far would you go to obtain them? For the people of…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Black Ships - Tokyo 1853
Tranquillity and a sense of peace are two qualities that Japanese culture has a deep respect for. Even in the busy docks of Edo a state of serenity is…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
No Honour Among Thieves - 17th Century Tokyo
To live and die by the sword is a life honoured throughout most of the world, and no place is it respected more than in Japan. Tales of this ancient land are…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
Ink and Blood - Mongol Siege of Baghdad
They came from the east bringing fire and blood; a black cloud of dust stretching for miles in every direction like a breaking storm. 150,000 warriors, the…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
City of Science - 9th Century Baghdad
In the west, scientific discovery all but died after the fall of the Roman empire. It would take a thousand years for the likes of da Vinci, Copernicus and…
- The Cloak and Dagger Podcast
The Case of the Missing Foot - London 1879
The streets of Victorian London could be a grizzly place. Abject poverty, deadly disease and choking smog were par for the course for most Londoners living…