Heroes and Legends Documentary Channel Podcast
Episodes
Ep. 33. Machiavelli: Was He Evil? The Truth History Got Wrong
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
#Machiavelli #ThePrince #HistoricalDocumentaryWas Machiavelli truly the master of manipulation—or the most misunderstood political thinker in histor...
Ep. 32. Belisarius: The Last of the Great Roman Generals
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Belisarius—the man who nearly rebuilt the Roman Empire under Justinian I? From the deserts of North Africa to the ruins of Gothic Italy, Bel...
Ep. 31. Barbarossa: Scourge of the Mediterranean
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Legendary Barbarossa Brothers: Masters of the Mediterranean âš“In this deep dive into the Barbarossa brothers, we explore the incredible journey o...
Ep. 30. Russia's Legendary Queens from Olga the Viking to Catherine the Great
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine the Great’s reign marked an era of splendour, military triumphs, and political transformation. Standing on the shoulders of the formidable...
Ep. 29. Nikola Tesla: Tragic Hero and Forgotten Prophet
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
Ep. 28. Mughals, Merchants, Marauders & Henry Every's Heist of the Century
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Everybody loves a good heist story – especially a successful one. Chuck in corrupt politicians, corporate gangsters and billionaire warlords and you...
Ep. 27 Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Adventurer Gertrude Bell
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 r...
Ep. 26. Kingdom of Kongo: Slaver Kings, Amazon Queens & the Brazilian Spartacus
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When many people think of Africa, they visualise wide open spaces, incredible wildlife and colourful friendly people with vibrant cultures, costumes a...
Ep. 25. Voltaire: The Rascal Philosopher
16 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few enlightenment thinkers are as famous as the French writer Voltaire. Born into a modest though socially ambitious family, he found his talent for w...
Ep. 24. Margaret Thatcher: The Life and Times of the Lady Who Wouldn't be Turned
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few politicians have been as polarising as UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led her country during a tumultuous time in history, between 1979 ...
Ep. 23. Codfish Heroes: Vikings, Basques and the Fishermen who Changed the World
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We often look at history through the actions of great individuals, technological developments and natural events that initiate social, political and e...
Ep. 22 The Irish Problem, Fenian Rebels and Catalpa Rescue
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few people know about the broader history of Ireland, and its long and tragic relationship with England: the uprisings and repression, the famines and...
Ep. 21. Roald Amundsen: Quiet Conqueror of the Polar Regions
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Ep. 20. The Incredible story of the Magellan-Elcano Circumnavigation of 1519-1520
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
September 2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the globe by the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan (Fernando de Magalla...
Ep. 19. The Incredible Journey of Medieval Adventurer Ibn Battuta
06 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Ep. 18. Joan of Arc: The Girl Who Crowned a King and Saved a Nation
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Ep. 17. Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Father of Western Democracy
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Paine was a plain talking, big thinking common man - self educated in matters of science, philosophy, activism and political theory. His pamphl...
Ep. 16. Iron John (Der Eisenhans): A Brothers Grimm Fairytale Interpreted as an Initiation Manual for Men
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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, wh...
Ep. 15. The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell and the Monomyth
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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. Bu...
Ep. 14. Shakespeare: The Genius we never knew
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
William Shakespeare was arguably the greatest writer in history. His works have been translated into every living language. He’s been credited with ...
Ep. 13. Brutus: Traitor to Caesar or Liberator of Rome?
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Marcus Junius Brutus is a name that has come down through history as being synonymous with unexpected betrayal. Dante- in his Divine Comedy portrays B...
Ep. 12. Pemulwuy: The Aboriginal Guerrilla Warrior who almost broke the British
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 arriv...
Ep. 11. Bartolomé de Las Casas: The Conscience of Christian Europe and its first Social Justice Warrior
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 con...
Ep. 10. AB Facey: The Ordinary Aussie Bloke who exemplified Old-School toughness of character
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Albert Facey, born at the desperate tail end of the Australian gold rush, suffered incredible hardship, poverty and even child slavery, only to escape...
Ep. 9. Admiral Robert FitzRoy: The troubled genius who made Charles Darwin
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 na...
Ep. 8. Prince Philip: Unlikely Stoic role model in a time of Woke
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 frequen...
Ep. 7. James Cook: The incredible true story of the worlds Greatest Navigator and Cartographer
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Captain James Cook, a British Navigator, Cartographer and explorer was one of the pre-eminent sailors and innovators of his age. Now a controversial f...
Ep. 5. The Perfect Medieval Storm: Jan Hus (John Huss)- the reformer who inspired Martin Luther
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores the geopolitical situation of the late medieval period wherein an enabled papacy, thanks to its projection of spiritual authorit...
Ep. 6. Napoleon Bonaparte: Evil Despot or Enlightenment Genius?
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
May 2021 marks the bicentenary of the death of French Emperor and ethnic Corsican, Napoleon Bonaparte. A military and political genius and champion of...
Ep. 4. General Jose de San Martin: The Unknown Hero of South America. Part Two
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
La guerra de la independencia: Arriving in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata; San Martin and his companions were faced with ...
Ep. 3. General Jose de San Martin: The Unknown Hero of South America. Part One
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jose de San Martin, champion of the "guerra de la independencia", was an Argentine General, provincial governor and innovative commander who...
Ep. 2. The 12 Labours of Herakles (Hercules)
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Herakles (Hercules) was a demigod (half human, half god) within the mythological pantheon of ancient Greece (and later, Rome) and illegitimate son of ...
Ep. 1. The Knights Hospitaller and the Great Siege of Malta 1565
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The siege of Malta, defended by the knights of St John, otherwise known as the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta, is one of the great military ...