Mostly Unsung: A Comedy History Podcast

Mostly Unsung
  • 0.0 (0)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

The weekly comedy history podcast that brings you bitesize biographies of the extraordinary, eccentric, outrageous and occasionally ordinary lives that until now have gone mostly unsung... mostly. Join your hosts Annie and Andrea as they bring you stories that your history teacher never taught you! If you like stuffy lectures then you're not going to be a fan, sorry! But if you are looking to hang out with two old friends who love story telling, a good laugh and forgotten figures from history then welcome! Covering everything from scientists to Grandmothers, survivors of wars to eccentric millionaires, all via ghost stories, anecdotes and terrible impressions of Hollywood legend Tim Curry. Come and hang out, have a giggle and join us every Friday.

  1. 3d ago

    #78 A Terror of the Sea & The Inspiration Behind a Famous Literary Character (Grace O'Malley & Lady Ottoline Morrell)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung, the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea bring you two bite-sized biographies about the fascinating people history forgot! This week Annie is sailing to 16th-century Ireland to meet Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish pirate queen. Known as Gráinne Mhaol, Grace was a formidable seafarer, clan leader and political operator who challenged expectations at every turn. She commanded ships, defended her family’s interests and even met Queen Elizabeth I in a remarkable encounter between two powerful women. But how much of the fearsome pirate queen’s reputation is history, and how much is legend? Then Andrea is stepping into the glittering, gossip-filled world of early 20th-century Britain to meet Lady Ottoline Morrell. An aristocrat, socialite and celebrated hostess, Ottoline gathered some of the era’s most influential writers, artists and intellectuals at her country home and London salon. Her circle included figures such as Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence and Bertrand Russell. With her striking appearance, unconventional tastes and complicated relationships, Ottoline became a fascinating character in her own right and a source of inspiration, fascination and scandal. From Irish maritime history and the world of pirate queens to Bloomsbury, literary history and the eccentricities of British high society, this episode is packed with remarkable women, unexpected stories and plenty of Mostly Unsung nonsense. What connects a 16th-century Irish sea captain and a 20th-century aristocratic hostess? A determination to live life on their own terms — and stories far more interesting than the history books might suggest! For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.welbeck.co.uk/lady-ottoline-morrell/ https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/10/books.booksnews https://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/lady-ottoline-morrell https://tseliot.com/people-in-his-life/ottoline-morrell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Ottoline_Morrell For this episode Annie used these sources: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/grace-o-malley-pirate-history-fact-fiction-legend https://www.mariner.ie/grace-omalley/ https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/grace-o-malley-pirate-queen-ireland-irish-history-biography-facts-grainne-ni-mhaille/ Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  2. Oct 14

    #77 The Ballerina Street Rat & The Darling of the Seas (Marie van Goethem & Grace Darling)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung, the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea uncover the fascinating people and forgotten stories your history teacher probably never mentioned! First up Andrea is telling the tragic story of Marie van Goethem, the young Parisian dancer who became immortalised in one of the most famous sculptures in art history. A student at the Paris Opera Ballet, Marie was the model for Edgar Degas’s controversial Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. But behind the famous sculpture is a much more complicated story about ballet, poverty, working-class girls and life in 19th-century Paris. Then Annie heads across the Channel to meet Grace Darling, the Victorian lighthouse keeper’s daughter who became a national heroine after helping rescue survivors from a shipwreck off the Northumberland coast.  From Victorian Britain to 19th-century Paris, ballet and art history to shipwrecks and British heroism, this episode explores two women whose lives became bigger than the historical records left behind. Expect women’s history, Victorian history, art history, British history, fascinating true stories and the usual Mostly Unsung nonsense. New episodes every Wednesday. For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/667448848/little-dancer-brings-us-to-see-the-person-behind-the-famous-degas-sculpture https://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2024/5/21/who-was-the-little-dancer-in-edgar-degas-famous-painting https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/true-story-little-ballerina-who-influenced-degas-little-dancer-180953201/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_van_Goethem For this episode Annie used these sources: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/grace-darling https://www.gracedarling.co.uk/ https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/womens-history/maritime-women/grace-darling/ Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  3. Oct 7

    #76 The Legendary Black Lawman of the Wild West & The Heartbroken Woman Who Fought For All Children (Bass Reeves & Eglantyne Jebb)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea bring you two bite-sized biographies about the fascinating people history forgot! First Annie heads to the American Wild West to meet Bass Reeves, one of the most remarkable lawmen of the era. Born into slavery, Reeves went on to become a legendary U.S. Deputy Marshal, working across the vast and often lawless Oklahoma Territory. He arrested thousands of suspects, faced some seriously dangerous situations, and became known for his determination, courage and extraordinary career. Then Andrea is back in England to meet Eglantyne Jebb, an extraordinary British humanitarian whose determination to help children changed the way the world responded to suffering. Breaking all the rules of the genteel world of charity work, anmd getting arrested in the process, Eglantyne helped found Save the Children. Jebb believed that children deserved rights and protection regardless of where they were born, ideas that helped shape the modern understanding of children’s rights. From the Wild West to international humanitarianism, this episode is packed with remarkable lives, unexpected twists, social history and, as always, our usual Mostly Unsung nonsense. Two extraordinary people. Two very different battles. And two stories your history teacher probably never mentioned. In this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/why-save-the-children/eglantyne-jebb https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/news/90-years-remembering-eglantyne-jebb https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/resources/family-fun/story-time-with-cambridge-characters/eglantyne-jebb-founder-of-save-the-children/ https://cambridgeppf.org/eglantyne-jebb/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglantyne_Jebb In this episode Annie used these sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bass-Reeves https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/reeves-bass https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=RE020 https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/reeves-bass-1838-1910/ https://nleomf.org/bass-reeves/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Reeves Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  4. Sep 30

    A Special Edition of Nonsense!!

    This week on Mostly Unsung, your weekly, comedy history podcast Annie and Andrea only went on holiday! Not together we hasten to add, we do sometimes do stuff without each other. We didn't like to leave you dear listeners with none of our usual nonsense to brighten your week and so may we present our SECOND EVER OUT TAKES REEL!! All the drama bought to you for your enjoyment: the arguments, the Igloo collapsing, a debate on cruise ships and Andrea having to get ice cubes like A DORK. We'll be back next week with another two bite size biographies of the people that the history books forgot, next Wednesday, see you then! Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  5. Sep 23

    #75 A Native American In London & A Man With Questions For The Angels ( Wanchese & John Dee)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea uncover the forgotten people, fascinating characters and extraordinary true stories that history somehow left out of the textbooks. If you love history podcasts, British history, Tudor history, Elizabethan history, exploration, fascinating biographies and a good laugh along the way, you're in exactly the right place. Every Wednesday, we bring you two bite-sized biographies of people whose lives deserve to be much better known. This week Andrea introduces Wanchese, a member of the Roanoke people who travelled from what is now North Carolina to England in the 16th century.  His story offers a fascinating glimpse into Native American history and early English exploration. Then, in a weird coincidence, Annie is also at the Elizabethan Court! Introducing the wonderfully eccentric John Dee, Elizabeth I's mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, alchemist and adviser.  And if that wasn't enough, he also spent years communicating with angels through a mysterious series of séances. Expect Queen Elizabeth I, Native American history, Roanoke, Tudor and Elizabethan England, exploration, astrology, alchemy, mysterious angels and plenty of laughs as Annie and Andrea uncover two extraordinary lives from one of the most fascinating periods in history. If you enjoy history podcasts, forgotten history, Tudor history, Elizabethan history, women's history, exploration history, Native American history, royal history and unusual true stories, Mostly Unsung is your new favourite weekly listen. For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.nps.gov/people/wanchese.htm https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/manteo/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanchese_(Native_American_leader) For this episdoe Annie used these sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Dee https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/john-dee-elizabeth-i-tudor-scientist-magician-spy-007-james-bond/ https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/john-dee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  6. Sep 16

    #74 A Second World War Spy With Shoelaces In Her Hair & A Lady Explorer Causing Chaos (Phyllis Latour & Lady Hestor Stanhope)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea uncover the forgotten figures, daring adventurers and extraordinary true stories that history somehow left out of the textbooks. If you love women's history, British history, wartime stories, fascinating biographies, adventure history and a good laugh along the way, you're in exactly the right place. Every Wednesday, we bring you two bite-sized biographies of remarkable women whose lives were anything but ordinary. This week, we're travelling from wartime France to the deserts of the Middle East. First, Annie introduces Phyllis Latour, one of the remarkable women of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. Fluent in French and working behind enemy lines in occupied France, Phyllis used extraordinary courage, ingenuity and determination to help the Allied resistance. Her story is one of women in World War II, espionage, resistance fighters, secret agents and the unsung heroines who risked everything to fight Nazi Germany. Then Andrea heads to the Middle East to meet the gloriously unconventional Lady Hester Stanhope, the aristocratic adventurer who turned her back on polite British society and embarked on an extraordinary life of travel, exploration and independence. Travelling through the Ottoman Empire, adopting local customs and eventually establishing her own remarkable household in Lebanon, Lady Hester became a celebrity in her own lifetime. It's a fascinating tale of Victorian women, Middle Eastern history, travel, adventure and one very unconventional British aristocrat. Expect female spies, wartime courage, desert adventures, eccentric aristocrats, Middle Eastern travel and plenty of laughs as Annie and Andrea uncover two women who were determined to make their own rules. If you enjoy history podcasts, women's history, forgotten women, World War II history, espionage, British history, adventure stories and fascinating true stories, Mostly Unsung is your new favourite weekly listen. For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/walmer-castle-and-gardens/history-and-stories/hester-stanhope/ https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/may/17/lady-hester-stanhope-middle-east-explorer-queen-of-the-desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Hester_Stanhope For this episode Annie used these sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67100792 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/phyllis-latour-obituary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Latour Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  7. Sep 9

    #73 A Man Out For Blood & A Woman Keeping Planes in the Air (Charles R Drew & Beatrice Cave-Brown-Cave)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea uncover the forgotten people, brilliant pioneers and extraordinary true stories that somehow got left out of the history books. If you love history podcasts, women's history, medical history, science history, forgotten heroes, fascinating biographies and a good laugh along the way, you're in exactly the right place. Every Wednesday, we bring you two bite-sized biographies of remarkable people whose stories deserve to be much better known. This week, we're talking about blood, mathematics and aviation and a whole lot of caffeine fuelled nonsense! First, Andrea introduces Dr Charles Drew, the pioneering American physician and medical researcher whose ground breaking work transformed blood transfusion and blood banking. His research had enormous consequences for medicine and wartime healthcare.  His story is one of medical history, Black history, scientific innovation and a man whose work continues to save lives. Then Annie heads to Britain to meet Beatrice Cave-Browne-Cave, a remarkable mathematician and one of the early women working in aeronautical research. At a time when women in STEM were still fighting for recognition, Beatrice put her mathematical skills to work studying the problems of flight.  Expect medical breakthroughs, pioneering women in STEM, Black history, aviation history, mathematics, scientific discovery and plenty of laughs as Annie and Andrea uncover two extraordinary lives that deserve to be remembered. If you enjoy women in history, forgotten women, Black history, medical history, science history, aviation history, mathematics and fascinating true stories, Mostly Unsung is your new favourite weekly listen. For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://www.acs.org/explore/african-americans-in-sciences/charles-richard-drew.html https://www.invent.org/inductees/charles-richard-drew https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/color-blood https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Richard-Drew https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Drew For this episode Annie used these sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Mabel_Cave-Browne-Cave https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Cave-Browne-Cave_Beatrice/ https://oro.open.ac.uk/56392/ Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

  8. Sep 2

    #72 A Lioness With Strong Protection & The "Lady-Friend" of an Emperor (Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Katharina Schratt)

    Welcome back to Mostly Unsung the weekly comedy history podcast where Annie and Andrea uncover the forgotten people, remarkable lives and extraordinary true stories that history somehow left out of the textbooks. If you love women's history, forgotten history, social history, political history, royal history and fascinating biographies, you're in exactly the right place. Every Wednesday, we bring you two bite-sized biographies of people whose lives deserve to be much better known, with plenty of laughs along the way. First, Annie introduces Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the remarkable Nigerian women's rights activist, political campaigner and anti-colonial leader. A pioneering figure in African history and women's history, Funmilayo was also the mother of legendary musician Fela Kuti but her own extraordinary achievements deserve to be remembered in their own right. Then Andrea brings us part two of her first ever two part story!! Back to Vienna to meet Katharina Schratt, the celebrated Austrian actress who became closely associated with Emperor Franz Joseph I. Known as the emperor's close companion, Schratt occupied a fascinating position within the glittering world of the Habsburg court. But behind the royal gossip and palace intrigue was a successful actress who enjoyed celebrity status in her own right. It's a story of Austrian history, European royalty, theatre, celebrity and one of the most intriguing relationships of the Habsburg era. Expect women fighting for political change, imperial palaces, celebrity scandal, African history, royal intrigue and plenty of laughs as Annie and Andrea uncover two extraordinary women from very different corners of history. If you enjoy history podcasts, women's history, forgotten women, African history, British colonial history, royal biographies, European history and fascinating true stories, Mostly Unsung is your new favourite weekly listen. For this episode Andrea used these sources: https://secretvienna.org/the-secrets-of-katharina-schratt/ https://www.amazing-sisi.at/en/2025/05/22/the-girlfriend-of-emperor-franz-joseph/ https://www.nytimes.com/1940/04/19/archives/kathi-schratt-87-emperors-friend-former-actress-beauty-whom-franz.html https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/katharina-schratt-confidante-of-franz-joseph-i-emperor-of-austria/ https://www.dff.film/en/verleihangebot/der-ochsenkrieg/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_Schratt Where you can find us: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyunsung/ https://www.facebook.com/share/16J4vuMy1h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@mostlyunsung mostlyunsungpodcast@gmail.com See you next Wednesday!

See All (78)

About

The weekly comedy history podcast that brings you bitesize biographies of the extraordinary, eccentric, outrageous and occasionally ordinary lives that until now have gone mostly unsung... mostly. Join your hosts Annie and Andrea as they bring you stories that your history teacher never taught you! If you like stuffy lectures then you're not going to be a fan, sorry! But if you are looking to hang out with two old friends who love story telling, a good laugh and forgotten figures from history then welcome! Covering everything from scientists to Grandmothers, survivors of wars to eccentric millionaires, all via ghost stories, anecdotes and terrible impressions of Hollywood legend Tim Curry. Come and hang out, have a giggle and join us every Friday.

Information