Consistently Eccentric History

About Consistently Eccentric History

The British Isles have thousands of years of history, so it's weird that all most people were taught at school was World War Two, how many wives Henry VIII had and that the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066 (always worth a try if you are trying to guess someones pin number). If you've always wanted to learn about all the bits between these events, but only if it can be done in a random and eclectic manner why not try Consistently Eccentric History? A podcast where each week you can listen in while I tell one of my friends a story about a lesser known person or event in British history, the weirder and less believable the better. With an archive of over 150 episodes you will never again be short a weird historical fact when trying to impress others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Joe Heathcote

Category

history · society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Jul 2020

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

268 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   The Bernard Method of Forensic Pathology - a compelling story is all the evidence you need (Spilsbury Part 2)

   In the second part of our story we discuss how Bernard went from being a dissector of corpses to a national institution and a knight of the realm. But while the courts were happy with the conviction rate, Sir Bernard's methods became more scrutinised by the medial community at large. This was a potential problem for Spilsbury as it turned out that most were absolutely horrified by what they saw, with many fellow doctors beginning to come to the realisation that they might have to step in or risk their entire profession being brought into disrepute. Oh, and obviously we also discuss many horrific murders. Guest Host: Tom Heathcote (Part 2 of 3) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   14 Oct 2026

   The origins of Bernard Spilsbury - (or) How to create a flawed doctor (Spilsbury Part 1)

   This week we are embarking on the story of one of the most famous medical men of the 20th Century. And also one of the most controversial. Little Bernard Spilsbury did not show any particular interest in becoming a doctor. But as his father James wanted to live vicariously through his firstborn son, his wishes could be ignored. It was not an easy process, but through a combination of dressing to impress, being willing to do the jobs other people disliked and sheer dumb luck, Bernard was able to find a niche within the medical community... ... unfortunately that niche was forensic pathology, meaning that Bernard would literally hold the lives of accused murderers in his hands. What could possibly go wrong? Guest Host: Tom Heathcote (Part 1/3) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Elizabeth Fry - Got her new 'friends' in Newgate seriously quaking with her reforms

   This week Pam is taking us back to a time when UK prisons were a cause of concern for parliament (imagine). However luckily for the Late-Georgians there was a serious Quaker who was ready to do some serious reforming. Elizabeth Fry was a workaholic idealist from Norwich who was not afraid to get her hands dirty in the stinking cells of Newgate. She was determined to prove that by treating prisoners as humans, you might actually be able to demonstrate their humanity, a concept that Georgian men (not least of all Jeremy Bentham) apparently had never considered. Guest Host: Pam Loetterle Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 62 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

91

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact Consistently Eccentric History

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Consistently Eccentric History