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No One Saw It Coming

No One Saw It Coming

ABC Australia 62 Episodes Jul 20, 2026

Join Walkley award-winner Marc Fennell as he uncovers the incredible moments that changed the course of history. The bit players, the unexpected twists, the turning point you missed. New episodes out Tuesday.

Episodes

Escaped the Nazis and lost by Australia
Escaped the Nazis and lost by Australia Jul 20, 2026 0:25:45 She stands tall with her head tilted towards you. She’s wearing an incredible gown made of the most beautiful fabric. This is a society woman living in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. But she will see things that will shock and disturb her. Her world will be turned upside down, and she’ll travel to the other side of the world to keep her family safe, only to be rejected b
The queen behind the witch hunts
The queen behind the witch hunts Jul 13, 2026 0:25:47 In the late 1500s a man sails across the North Sea. He’s battered by wind and wave. The sea seems angry, almost furious at him. He thinks it must be more than just a bad storm. It must be supernatural. This man is James VI, the King of Scotland and son of Queen Mary of Scots. The tempest instils in him a paranoia and hatred that sparks one of the earliest witch trials in British
An 11-year-old sent us on a mission...
An 11-year-old sent us on a mission... Jul 6, 2026 0:25:37 Getting a letter these days is pretty special, especially when it’s from an 11-year-old listener. Ellie wrote us a letter asking about the nursery rhyme Ring a Ring o' Roses, wondering if it really is about the plague. Amelia Huw Morgan, Senior lecturer in illustration in Cardiff School of Art and Design, sits down with Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) to explain the deeper
The secret Aussie plant that saved D-Day
The secret Aussie plant that saved D-Day Jun 29, 2026 0:25:47 D-Day was the biggest land and water invasion in history and would go on to be a huge turning point in WWII. And it all depended on a plant.Specifically a leaf from a tree that grows on the east coast of Australia, that would treat seasick soldiers and allow them to fight.Dr Chris Kavelin joins Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) to tell the incredible, and little known, story
Grapefruits vs Apartheid
Grapefruits vs Apartheid Jun 22, 2026 0:25:45 In a Dublin supermarket in 1984, a young woman makes a split-second decision. She refuses to sell two grapefruits. Her job is on the line, and there’s a recession raging across the country. But she’s doing it for the human rights of people thousands of kilometres away, that she’s never even met. Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) is joined by Mary Manning to hear the story of
History’s favourite sex toys
History’s favourite sex toys Jun 15, 2026 0:25:45 *CONTENT WARNING* This episode explores mature themes such as sex and masturbation.When the wooden object was unearthed, the archaeologists were stumped. What was this thing? It looked like a club and was found among bits of cloth so they thought it was a darning tool.But it was another kind of tool. One that would raise eyebrows and cause some people to blush.Sex historian Dr Ka
The houseplant that changed the British Empire
The houseplant that changed the British Empire Jun 8, 2026 0:25:44 On the face of it, it’s just a box. It has wooden slats, a peaked roof and glass panels. But inside this box is something that will breathe, grow, and impact lives around the world, for better or worse. Dr Luke Keogh (author, The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how a box designed to grow
Stop blaming rats for the plague
Stop blaming rats for the plague Jun 1, 2026 0:25:46 If you were asked where the plague came from you’d probably say rats. Or fleas. And you’d say it swept across Europe killing up to half of the population.But where exactly did it start and how did it get to Europe in the first place?Medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega sits down with Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) and debunks the biggest myths about the black death and te
A teenager’s party created Hip-Hop
A teenager’s party created Hip-Hop May 25, 2026 0:25:45 It started with two turntables and a microphone and became a worldwide movement. Today, Hip hop is one of the biggest music genres in the world - and it all started at a teenager’s back to school party in the Bronx.Jeff Chang (hip hop journalist and author) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how one girl’s party to raise money for new clothes led to a music
The vote that shocked the world
The vote that shocked the world May 18, 2026 In the week before Christmas 1894, a man in the South Australian parliament rolls the dice.He makes a gamble that he thinks will pay off. It’s incredibly risky because if his gamble goes wrong, he gives half the population something he really doesn’t want to give them.Professor Clare Wright OAM (Historian and author of the best-selling Democracy Trilogy) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff
Beware gifts from Soviet spies
Beware gifts from Soviet spies May 11, 2026 After the Second World War, relations between America, Britain and the Soviets were frosty and as the Cold War rivalry intensified, they were watching each other with intense side-eye. And it turns out, listening as well.Matt Bevan (If You’re Listening) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how a gift from the Soviets to the Americans was used as a trojan hors
The Met Gala began in a dead woman’s closet
The Met Gala began in a dead woman’s closet May 4, 2026 0:25:48 The Met Gala’s 2026 theme is Costume Art. But rewind almost 100 years ago, and the fight was to get costumes to be called art at all. And if a handful of very determined women hadn’t pushed to change that, the Met Gala probably doesn’t exist.Dr. Elizabeth Lundén is a Kluge Research Fellow at the Library of Congress and she sits down with host Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole

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