What We Did Before | A History of Everyday Life

OG Podcasts - Exploring Human History
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  • History
  • Updated Biweekly

Before modern inventions and conveniences, humans had ingenious ways of solving problems. So how exactly did humans survive before fridges, without clothes or before surnames were invented? Find out the answers to these questions and more, right here. Hosted by Ollie Guillou.

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Before Fire Brigades: The Strange History of Fighting Fires

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Firefighting hasn’t always meant red engines and professional crews. For centuries, fighting fires was much more chaotic. Even by the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain still had more than a thousand separate local authority fire brigades. ⚡In this episode, curator of Fireground Museum in Rochdale, Bob Bonner, takes us on a tour through the history of firefighting, explaining how it evolved into the service we know today. From insurance fire brigades, to legendary figures like Alfred Tozer and the story of the unsung heroes of the Blitz. Visit Fireground Museum: https://www.fireground.org.uk/  Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Image credit: James Braidwood Statue: Secret Pilgrim from England, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Gallet helmet: Triplerv, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Support the show

  2. Sep 7 ·  Video

    Before Online Games: How “MUD” Gave Birth to a Whole New Generation of Gaming

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Before World of Warcraft, RuneScape or even the internet as we know it, there was MUD - the world’s first multiplayer virtual world. Created in 1978 by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, it would help lay the foundations for an entirely new generation of gaming. Early online games were very different from the enormous commercial worlds we know today. There were no battle passes, cash shops or daily login rewards. Instead, their creators were experimenting with what a virtual world could actually be - and, crucially, what it could say about the real one. ⚡In this episode, MUD co-creator Richard Bartle takes us back to the very beginning of online gaming. We discover how MUD was created, what it was like to play, and how its ideas eventually gave rise to modern MMOs. And after almost 50 years watching the genre evolve, Richard explains what he thinks modern games have lost - and why today’s game designers “don’t have anything to say”. Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Support the show

  3. Aug 30 ·  Video

    Before Religious Freedom: The Tragedy of the Guernsey Martyrs

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Visit the site of a brutal moment in Guernsey history. At Tower Hill Steps three women faced religious persecution - and were burned alive at the stake. One of the women, Perotine Massey, was pregnant and gave birth in the flames. What happened next was horrific. This dark chapter of Guernsey’s history shows the grim realities of past religious conflicts. ⚡With Guernsey tour guide Korinne Le Page, we discuss why these “Guernsey martyrs” died and how societal beliefs have shifted over the centuries. Book a Tour with Korinne Le Page: https://guernseytourguide.co.uk/  Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Support the show

  4. Aug 24 ·  Video

    Before We Had Answers: When Witches Met At This Ancient Grave

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 At this ancient monolithic burial chamber, witches were said to convene with the devil to conduct The Black Mass. This imposing Dolmen came up time and time again in the brutal witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. ⚡ This was a time when witchcraft was truely a force to be feared. But why did we believe so strongly that our neighbours were placing curses on us? And why were people burned for a crime that didn’t exist? In this episode we visit Le Trépied in Guernsey at the dead of night, to walk in the footsteps of the witches that were said to meet there. Citing the work of Marie de Garis, Sir Edgar MacCulloch and John Linwood Pitts, we discuss the witch hysteria that once plagued this island’s shores. Thanks to Freelance artist Etienne Marquis, for letting us use a video of his painting, depicting the devil atop Le Trépied. It’s on display at Candie Museums in Guernsey. See his work here: https://www.etiennemarquis.com/ Visit Candie Museum: https://museums.gov.gg/gmag  Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Support the show

  5. Aug 17 ·  Video

    Before Radar: How The Hearing of "Aircraft Listeners" Saved Lives

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Long before radar, armies relied on people with enormous metal trumpets strapped to their heads to listen for approaching aircraft. Aircraft listeners had the bizarre but vital job of detecting the sound of enemy planes, working in exposed positions and often in difficult conditions to give early warning of an incoming attack. ⚡Before radar transformed air defence, these acoustic listening devices were used to track aircraft by sound. Operators would work together to determine the apparent direction and elevation of an aircraft, while another operator could plot their observations and use pre-calculated flight curves, speed and altitude corrections to work out where the aircraft was and where it was heading. But as radar developed, these strange listening stations became obsolete almost overnight - a fascinating example of how a vital job can disappear when technology changes, and a lesson that rings true for many of us in the modern world. In this episode, we discuss how aircraft listeners operated, and how this early aerial-warfare defence mechanism saved countless lives - at the sacrifice of the aircraft listeners own safety and health - only to be made redundant and almost forgotten to history within a few short years. Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your hosts: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Sources: Тревожные ночи Москвы. Автор – Н. Грановский. Москва. 1941 г. By Mos.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=186335796 Soldiers operating an acoustic airplane locator during World War 2, Trelleborg, Sweden, 1940. By Carl Gunnar Rosborn - My father, I´m now the only owner., Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7568060 Three acoustic early warning devices 2360m east of Jack's Court By Teseum - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94396566 Support the show

    Before Radar: How The Hearing of "Aircraft Listeners" Saved Lives

  6. Aug 10 ·  Video

    Before Prisons: Local Justice & the World's Smallest Prison

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Herm island might just be home to the world’s smallest prison. And yet it’s not the world record holder - that title belongs to a very close neighbour. So why doesn’t Herm prison hold the record - and what was such a tiny jail used for?  ⚡Herm is an island in the English Channel with a population of just 65, but it has lived many different lives over the years. Take a trip to the beautiful shores of Herm to see its tiny prison up close and learn about its history with Guernsey tour guide Korinne Le Page. Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before  Book a Tour with Korinne Le Page: https://guernseytourguide.co.uk/  About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk Image Credit: St Tugual's Chapel op Herm: Gebruiker:Henkgron https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en  Support the show

    Before Prisons: Local Justice & the World's Smallest Prison

  7. Jul 27 ·  Video

    Before Sewers: How Toshers Had One of Victorian Britain's Most Disgusting Jobs

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 Toshers had one of the most disgusting jobs of Victorian Britain. Searching the sewers of 19th century London, people would sieve through human sewage looking for discarded treasures. It’s a job that made them a lot of money - but came with many hazards. ⚡Before the sewage system we know today, Victorian London was a very smelly city. With the population expanding fast thanks to the industrial revolution, London became the biggest city in the world, home to more than 2 million people. But the sewer system couldn’t keep up. The Toshers took advantage of this growth of people - and all the valuables they lost underneath the city - and ended up quite well off among the working class. Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before  About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your hosts: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk  Support the show

    Before Sewers: How Toshers Had One of Victorian Britain's Most Disgusting Jobs

  8. Jul 20 ·  Video

    Before Cotton Left Britain: Inside Bancroft Mill Where The Weaving Looms Still Run

    Send us Fan Mail 💬 This is the deafening noise that powered Britain's Industrial Revolution. At its peak, thousands of men and women spent their days surrounded by the relentless clatter of weaving looms - a workplace so loud that many workers gradually lost their hearing. ⚡ Yet despite the dangers, becoming a weaver was a skilled and sought-after job. Britain's cotton industry transformed Lancashire into the workshop of the world, with entire communities built around the mills. But what was daily life really like inside them? In this episode I visit Bancroft Mill, one of the last surviving steam-powered weaving sheds, where the looms still run today. Secretary of the museum Ian McKay explains what it was like to be a cotton weaver, why so many people chose the profession, and what happened when Britain's once-mighty cotton industry began to disappear. Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before 🎧 Stay tuned to learn about: ➡ What a weaving shed really sounded like ➡ Why many weavers gradually lost their hearing ➡ How James Nutter opened this mill having come from nothing ➡ How Lancashire became the heart of the world's cotton industry ➡ Why Britain's cotton mills eventually fell silent ➡ What life was really like for the people who powered the Industrial Revolution About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk   Support the show

    Before Cotton Left Britain: Inside Bancroft Mill Where The Weaving Looms Still Run
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Before modern inventions and conveniences, humans had ingenious ways of solving problems. So how exactly did humans survive before fridges, without clothes or before surnames were invented? Find out the answers to these questions and more, right here. Hosted by Ollie Guillou.

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