#24 A Survivor Sharing His Story & A Hermit Redeemed After 300 Years Artwork

Mostly Unsung

The weekly comedy history podcast that brings you bitesize biographies of the extraordinary, eccentric, outrageous and occasionally ordinary lives that until now have gone mostly unsung... mostly. Join your hosts Annie and Andrea as they bring you stories that your history teacher never taught you!

If you like stuffy lectures then you're not going to be a fan, sorry! But if you are looking to hang out with two old friends who love story telling, a good laugh and forgotten figures from history then welcome!

Covering everything from scientists to Grandmothers, survivors of wars to eccentric millionaires, all via ghost stories, anecdotes and terrible impressions of Hollywood legend Tim Curry. Come and hang out, have a giggle and join us every Friday.

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Mostly Unsung

#24 A Survivor Sharing His Story & A Hermit Redeemed After 300 Years

September 26, 2025 • Mostly Unsung • Season 1 • Episode 24

Welcome back everyone! Looking for a (usually!) light listen full of laughter for the commute? A story telling team? Searching for podcast friends to welcome you weekly?

Welcome to Mostly Unsung, the history podcast that brings you two stories every single week. Those names lost to the past, the people your history teacher never told you about, all told with laughter and a big helping of the ridiculous!

This week Annie brings a poignant story of hope amongst the ravages of Second World War Poland. A young man survives and shares with the world his story of courage, friendship and huge amounts of luck.

Then Andrea is going local with a story that starts in Essex and ends in Pennsylvania. A dedicated Quaker travels the world and does not approve of what he finds. First he tries to lecture his church, then his neighbours, then finally abandons the world to live in a cave in the woods. A very, VERY early self sufficiency, plant based hero!

For this episode Andrea used these sources:

https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/61/Benjamin-Lay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lay

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42640782

For this episode Annie used these sources:

https://hmd.org.uk/resource/zigi-shipper-hmd-2017/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/27/holocaust-memorial-day-zigi-shipper

And her own memories of one of his talks!

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https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/

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