Unlikely Threads

Andrew Wisdom and Clive Hartley

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From the precipitous slopes of a dormant volcano in Central Victoria, intrepid and anally retentive know-nothings Clive Hartley and Andrew Wisdom search out forgotten, unlikely, occasionally ridiculous but always interesting people, events and, well, other stuff. They end up heading down rabbit holes, blaming each other, but how do they get there? By pulling on unlikely threads and seeing where they lead…

Aug 17

The War before the War – International Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (Part 1)

What if the Second World War didn’t begin in 1939—but threeyears earlier, in Spain? In this episode of Unlikely Threads, we follow the extraordinary stories of the men and women who travelled from more than sixty countries to fight fascism in its infancy. Some came for politics, others for adventure, sport, or romance —but all found themselves in a brutal conflict that would foretell the horrors to come. From artists and poets to rebels and idealists, this is the story of how ordinary people stepped into history—and what it cost them. Join Clive Hartley and Andrew Wisdom as they unstitch the threads and look a how the war started and some of the people that volunteered. If you enjoy this episode please support us and encourage usto do more episodes! Like it, leave us a comment and follow us. Thanks Andrew and Clive
Aug 4

How Football Split Into Different Sports. Part 2

In the second part of the story Andrew and Clive look at how six different sports were born from a single argument. We look at the origins of Australian football, and why a Harvard campus that was slightly too small changed the rules of American football forever. Join Andrew and Clive as they explore the origins of the World Game and of other Codes, that would find that title provocative! If you enjoy this episode please support us and encourage usto do more episodes! Like it, leave us a comment and follow us. Thanks Andrew and Clive
Jul 21

How Football Split Into Different Sports. Part 1

One pub. One meeting. One vote about whether it should be legal to kick your opponent in the shins. The men who won that vote in 1863 invented soccer. The men who lost it and walked out invented rugby. Join Andrew and Clive as they explore the origins of the World Game and of other Codes, that would find that remark as provocative! If you enjoy this episode please support us and encourage us to do more episodes! Like it, leave us a comment and follow us. Thanks Andrew and Clive
Jul 6

A Tale of Two Women - Part 2 Katherine Routledge – The Mana Expedition to Easter Island and the Cost of Discovery

In the second part of A Tale of Two Women we ask a different question: what happens when privilege, ambition, and curiosity carry you to the edge of the known world? Katherine Routledge’s journey begins in comfort and security, but it quickly transforms into something far more uncertain as she sets sail aboard her custom-built schooner—the Mana—towards the remote and mysterious Easter Island. What follows is a story of exploration and obsession, of difficult personalities, rebellion, and isolation, as she attempts to uncover the meaning behind the island’s enigmatic statues while navigating a volatile colonial landscape. Yet as her achievements mount, so too does the personal cost. Join Clive and Andrew as they try to unpick the threads of Katherine’s life and discover the true cost of sailing against the tide ofEdwardian misogyny.
Jun 22

A Tale of Two Women – Part 1 Maria Czaplicka: Oxford, Siberia, and the hidden heroine of anthropology

This episode of Unlikely Threads – A Tale of Two Womenbegins with a question: how does a young woman from a modest background in Russian‑occupied Poland end up at Oxford in 1911—and then push beyond it, into one of the harshest environments on Earth? Maria Czaplicka’s story unfolds as a journey of determination, intellect, and extraordinary resilience, as she breaks through the rigid barriers of Edwardian society to become a pioneeringanthropologist. From underground classrooms to Arctic expeditions, her work opens a window onto worlds few in Britain had ever seen, yet her path is anything but secure. As her achievements grow, so too does the uncertaintysurrounding her place within an academic system that was never built to accommodate her. So here’s the thread we’ll follow: when opportunity appears, but the structures remain unchanged, how far can talent take you—and whathappens when those fragile gains begin to slip away? Voice Cast: Maria Czaplicka – Jacqueline Hartley. If you enjoy this episode please support us and encourage us to do more episodes! Like it, leave us a comment and follow us.
May 17

The Curious Lives of Composers

What if the greatest composers in history weren’t refined geniuses in candlelit rooms—but obsessive, scandal‑ridden, unpredictable, tragic figures living on the edge of brilliance and collapse? This episode of Unlikely Threads Andrew and Clive pulls back the velvet curtain and plunges you into a world where genius and madness are never far apart. What begins as a harmless search for a single “interesting fact” for HepFM’s Classic Hour radio show quickly spirals into a labyrinth of wild ambition, personal tragedy, dark rumours and behaviour that borders on the absurd. Follow Clive and Andrew and step inside the lives they never put in the programme notes…
May 17

Weaponised Bats

Inspired by the story of David Stirling and the origins ofthe SAS (listen to episode 3), Andrew tumbles into the strange world of Second World War invention, a time where serious people proposed armed bats, pigeon-guided missiles, fakearmies, exploding dogs and aircraft carriers made of ice. Somehow, many of these ideas received funding, testing and official approval. As Clive Hartley and Andrew Wisdom discover, wartime pressure created a brief moment in historywhen the line between genius and madness became surprisingly difficult to see. Welcome to another episode of Unlikely Threads.
May 17

The Annals of Colne - Small Town, Big Stories

This episode of Unlikely Threads begins with a simplechildhood memory: a boy passing a statue in the Lancashire town of Colne. Without realising its significance it sparks a journey into the hidden history of a seemingly ordinary place. Through the lens of the 1878 book The Annals of Colne, the podcast uncovers a rich, often surprising story that mirrorsthe wider sweep of English history. Blending humour with insight, the episode shows how one town can reflect the forces that shaped a nation. If you enjoy uncovering the extraordinary stories hidden in overlooked places, follow Unlikely Threads and join Clive Hartley and Andrew Wisdom as they keep chasing the footnotes that lead somewhere unexpected.
May 17

David Stirling and the origins of the SAS

This episode of Unlikely Threads asks a key question:was David Stirling—the man credited with founding the SAS—a brilliant visionary or simply a master of his own myth? Sparked by a modern TV series and two sharply conflicting biographies, the story unravels the gap between legend andreality, inviting you to decide for yourself. The episode traces the fragile beginnings of the SAS, where risky experiments, failed missions and improvisation eventually gave way to daring and highly effective desert raids that changed the nature of modern warfare. But as the story deepens, so doesthe uncertainty. Figures like Paddy Mayne emerge as formidable leaders whose actions on the ground may have mattered more than Stirling’s leadership, raising uncomfortable questions about credit, storytelling and how history chooses its heroes. So here’s the question: when legend and evidence collide, who do you believe—the myth, or the man? Follow Unlikely Threads to explore the stories behind the reputations, and join us as we chase down another rabbit hole to wherever it leads.
May 17

Victor Lustig - The man who sold the Eiffel Tower

How would you go about selling the Eiffel Tower? More importantly, who on earth would believe you? In this episode of Unlikely Threads, Andrew Wisdom and Clive Hartley descend into the gilded world of Victor Lustig: elegant con man, psychological magician, and possibly the only person in history audacious enough to attempt selling the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal… twice. Along the way: corrupt officials, nervous scrap dealers, luxury Paris hotels, industrial-age ambition, and a masterclass in the dark arts of confidence trickery.
May 16

Murder in Happy Valley

Murder in colonial Kenya during WW2 is our setting for this episode of Unlikely Threads. It is story of British colonial society behaving badly and lifestyle influenced by Altitude, Alcohol and Adultery.

11 Episodes

From the precipitous slopes of a dormant volcano in Central Victoria, intrepid and anally retentive know-nothings Clive Hartley and Andrew Wisdom search out forgotten, unlikely, occasionally ridiculous but always interesting people, events and, well, other stuff. They end up heading down rabbit holes, blaming each other, but how do they get there? By pulling on unlikely threads and seeing where they lead…

Creator

Andrew Wisdom and Clive Hartley
Years Active

2026
Episodes

11
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Andrew Wisdom and Clive Hartley
Show Website

Unlikely Threads