Oh!" said Pooh again. "What is the North Pole?"  "It's just a thing you discover," said Christopher Robin, not being quite sure himself.  A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Paul and Mikey take the road north to balance out the series, stopping off to seek a route through the fabled NorthWest Passage on their way. But how can you discover a land that has no land?! Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Every human longs for peace and love.” Hiawatha Separating ‘Fact’ from ‘Fiction’ is the constant challenge of an historian. None more so than the early history of North America’s First Nations peoples. Research relies heavily on oral traditions handed down from generation to generation but that hasn’t stopped Paul and Mikey digging for nuggets of truth.  Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"If every fool wore a crown, we should all be Kings." Welsh Proverb Everybody’s favourite day of the year - well, certainly Paul and Mikey’s. But some of the stories behind the  pranks and foolishness might surprise you. Just what is a Scottish gowk? And why should we hunt it? Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“The world is a drama, staged in a dream.” Guru Nanak  Mata Khivi and the tradition of serving free communal meals (Langar) changed the face of Sikhism for ever. It has grown to become one of the most cherished institutions all over the world.  Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.” Werner Herzog But if that film was Birth of a Nation, Werner, you can just leave it there. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at how one film single-handedly resurrected the KKK. Then take a sideways glance at a few other early 20th-century repugnant (and sometimes costumed!) misfits/Howlers. Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill It's that time of year again! The halls are decked with holly and there’s a big tree blocking Martin Place. Listen in on the last of this Season’s episodes to get you in the Festive Spirit. Bottoms Up! Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"England was merry England, when Old Christmas brought his sports again. 'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; ‘Twas Christmas told the merriest tale; A Christmas gambol oft could cheer, The poor man's heart through half the year."  Walter Scott - Marmion  Paul and Mikey are unwrapping presents for everyone - they’ve got Wars on Christmas, Coke bottle Santas, and drunken sleigh rides across New England.  Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Award-winning journalist and and broadcaster Tracey Spicer joins Mikey and Paul to shift the debate a notch or two. Women have long been written out of schoolbook History but why The Sciences too? In the life of Ada Lovelace, Tracey believes lies the answer.  Follow Tracey on X HERE, Instagram HERE and purchase her book 'Man Made' HERE Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The boys are joined by Otto English and together they set out to skewer some of the biggest names in the pantheon. Did Coco Chanel collaborate with the Nazis? Was JFK really 'The Man'? Or more of a myth? Not even Mother Teresa escapes untarnished.  Otto English is the pen name of author and journalist Andrew Scott - find him on X HERE and purchase his latest book 'Fake Heroes' HERE Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win, otherwise why be a warrior? It is easier to count beads.” Miyamoto Musashi  Well, the Japanese navy was certainly not “counting beads” when it took on the Russians in 1904-5. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the ‘Wild East’: Russian expansion, Japanese expansion and a naval battle that changed the world. Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It's like going to the moon.” Jon Krakauer  The race to the South Pole was always going to throw up some Heroes, maybe a few Howlers too - but who should really get the credit for discovering the Seventh Continent? Paul and Mikey wrap up warm to take a look. Get in touch, follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Rather fail with honour, than succeed by Fraud” Sophocles  If only Gregor McGregor had spent more time studying the Classics. This week Paul and Mikey go hunting for a Scottish rogue and find themselves marooned on Central America’s Mosquito Coast. Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers and find them everywhere HERE Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“As for all your latest Mayan discoveries and poems, I want to hear every word of it.” Jack Kerouac, Letters to Allen Ginsberg The Americas were home to many fascinating nations and cultures, long before the Europeans arrived. And they did pretty well on the fruit and veg front too. In this episode, the boys take an in-depth look at the Maya, and see what Heroes and Howlers Meso-America might have to offer. Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy” Henry David Thoreau  Captain Cook was the first to admit that the Dutch had been mapping New Holland decades before he set sail on The Endeavour. Could the Chinese have travelled that way too? The Spanish? The Portuguese? Paul and Mikey weigh anchor to find out.    Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Are we not like people sitting up with a corpse, and making merry in the house of the dead?” Herman Melville  Over a thousand years before Melville wrote his words one Pope actually did this very thing. In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the Cadaver Synod and the perilous political games played out amongst the early medieval papacy. Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Do not to look upon the loss of 10 days with wonder or scorn. Do not regret the removal of 10 days from the calendar. All those who love sleep can console themselves by thinking about how wonderful it will be to go to bed on the second of the month and to sleep until the morning of the 14th”  -Benjamin Franklin Julian vs Gregorian. Ten months vs twelve. Lunar vs solar. Paul takes Mikey for a spin around the zodiac and ends up… in Macclesfield!  Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius If only the Emperor Commodus had inherited a fraction of his father’s wisdom.In this episode Paul and Mikey look at the turbulent reign that many believe was the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. As well as the fascinating role played by adoption amongst Rome's ruling elite. Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“To follow the Silk Road is to follow a ghost. It flows through the heart of Asia, but it has officially vanished leaving behind the pattern of its restlessness: counterfeit borders, unmapped peoples.” Colin Thubron, Shadow of the Silk Road Rather than being a bridge to link East and West, The Silk Road was a web of routes growing ever outwards. From its heart in Central Asia, it would stretch to all four corners of the continent. Yet its architects, The Kushans, like the network itself have all but vanished - Paul and Mikey go in search of this lost people, and the ‘ghost’ of their leader, Kanishka the Great.   Get in touch and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I could calculate the motions of the heavenly stars, but not the madness of people.” Sir Isaac Newton With ‘Money’ becoming more liquid, and ‘The Market’ more fluid, investors in ‘The City’ searched far and wide for new opportunities. Mikey and Paul are hot on their heels - hoping to catch a glimpse of the bubbles before they burst.   Give feedback and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Paul and Mikey russle up some new guests to join them, enjoy this classic episode all about the Samurai. "To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead." Miyamoto Musashi (Japanese Swordsman/Philosopher) Paul and Mikey head eastwards in search of Japan’s Three Great Unifiers… and some Black Ships!  Give feedback and follow Heroes & Howlers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Produced by DM PodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“History repeats itself - Has to; no one listens.” Steve TurnerIt’s the end of Season 1 and the last of our Extra Helpings. Join the boys as they call time on one chapter and look forward to the next..  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” George HegelPaul and Mikey get the chance to answer all your questions from Season One, and squeeze in a few of their own for good measure.FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Here’s an equivocator that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven..” MacbethWas Guy Fawkes a Catholic terrorist or the ‘equivocator’ alluded to by Shakespeare? Mikey and Paul scour the records and find out more about Bonfire Night than they bargained for.FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I have often marvelled at the thin line which separates success from failure.” Ernest ShackletonBut sometimes failure is hard-wired in from the start. Paul and Mikey uncover why the Burke and Wills expedition was already in deep trouble long before the tragic events of the Dig Tree.FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I have not told half of what I saw.” Marco Polo (1254–1324)There’s a reason why Marco didn’t tell the other half - because that would have lifted the lid on Niccolo Polo, Marco’s dad. Niccolo was the true hero and it’s his name that should have gone down in the history books - Paul and Mikey tell you why. FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I could sooner reconcile all Europe than two women.” Louis XIV (1643-1715)Well he would say that, wouldn’t he? In this episode Mikey and Paul look at power, progeny, Louis’ love life, and how a certain one-eyed sex tutor saved the House of Bourbon.FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander of Macedon (356–323 BC)Alexander successfully conquered the known world but without his trusty steed, Bucephalus, many say he would have been only half the man. Just how much have famous horses changed the course of history? Mikey and Paul saddle up to find out.  FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.” Christopher ColumbusWell no wonder he got lost!! Throw in some phantom islands plus a manatee fetish, and it's a surprise his ships ever left port. Paul and Mikey go exploring the high seas for answers. NB Columbus did NOT discover America!FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori" - Wilfred Owen (via Horace)  'The Black Hand Gang - a name to strike fear into the heart of any Archduke. Throw in one hell of a wrong turn and… where’s Sat-Nav when you need it? Join Mikey and Paul as they take The Great War for a spin (Part I)FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years" - GDR head of state Erich Honecker, January 1989The Berlin Wall, The Iron Curtain, The Warsaw Pact, The Eastern Bloc – could they all have been brought tumbling down by one lousy press conference? Join the boys as they sift through the rubble. Warning: contains German!FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Be temperate in wine, eating, girls, and sloth; or the gout will have you both.” - Benjamin FranklinEveryone knows America was born on the Fourth of July, but what brought about the Declaration of Independence? Paul and Mikey dissect the politics, the economics, and the often overlooked role of gout… Yes that’s right, we said ‘gout’. FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“The most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation." - David HumeThe Crusades is one of the defining chapters in History, a showcase for ‘East meets West’. It was the era of great men, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, St Bernard of Clairvaux. So who cocked up the Fourth Crusade? And how did it end up turning on fellow Christians?Comedian Mikey Robins and Historian Paul Wilson kick off their new series in style. Join them as they take on Seljuks, Saracens, Mamluks and more.FacebookTwitterInstagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.