No One Saw It Coming

5,0 (2)
HISTORIA
VARJE VECKA

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

−3 D

The telegram that caught a killer

When he got on the train to London, he thought he got away with it. He thought he got away with murder. But little did he know that something was racing alongside the train, pulsing deep underground, that would change his life forever. Writer and cultural historian Kassia St Clair tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) how a horrific crime changed the way people living in the 1800s viewed the telegraph machine. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
19 APR.

Clogged sink doomed a space mission

It’s 1926 and two men are working in a lab trying to create antifreeze. Instead, they make a thick, black goo that stinks out the lab and blocks the sink. ABC Science reporter Fiona Pepper tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) about how this black gunk would go on to be used in cars, rockets and spaceships. And ultimately, would be responsible for one of the deadliest space missions in history. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
12 APR.

Ancient Greek built a steam engine for dinner parties

Long before steam trains, before factories, before the Industrial Revolution, someone figured out how to turn steam into motion. And he did it almost two thousand years ago in Ancient Alexandria, and the device he built wasn’t meant to power anything. It was a toy. A party trick. Dr Tatiana Bur, Lecturer in Classics at the Australian National University, tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how one man’s spinning little gadget went on to power the modern world. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
5 APR.

She gave her son smallpox. Her bet paid off.

It was one of the deadliest diseases known to humankind. And just 50 years ago it was officially eradicated. But there’s someone missing from the story of smallpox. A woman whose work was mocked. Who was branded a bad mother. And who helped bring inoculation to the West. Author Jo Willett tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) about how an 18th-century noblewoman ignited a moral panic, split the scientific establishment and helped spark a medical revolution. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
29 MARS

Cocaine wine: The Pope’s energy drink

If you looked at it, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid, but this red wine had something in it that today could land you in jail. It was drunk and endorsed by presidents, royalty and even popes and made its maker a millionaire. Dr Tim Madge tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of Vin Mariani, the cocaine-infused wine that was endorsed by royalty, presidents and popes and how it became the precursor to a product that millions of people around the world - including children - drink every day. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
22 MARS

A horse race and a murderer invented cinema

Before cinema, before Hollywood, before we even understood how to make pictures move, there was a man constantly reinventing himself. He was a bookseller, a photographer, an alleged fraud and eventually, a killer. But in between scandals and aliases, he conducted a strange experiment that would change the way we see the world. Marta Braun is a renowned expert in 19th century stop-motion photography, and she tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of Eadweard Muybridge and how his photographs of a horse race stopped time, helped the world understand motion, and created the moving image. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min
15 MARS

Starving for freedom: The prison death that changed Ireland

As the Irish Revolution raged year after year, there was a space that the British didn’t expect to become places of revolution - prisons. Jailed rebels became martyrs and Britain’s grip on Ireland began to weaken, pushing a revolution to boiling point. Dr William Murphy, Professor in Modern Irish History at Dublin City University, tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of Irish independence and how food, pride and prison would reshape the future of Ireland and the British Empire. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au
8 MARS

Let slaves dance: The secret of New Orleans jazz

When you put on a jazz record, what do you hear? Beyond the trumpet and the sax of course... Well etched into that vinyl and living in that music is a long story that dates back 300 years to a dusty public square where slaves would sing and dance. The history of jazz is a long and winding evolution that goes from Congo Square to New Orleans to a Chicago recording studio and beyond. Dr Matt Sakakeeny is Department Chair and Associate Professor of Music, Ethnomusicology from Tulane University. He sits down with Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) to chart this fascinating history of a music genre that’s gone on to become a cultural force felt around the world. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

26 min

Visa alla (57)

Marc Fennell

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Kassia St. Clair

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Fiona Pepper

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Tatiana Bur

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Jo Willett

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Tim Madge

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William Murphy

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Matt Sakakeeny

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Brooke Kroeger

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Lauren Samuelsson

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Incredible true stories that explain how we got here

2025-12-09

Swedish Micke

Great journalism, extensive research, proper experts in their field, humorously communicated. What more do you want?!

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