The History Podcast

Documentary on the 1983 Hitler diaries forgery that fooled the world's press AI summary

BBC Radio 4 Visit website › History · EN · 142 episodes · latest 2026-11-09

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What it is about

An unlikely gang of mavericks decide enough is enough. Their protest against the pitying portrayal of disabled people explodes into something much bigger. They don't ask politely. They aren't "inspirational" in the way disabled people are so often expected to be. They're smart, loud and utterly fearless.There's David Ruebain, sent away to special school as a child to learn how to be a tailor- or, at best, a shoemaker. Barbara Lisicki, who flung her wheelchair into the bushes of the hospital garden to sneak off to the pub. Sue Elsegood who hate-watched ITV's "pityfest" Telethon with her mates every year. And Alan Holdsworth, who wrote songs on his guitar about the brutal reality of being disabled in 1980s Britain.Together with hundreds of others, they made history.'For Pity's Sake' is their story. Told by them.The History Podcast is the home of story-driven history series from BBC Radio 4. Each series will take you inside the most pivotal events in history, through the people who were there, to uncover new perspectives on the moments that still define us now.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
(C) BBC 2026

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Latest episodes

For Pity's Sake: Trailer

2026-11-09 · 3 min · Season 9, episode 11

An unlikely gang of mavericks decide enough is enough. Their protest against the pitying portrayal of disabled people explodes into something much bigger. They don’t ask politely. They aren’t “inspirational” in the way…
How Houdini Made Magic: 10. Cement your legacy

2026-10-26 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 10

In the concluding chapter of How Houdini Made Magic, Derren Brown explores how even in death, Houdini knew how to ensure his legend would endure.The legendary death-defier would eventually fall, not to a locked water…
How Houdini Made Magic: 9. Stay relevant

2026-10-26 · 15 min · Season 17, episode 9

World War I and the Spanish Flu caused devastation. Estimates are that up to 120 million people died as a result of both in 6 years - many of them relatively young. It led to the revival of an already popular new…
How Houdini Made Magic: 8. Keep ahead of the times

2026-10-26 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 8

During the filming of the 1919 film, The Grim Game, there was a real-life mid-air plane crash. The star of the movie was the greatest escape artist of all time: Harry Houdini. So how did the producers capitalise on the…
How Houdini Made Magic: 7. Master the media

2026-10-26 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 7

“It was the making of Houdini”. That’s how one magician described Houdini’s dramatic “Mirror Handcuff escape”. In London’s Hippodrome, in 1904, Houdini wowed the 4000 gripped audience members as he broke free from…
How Houdini Made Magic: 6. Make influential friends

2026-10-26 · 15 min · Season 17, episode 6

Documentary evidence shows that when Harry Houdini first arrived in the UK, he struck up a friendship, of sorts, with a man who would go on to pioneer British espionage. A man who would go on to be the inspiration for…
How Houdini Made Magic: 5. Protect your brand

2026-10-19 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 5

When an authoritarian empire threatens to brand you a fraud and destroy your legacy, how do you fight back?Derren Brown explores the high-stakes legal battles that helped cement Houdini’s European triumph.Arriving in a…
How Houdini Made Magic: 4. Advertise

2026-10-19 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 4

Houdini had made it big in America. At the very start of the 20th century, however, the pinnacle for performers was not the fledgling States, but Europe. So Houdini boarded a ship to London, where he learned how to make…
How Houdini Made Magic: 3. Know your audience

2026-10-19 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 3

Houdini almost gave up on the act that would make him a star: the handcuff escape. But with his wife’s encouragement, he persisted. And it paid off. Join Derren Brown as we learn how Houdini went from a sideshow hustler…
How Houdini Made Magic: 2. Find your voice

2026-10-19 · 14 min · Season 17, episode 2

In the late 19th Century, a young Hungarian immigrant called Eric Weisz chose magic as the means to provide for his ageing mother. He found inspiration in the form of a memoir, and his identity morphed: young Eric…

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Publisher details

Owner: BBC
Oldest episode in feed: 05/2024 · over 2 years
Typical length: 19 min
Format: Serial Meant to be heard in order

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