Rearview Mirror Chronicles

Keith Hockton

Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast Asia Editor for International Living magazine, Keith explores the intersections of history, culture, and modern life across the region. A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone. His published books include: • Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003). • Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017). • Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015). • The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022) www.entrepotpublishing.com

  1. 5d ago

    The White Rajas - The Englishman Who Bought a Kingdom (Part One)

    Send us Fan Mail In August 1839, a wealthy English adventurer sailed up a river in Borneo aboard his private schooner, carrying a letter of thanks and a few presents for a local prince. Just two years later, he was the ruler of Sarawak. His name was James Brooke, and his extraordinary rise to power would establish a family dynasty that lasted more than a century. But how does an Englishman with no official authority, a fortune in his pocket and a ship armed with cannon end up ruling a kingdom on the other side of the world? In this first episode of a three-part series, we follow Brooke from the battlefields of Burma to the jungles of Borneo, where rebellion, political intrigue and an increasingly desperate Brunei prince present him with an opportunity he could never have imagined. Along the way, we meet the Malay chiefs and Dayak communities whose support helped make his extraordinary rise possible, and the formidable Iban warriors who had absolutely no intention of surrendering their independence. It's a remarkable story of ambition, adventure, unlikely alliances and the beginnings of a kingdom that would change the history of Sarawak forever. And becoming a Rajah, as Brooke was about to discover, was considerably easier than remaining one. Join me on Rearview Mirror Chronicles for Part One of The White Rajahs: The Englishman Who Bought a Kingdom. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  2. Oct 20

    The Cuban Missle Crisis - Thirty Seconds from Total Nuclear Annihilation (Part Two)

    Send us Fan Mail October 1962. The world is holding its breath. American warships are enforcing a naval blockade around Cuba, Soviet missiles are being prepared for launch, and in Washington, President John F. Kennedy faces a decision that could end civilisation as we know it. As the confrontation intensifies, an American U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba, Soviet submarines are pursued by the US Navy, and aboard one of them, a nuclear torpedo comes terrifyingly close to being fired. Behind closed doors, Kennedy and Khrushchev are searching desperately for a way out, while their military commanders prepare for war. Miscalculations, misunderstandings and sheer human stubbornness threaten to turn a political confrontation into a nuclear catastrophe. In Part Two of The Cuban Missile Crisis, Rearview Mirror Chronicles takes you inside the most dangerous hours of the Cold War, where extraordinary decisions by ordinary men helped determine whether millions would live or die. And when the world finally steps back from the brink, the real story of how close we came to nuclear war is even more astonishing than the one the public was told. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  3. Oct 15

    The Cuban Missle Crisis - Thirty Seconds from Total Nuclear Annihilation (Part One)

    Send us Fan Mail In October 1962, the world came closer to nuclear annihilation than most of us will ever fully appreciate. For thirteen extraordinary days, two superpowers confronted one another across ninety miles of Caribbean sea, and the future of civilisation hung in the balance. But the Cuban Missile Crisis was not quite the heroic diplomatic triumph we were taught at school. Behind the familiar photographs of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev lies a far more disturbing story of secret military operations, political miscalculations, nuclear weapons and decisions that could have ended in catastrophe. In Part One of this two-part Rearview Mirror Chronicles special, we travel back to the Cold War, the rise of Fidel Castro, the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion and the extraordinary Soviet operation to place nuclear missiles on Cuba. We also uncover a little-known account of American involvement in the invasion, before following the American spy plane whose photographs exposed Khrushchev's enormous gamble. By the time President Kennedy addresses the American people on 22 October 1962, the world is holding its breath. American warships are preparing to intercept Soviet vessels, nuclear missiles are being readied in Cuba, and neither Kennedy nor Khrushchev knows quite how to escape the confrontation they have created. And the most dangerous days are still to come. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  4. Oct 7

    How the East India Company Took Penang: A Promise Betrayed

    Send us Fan Mail In 1786, Francis Light raised the British flag over Penang and changed the history of the Malay Peninsula. But the deal behind it was far murkier than the familiar story suggests. The Sultan of Kedah believed he was gaining British protection against powerful enemies. The East India Company wanted a strategic island on the route to China. Francis Light stood between them, allowing both sides to believe they were getting what they wanted. Then the protection never came. What followed was a broken bargain, war across the Penang Strait, a Siamese invasion, the exile of a Sultan and a treaty that settled Penang’s future without Kedah even being at the table. This is the extraordinary story of how Britain took Penang, and the promise that was never kept. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  5. Sep 30

    Gallipoli

    Send us Fan Mail In April 1915, thousands of young Australians and New Zealanders approached an unfamiliar Turkish coastline in small boats. Most had never been under fire. Within hours, a new word would enter history: ANZAC. Gallipoli was supposed to be a bold shortcut to victory, a way through the Dardanelles to Constantinople and Russia. Instead, it became eight months of slaughter, disease, impossible terrain and extraordinary courage. This is the story of the men who landed at ANZAC Cove, the Ottoman soldiers who stopped them, Mustafa Kemal’s remarkable rise, the disastrous decisions that prolonged the campaign, and the evacuation that became its most successful operation. But Gallipoli is more than the story of a military defeat. For Australia and New Zealand, it became part of a national identity. For Turkey, it helped create the legend of the man who would become Atatürk. One battle. Three nations. And a story that, more than a century later, is still remembered before dawn on a small beach in Turkey. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  6. Sep 24

    The Knights Templar: The King, the Curse and the Lost Treasure

    Send us Fan Mail They began as a handful of armed monks protecting pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem. Within two centuries, the Knights Templar had become one of the most powerful organisations in medieval Europe, warriors, landowners, financiers and servants of kings and popes. Then, on Friday the 13th of October 1307, everything changed. Across France, Templars were arrested in a single coordinated operation. Their leaders were imprisoned, accusations of heresy and blasphemy followed, and before long the order itself was destroyed. But that should have been the end of the story. Instead, it was only the beginning. What happened to their wealth? Were secret funds moved before the arrests? Did Templar ships really escape carrying treasure? And how did a vanished medieval order become entangled with the Holy Grail, Baphomet, Rosslyn Chapel, Freemasonry and one of history’s most enduring curses? This is the extraordinary story of the Knights Templar — their rise, their destruction, and the moment history gave way to legend. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  7. Sep 24

    Bloomsbury Ley Lines - The Tangled Web

    Send us Fan Mail The Bloomsbury Group were writers, artists, thinkers and intellectuals who helped reshape twentieth century culture. But behind the books, paintings and radical ideas was something altogether more complicated. The more you follow their lives, the more tangled the story becomes. Marriages overlapped with affairs. Friendships became love affairs. Lovers became members of the family. And just when you think you have worked out who was with whom, another name appears and the whole picture changes again. Since our earlier episodes on Bloomsbury, more of those connections have emerged, and some of them are quite extraordinary. So consider this a Ley Lines update. A short journey back into Bloomsbury to join a few more dots, cross a few more lines, and discover just how interconnected this remarkable group of people really was. Because with Bloomsbury, everybody seems to lead back to somebody else. Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

  8. Sep 19

    Bloomsbury: Art, Obsession, and Ruin

    Send us Fan Mail They shattered convention with every stroke of the pen and brush—and tore through each other’s lives in the process. The Bloomsbury Group wasn’t just a circle of intellectuals—it was a volatile mix of writers, artists, and thinkers who lived and loved on the edge of propriety. Virginia Woolf haunted the edges of genius and madness. Her sister, painter Vanessa Bell, reimagined beauty on her own terms. Economist John Maynard Keynes rewrote the rules of capitalism by day—and defied societal norms by night. Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, E.M. Forster—they all blurred the lines between friendship, sex, and ideology. They talked about truth. They chased beauty. But beneath the elegance was something raw, radical, and quietly explosive. Join Keith as he steps inside the salons and bedrooms of Bloomsbury—a world of brilliance, betrayal, and the bold few who dared to live without limits. Referral Links:  The Bloomsbury Group Support the show For books written and published by Keith Hocton www.entrepotpublishing.com

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Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast Asia Editor for International Living magazine, Keith explores the intersections of history, culture, and modern life across the region. A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone. His published books include: • Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003). • Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017). • Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015). • The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018) • Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022) www.entrepotpublishing.com

Information

  • Creator
    Keith Hockton
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    195
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rearview Mirror Chronicles
  • Show Website
    Rearview Mirror Chronicles

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