A weekly comedy history podcast covering the socio-political disasters, bad decisions, and failures that shaped the modern world. Every week, Lev asks the question nobody in the history books thought to ask: how did things get this bad, and who let it happen? From the housing crisis and the decline in living standards over the last decade, to the history of outrage and why politicians never know when to leave, this is history told with the bluntness it deserves.
New episodes every week.
Why Are Billionaires So Out Of Touch? (Season 7 Episode 24)
Peter Thiel thinks evil is underrated, Elon Musk thinks empathy is a weakness, and Zuckerberg wants to sell you friends. Why are billionaires so out of touch?
In this episode of History’s Greatest Idiots, we dig into the strangest things the world’s richest people have said lately, from Thiel’s Ferrari theory of good and evil and his lectures naming Greta Thunberg as a modern Antichrist, to Sam Altman’s plan to sell you intelligence on a meter.
We look at Palantir’s eyebrow-raising manifesto (and the remarkable coincidence of who runs its UK arm), and at how Ed Sheeran’s handling of the Macklemore tour row left fans feeling he’d lost touch with his roots.
Then we get into the science. What the Stanford Prison Experiment really shows (it’s not what you were taught), why wealthier people literally look at strangers less, and how extreme wealth removes the one thing everyone else has: someone willing to tell you no.
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Editor: Sonika Chandel
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Logo Design: Sarah Chey
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4 Oct 2026
Real Mad Scientists From History (Season 7 Episode 23)
Two mad scientists: one transplanted goat glands into prisoners, the other may have eaten a king's heart. These men discarded the rules of society in pursuit of their own insane goals.
In this Greatest Hits episode of History's Greatest Idiots, we revisit two of the strangest careers in the history of science.
Dr Leo Stanley spent nearly four decades as chief surgeon at San Quentin State Prison, where he performed more than 10,000 gland implants using material from goats, rams, boars, deer and death row inmates, convinced he could cure crime and reverse ageing. He was also an enthusiastic champion of eugenics sooo...ooof.
Then we have William Buckland, the Oxford geologist who named the first dinosaur, Megalosaurus, tried to eat his way through the animal kingdom (reportedly ranking mole and bluebottle as the worst things he ever tasted), had a coprolite (fossilised dung) dining table, and is said to have eaten the preserved heart of Louis XIV at a dinner party.
Two baffling men who's lives exist as proof that being recognised as a pioneer and completely unhinged/unethical can sometimes be true of the same person.
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Logo Design: Sarah Chey
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27 Sept 2026
A Brief History of the End of the World (Season 7 Episode 22)
Every generation since the turn of the 20th Century has believed the world was ending due to all-out war. This one's no different.
Danish intelligence says Russia could attack NATO within months. Drones keep turning up over airbases in Poland. Putin talks peace while calling Ukraine's own defense "state terrorism."
It's easy to feel like we're on the brink, so this episode asks whether we actually are, or whether "the end is near" has just always been the loudest voice in the room.
We separate what's documented (hybrid sabotage, election interference, drone probing) from what's speculation (an imminent land war, a full NATO invasion), look at why doom-mongering has sold since long before Twitter existed, and work out who benefits from keeping people frightened.
Then a proper, honest risk assessment, no scaremongering, no false comfort either.
https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiots (https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiots)
https://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiots (https://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiots)
https://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiots (https://buymeacoffee.com/historysgreatestidiots)
Editor: Sonika Chandel
https://www.fiverr.com/sonikachandel05 (https://www.fiverr.com/sonikachandel05)
Logo Design: Sarah Chey
https://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey (https://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
69,116
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.1 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
4.3 / 5
75 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 75 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
82
Social presence
91
YouTube
76
Engagement
50
Contact History's Greatest Idiots
Guest appearances
Books guests
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