
Heroes and Legends Documentary Channel Podcast
Heroes and Legends is a channel dedicated to exploring the lives and stories of great and inspiring individuals that have made an impact on history, culture or our way of life. Some of these may be little known to the wider world, even though they impacted significantly on the destinies of their own people. Others may have been condemned unfairly by history and deserve to have their contributions reviewed. We hope that by bringing their stories to light, we can all learn from their experiences, be inspired by them and enrich the tapestry of knowledge that exists outside the narrative of our own culture.
Episodes
31 episodes
Ep. 31. Barbarossa: Scourge of the Mediterranean
The Legendary Barbarossa Brothers: Masters of the Mediterranean ⚓In this deep dive into the Barbarossa brothers, we explore the incredible journey of Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa, two of the most formidable naval commanders of the 16th cen...
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1:40:26

Ep. 30. Russia's Legendary Queens from Olga the Viking to Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great’s reign marked an era of splendour, military triumphs, and political transformation. Standing on the shoulders of the formidable women who preceded her, she wielded propaganda masterfully, cultivating an image of power, and ...
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3:38:45

Ep. 29. Nikola Tesla: Tragic Hero and Forgotten Prophet
Most people today have heard of Tesla, the electric car company, and its controversial CEO, Elon Musk. Some might even know a bit about the company’s namesake: Nikola Tesla, the enigmatic genius who was responsible for promoting the electrical ...
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2:22:35

Ep. 28. Mughals, Merchants, Marauders & Henry Every's Heist of the Century
Everybody loves a good heist story – especially a successful one. Chuck in corrupt politicians, corporate gangsters and billionaire warlords and you’ve got yourself a winning formula. Set your story in the 17th century, make your protagonist a ...
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2:13:47

Ep. 27 Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Adventurer Gertrude Bell
Most people have heard of Lawrence of Arabia, and the romantic tale of his involvement in the revolution that liberated the middle East from Ottoman rule during World war One. But few people are aware that behind TE Lawrence there stood an even...
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3:17:35

Ep. 26. Kingdom of Kongo: Slaver Kings, Amazon Queens & the Brazilian Spartacus
When many people think of Africa, they visualise wide open spaces, incredible wildlife and colourful friendly people with vibrant cultures, costumes and music. We might also contemplate the tragedy of the African slave trade and the consequence...
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1:45:15

Ep. 25. Voltaire: The Rascal Philosopher
Few enlightenment thinkers are as famous as the French writer Voltaire. Born into a modest though socially ambitious family, he found his talent for writing early and by his late teens was punching way above his weight as a playwright and poet ...
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2:08:45

Ep. 24. Margaret Thatcher: The Life and Times of the Lady Who Wouldn't be Turned
Few politicians have been as polarising as UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led her country during a tumultuous time in history, between 1979 and 1990. She was the first female leader of a major political party in British History; and i...
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2:15:37

Ep. 23. Codfish Heroes: Vikings, Basques and the Fishermen who Changed the World
We often look at history through the actions of great individuals, technological developments and natural events that initiate social, political and economic change. Sometimes animals play a role in those changes - such as the domestication of ...
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1:42:14

Ep. 22 The Irish Problem, Fenian Rebels and Catalpa Rescue
Few people know about the broader history of Ireland, and its long and tragic relationship with England: the uprisings and repression, the famines and exodus, or the political persecution that condemned activists to rot half way round the world...
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1:34:11

Ep. 21. Roald Amundsen: Quiet Conqueror of the Polar Regions
This is a story about a little known, yet much misunderstood hero. But more than that it is also a story about a clash of philosophies, the dawn of a new era; a young nation, and a once mighty one - both in their own way experiencing an identit...
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1:47:11

Ep. 20. The Incredible story of the Magellan-Elcano Circumnavigation of 1519-1520
September 2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the globe by the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan (Fernando de Magallanes/Fernão de Magalhães), and completed by Juan Sebastian Elcano- and it should be mentioned, ...
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1:42:48

Ep. 19. The Incredible Journey of Medieval Adventurer Ibn Battuta
When most people are asked to name an epic traveller from history, they usually come up with names like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Magellan, or any number of other well-known European explorers and adventurers that come to mind. Ve...
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1:57:29

Ep. 18. Joan of Arc: The Girl Who Crowned a King and Saved a Nation
Joan of Arc; the Maid of Orleans; Jeanne D'Arc, Jehanne la Pucelle: she goes by many names. A provincial French peasant girl, barely in her teens, living in relative poverty, illiteracy and complete subordination during a time of total war and ...
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1:57:32

Ep. 17. Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Father of Western Democracy
Thomas Paine was a plain talking, big thinking common man - self educated in matters of science, philosophy, activism and political theory. His pamphlets and books inspired ordinary people throughout the colonies of America to stand up for thei...
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1:26:48

Ep. 16. Iron John (Der Eisenhans): A Brothers Grimm Fairytale Interpreted as an Initiation Manual for Men
The Grimm brothers fairy tale Iron John (or Der Eisenhans in German) was the subject of study by prize winning American poet and author Robert Bly, who was a prominent figure in the mythopoetic men's movement that began in the 1980's. In it he ...
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1:05:09

Ep. 15. The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell and the Monomyth
The hero’s journey is the mythological representation of the challenges we all face in life and the path that must be travelled to overcome them. But more than that, it represents what famous mythologist Joseph Campbell saw as the generic-repre...
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42:11

Ep. 14. Shakespeare: The Genius we never knew
William Shakespeare was arguably the greatest writer in history. His works have been translated into every living language. He’s been credited with literally inventing a tenth of the entire English language, or almost 2000 new words and phrases...
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1:10:49

Ep. 13. Brutus: Traitor to Caesar or Liberator of Rome?
Marcus Junius Brutus is a name that has come down through history as being synonymous with unexpected betrayal. Dante- in his Divine Comedy portrays Brutus as being in the lowest pit of the underworld. He was however a far more complex characte...
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1:12:32

Ep. 12. Pemulwuy: The Aboriginal Guerrilla Warrior who almost broke the British
Pemulwuy was a member of the Bidgigal Clan, of the Eora nation that inhabit the Sydney Basin on the East Coast of Australia. When Arthur Phillip arrived in Kamay (Botany Bay) with the First Fleet in 1788, to establish a convict settlement, tens...
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44:43

Ep. 11. Bartolomé de Las Casas: The Conscience of Christian Europe and its first Social Justice Warrior
In today’s episode, we will look at the life of Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Dominican Priest who, during the 1500’s at the time of Spanish conquest in the Americas, has been called the “world’s first Social Justice Warrior”. But his isn’t a ...
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49:22

Ep. 10. AB Facey: The Ordinary Aussie Bloke who exemplified Old-School toughness of character
Albert Facey, born at the desperate tail end of the Australian gold rush, suffered incredible hardship, poverty and even child slavery, only to escape and survive like so many other Huckleberry Finns of his time, purely by his wits and determin...
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47:55

Ep. 9. Admiral Robert FitzRoy: The troubled genius who made Charles Darwin
Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy is one of the forgotten heroes of the mid eighteenth century. An aristocrat of the old school, he became an outstanding naval officer, rapidly rising through the ranks. He became most famous, as the taciturn and mela...
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52:44

Ep. 8. Prince Philip: Unlikely Stoic role model in a time of Woke
Born Prince Philip of Denmark and Greece; the consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has often been maligned in the media for his frequent gaffes and politically incorrect comments. Yet his troubled youth, intense study and courage...
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32:18

Ep. 7. James Cook: The incredible true story of the worlds Greatest Navigator and Cartographer
Captain James Cook, a British Navigator, Cartographer and explorer was one of the pre-eminent sailors and innovators of his age. Now a controversial figure for indigenous cultures who see him as the instigator and symbol of European colonial ex...
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1:20:39
