Ebbs of History

The Ebbs of History
  • 5.0 (9)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Ebbs of History, the show where we dive into the strangest, wildest, and sometimes downright creepiest stories the past has to offer. From Dancing Plagues to Pirate Queens, we’ll laugh, we’ll gasp, but most importantly, we will learn how history is way cooler than your textbook ever told you. Every episode, we will take a quick trip through time, then see what lessons we can still learn today. This is the Ebbs of History!

  1. 6d ago

    When a Comet Predicted Doom

    In the spring of 1066, a flaming comet lit up the skies over England for seven straight nights — and every kingdom in Europe knew what it meant: blood. Three men wanted Harold Godwinson's crown. A Viking warlord with the wildest résumé in medieval Europe was sharpening his axes. And Harold's own brother had switched sides. Join us for a bridge, a berserker, and the greatest victory an English king ever won — three days before it stopped mattering. Primary sources Anglo-Saxon Chronicle — Manuscripts C and D. C Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla Kekaumenos, Strategikon (11th c.) William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum (1120s) William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi The Bayeux Tapestry Reputable secondary / accessible Battle of Stamford Bridge (Britannica) | Battle of Stamford Bridge (Wikipedia) | The Battle of Stamford Bridge (History Today) Harald Hardrada: The Battle of Stamford Bridge (Medievalists.net) | Harald Hardrada: In Service to the Byzantine Empire (Medievalists.net) Battle of Fulford (Wikipedia) | The Battle of Fulford (Battlefields Trust) Harald Hardrada (Encyclopaedia Romana, U. Chicago) • King Harold II Godwinson (Historic UK) 1066: Pope Alexander II (English Heritage) Comet / Halley's specifically 955 Years Ago: Halley's Comet and the Battle of Hastings (NASA) — clean science + history tie-in, good for the show Everything you need to know about the Bayeux Tapestry (British Museum) Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link: **https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/** License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  2. Sep 24

    When a Saint, a Strongman, and a Bastard All Wanted England

    A celibate almost-saint on the throne. An earl who may or may not have been struck dead by a piece of bread. A young Norman duke across the Channel who's been quietly told England is his — and one English nobleman tricked into swearing on a chest full of hidden holy relics. Before 1066 has three kings in a single year, it has one very tangled promise. This is the calm before the storm. Primary sources - Anglo-Saxon Chronicle -Vita Ædwardi Regis (Life of King Edward), anon. c. 1065–67, Barlow edition (Internet Archive) -Story of 1066 (English Heritage) -Edward the Confessor (Wikipedia) -Godwine (Britannica) -Royal touch / King's Evil: RCP history blog | JSTOR Daily Godwin's death & Alfred Aetheling: Death of Alfred Aetheling (Historical Britain Blog) The ring / incorrupt body: St Edward's Shrine (English Monarchs) Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/ License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  3. Sep 17

    When England Had Three Kings in Seven Years

    A stranded heir. A usurper nicknamed "Bunny Feet." A grieving mother locked in a treasury. And a Norman prince whose murder England will pay for fifty years later. Three kings, seven years, and the moment that gave William the Conqueror his excuse. Primary sources Anglo-Saxon Chronicle John of Worcester, Chronicon Encomium Emmae Reginae (c. 1041–42) Encomium Emmae Reginae (Wikipedia) Reputable secondary Harold Harefoot (Wikipedia) | Harthacnut (Wikipedia) The Death and Exhumation of Harold Harefoot (Brandon M. Bender) A Clerk of Oxford: The Death and (Un)Burial of Harold Harefoot King Harold I – Harold Harefoot (Historic UK) The English King Who Drank Himself to Death in Lambeth (Londonist) Anglo-Saxon burial site in Guildford likely holds Prince Alfred's massacred troops (Surrey Live) The Saxon-period burials from Guildown Avenue (Berkshire Archaeological Society) New perspectives on the Guildown cemetery, Guildford (academia.edu) Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/ License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  4. Sep 10

    When a Viking Teenager Conquered England

    A runaway Viking teenager. A ghost king with a spear. A queen who out-negotiated an empire. In 1013, England is falling apart — and one eighteen-year-old is about to change the course of European history. Episode 1 of our six-part journey to the Norman Conquest starts here. Primary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle — https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/657 Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson (Laing translation) — https://www.gutenberg.org/files/598/598-h/598-h.htm Encomium Emmae Reginae — Fordham Internet Medieval Sourcebook (primary-source hub) — https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook.asp — BYU EuroDocs, Britain 1066–1485 (curated primary-source links, incl. William of Poitiers) — https://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Britain_1066-1485 Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum — public-domain translation searchable at https://archive.org/search?query=henry+of+huntingdon+forester John of Worcester, Chronicon ex chronicis — https://archive.org/search?query=florence+of+worcester+chronicleModern Secondary M.K. Lawson, Cnut: England's Viking King (Tempus / History Press) Timothy Bolton, Cnut the Great (Yale English Monarchs, 2017) Marc Morris, The Norman Conquest (background chapters) Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/ License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  5. Sep 3

    When a Flower Cost More Than a House

    In 1630s Holland, a single flower bulb could cost more than a canal house. How did a tulip become the world's most expensive object, and did the crash really send ruined merchants jumping into the canals? Grab your onion and let's find out. Sources • Wikipedia, "Tulip mania" (price data, Semper Augustus valuation, Mackay's claims, Thompson's contract-conversion argument, modern reassessments): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania • Smithsonian Magazine, "There Never Was a Real Tulip Fever" (Anne Goldgar's archival findings and the myth's origins): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-real-tulip-fever-180964915/ • History.com, "The Real Story Behind the 17th-Century 'Tulip Mania' Financial Crash" (Goldgar's 37-buyers finding, price spike data, canal-drowning debunking): https://www.history.com/articles/tulip-mania-financial-crash-holland • ChronoDigest, "The Dutch Tulip Mania of 1637" (February 3, 1637 Haarlem auction failure, craftsman salary comparison, Calvinist moralist pamphlets): https://chronodigest.com/the-dutch-tulip-mania-of-1637/ • Medium, "The Tulip Mania Myth: What 1630s Holland Actually Teaches About Bubbles" (futures market mechanics, small deposits, fewer than 400 identified traders, twentyfold price rise): https://medium.com/@milos.substack/the-tulip-mania-myth-what-1630s-holland-actually-teaches-about-bubbles-e0135a4c9e7e • Malorie's Adventures, "The Tulip Mania of 1637" (Ottoman origins, status-symbol culture, futures trading context): https://www.maloriesadventures.com/blog/the-tulip-mania-of-1637-the-first-financial-bubble-was-about-flowers/ • Skip Boring, "The Strange History of Tulip Mania" (Jan Brueghel the Younger monkey satire painting, contemporary art and literature): https://skipboring.com/the-strange-history-of-tulip-mania/ • Postcard History, "The Tulip Mania of 1637" (Viceroy goods-exchange list, bulbs displayed on mantelpieces, sailor-and-onion anecdote): https://postcardhistory.net/2020/04/the-tulip-mania-of-1637/ Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link:**https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/** License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  6. Aug 20

    When Your Brain Gets Hacked: A Crash Course in Thinking for Yourself

    Can your own brain trick you? This episode turns critical thinking into a survival skill for spotting bad arguments, bias, misinformation, and online manipulation. Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/ License: Attribution 4.0 International License

  7. Aug 6

    When A Man Survived Two Atomic Bombs

    Dive into the harrowing tale of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only known survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Discover how a businessman’s ordinary trip turned into an extraordinary testament to human resilience. Sources Wikipedia: Tsutomu Yamaguchi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_YamaguchiHISTORY.com: "The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs" — https://www.history.com/articles/the-man-who-survived-two-atomic-bombsBiography.com: "Tsutomu Yamaguchi" — https://www.biography.com/history-culture/a44577392/tsutomu-yamaguchi-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-bombing-survivorTokyo Weekender: "The Man Who Survived Both Atomic Bombs" — https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/news-and-opinion/tsutomu-yamaguchi-man-who-survived-atomic-bombs/Wikipedia: Hibakusha — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HibakushaWikipedia: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_NagasakiWikipedia: Bockscar — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BockscarRestricted Data (Alex Wellerstein), "The Luck of Kokura" — https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2014/08/22/luck-kokura/City of Hiroshima (official): "City Tree (Camphor) and City Flower (Oleander)" — https://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/site/english/7401.htmlWikipedia: Hibakujumoku — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HibakujumokuWikipedia: The Last Train from Hiroshima (withdrawal by Henry Holt, 2010) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Train_from_HiroshimaPractical Ethics (Oxford): "Joking about the Unluckiest Man in the World" (QI controversy) Theme song Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli — https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/ — License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

  8. Jul 30

    When Stranger Things Was Real

    Today, we're diving into a chilling chapter of history that blurs the lines between reality and fiction — the infamous MK Ultra program. Imagine a world where government experiments pushed the boundaries of human consciousness, much like the eerie twists in Stranger Things. What really happened behind closed doors? Join us as we uncover the secrets and the lessons from this dark tale. Sources Britannica, "MK-ULTRA | CIA, LSD, Mind Control, Cold War, & Discovery" | https://www.britannica.com/topic/MK-ULTRAHistory.com, "The CIA's Appalling Human Experiments With Mind Control" (Operation Midnight Climax, Whitey Bulger) | https://www.history.com/mkultra-operation-midnight-climax-cia-lsd-experimentsHowStuffWorks, "Operation Midnight Climax: A CIA Sex, Drugs and Surveillance Program" | https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/cia-operation-midnight-climax.htmCoffee or Die, "The CIA's Operation 'Midnight Climax' Is Exactly What It Sounds Like" (George White details) | https://www.coffeeordie.com/article/cia-midnight-climaxSpartacus Educational, "Donald Ewen Cameron" (psychic driving / sleep room) | https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKcameronDE.htmPrinceton Special Collections, "The CIA's Quest for Mind Control" (subprojects, records destruction) | https://specialcollections.princeton.edu/2025/10/the-cias-quest-for-mind-control-piecing-together-project-mk-ultra-and-its-princeton-connections-part-i-allen-w-dulles-class-of-1914/Britannica, "On This Day - July 30" | https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/July-30History.com, "What Happened on July 30" | https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-30HistoryNet, "Today in History: July 30" | https://historynet.com/today-in-history/july-30/ Lost at Sea Shanty by legacyAlli Link:**https://freemusicarchive.org/music/legacyalli/sound-phrases/rf-lost-at-sea-shanty/** License: Attribution 4.0 International License

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Welcome to Ebbs of History, the show where we dive into the strangest, wildest, and sometimes downright creepiest stories the past has to offer. From Dancing Plagues to Pirate Queens, we’ll laugh, we’ll gasp, but most importantly, we will learn how history is way cooler than your textbook ever told you. Every episode, we will take a quick trip through time, then see what lessons we can still learn today. This is the Ebbs of History!

Information

  • Creator
    The Ebbs of History
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Ebbs of History
  • Show Website
    Ebbs of History