What We Did Before | A History of Everyday Life
Before modern inventions and conveniences, humans had ingenious ways of solving problems. So how exactly did humans survive before fridges, without clothes or before surnames were invented? Find out the answers to these questions and more, right here. Hosted by Ollie Guillou.
Was Medieval Torture Actually As Common As We Think?
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💬 Was medieval torture really as brutal and widespread as we've been led to believe? From the rack to the Iron Maiden, the Middle Ages have a reputation for unimaginable cruelty. But how much of what we think we know is actually true?
⚡ In this episode we hear from Dr Larissa Tracy, medieval literature expert and author of Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature. We discover why torture was often more restricted than we imagine, how gruesome stories of medieval punishments became exaggerated over time, and why some of history's most infamous tortu...
What If Humans Weren't Always Conscious?
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💬 Were humans always conscious? And why did ancient people seem to constantly report encounters with the gods? One theory by Julian Jaynes - the Bicameral Mind hypothesis - suggests that, as recently as 3,000 years ago, the normal state for the human mind was very different to today - that for most of human history, consciousness as we know it today did not exist at all.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Brian J. McVeigh, anthropologist, cultural psychologist and psychotherapist - and a student of Julian Jaynes. We discover how the bicameral mind c...
White Lead Workers: The Victorian Job That Slowly Poisoned You
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💬 White paint was used everywhere in Victorian Britain. The trouble was, the pigment that made this paint so useful was deadly. For the people working in the white lead factories, this job was said to be deadlier than being a soldier.
Early chemical jobs were notoriously hazardous, but white lead workers are said to have had it worst of all. We’ve known about white lead’s toxic and deadly qualities for thousands of years. Despite this people - like Queen Elizabeth I - wore it as make-up.
⚡In this epis...
The "Wizard" Who Brought Gas Lighting to Britain – And Its Dark Side
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💬 What was life like before gas lighting? Just over 230 years ago, even the wealthiest homes were poorly lit by modern standards. But when a Scottish engineer began experimenting with gas, he sparked a revolution that would transform everyday life.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Russell Thomas, Technical Director at WSP and gas historian. We discover how William Murdoch earned a reputation as the “Wizard of Cornwall”, why Victorian gasworks were such dangerous and unpleasant places to work, and how early gas companies employed spies to catch customers using too much gas!
<...Why Victorian Matchgirls Had To Fight For Their Lives
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💬 The East End Matchwomen produced one of Victorian Britain’s most important everyday products - but the job could be deadly.
In Victorian London, the East End was seen as the slums. High society looked down on the people who inhabited this part of the city - so the horrors that faced East End workers comes as no surprise.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Labour historian Dr Louise Raw, author of Striking a Light: The Bryant & May Matchwomen and Their Place in History.
Louise tells us about th...
The Radium Girls: The Deadly Job That Sparked a Fight for Justice
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💬 In the early 20th century, radium was hailed as a wonder substance. Young women landed well-paid jobs painting glow-in-the-dark watch dials with it, even putting their brushes between their lips to keep a fine point. Years later, their teeth began falling out, their bones started disintegrating and the horrifying truth about radium emerged.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Kate Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls. She tells the remarkable story of the women who took on the powerful companies that had employed them - fighting for justi...
Why Jesters Appear EVERYWHERE Throughout History
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💬 When we think of fools or jesters, we often imagine a peculiar Medieval entertainer in a funny hat. But court jesters aren’t confined to one timeline - they appear around the world, throughout history.
Far from being silly entertainers, they were often highly intelligent figures who could mock kings, challenge their decisions and wield surprising political power.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Beatrice Otto, author of Fools Are Everywhere, who has uncovered the extraordinary history of jesters across the world, from Medieval Europe to Ancient China and even th...
The Life of a Jester: Why Monarchs Have Needed Fools for Thousands of Years
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💬 When we think of fools or jesters, we often imagine a peculiar Medieval entertainer in a funny hat. But court jesters aren’t confined to one timeline - they appear around the world, throughout history.
Far from being silly entertainers, they were often highly intelligent figures who could mock kings, challenge their decisions and wield surprising political power.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Beatrice Otto, author of Fools Are Everywhere, who has uncovered the extraordinary history of jesters across the world, from Medieval Europe to Ancient China and even th...
An Early Steam Vehicle, The Pope Mobile & The Mystery of the Leyland Ladies
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💬 Before petrol and electric cars took over our roads, inventors were experimenting with a very different kind of transport - steam-powered vehicles.
In 1803, pioneering engineer Richard Trevithick built an extraordinary steam carriage capable of carrying passengers through London. But early road travel wasn't exactly comfortable - and Trevithick's revolutionary ideas didn't bring him the success you might expect.
⚡ In this episode, we visit the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland to explore some of the strangest stories from Britain's motoring history.
We discover how early steam vehicles worke...
The Radium Girls: The Women Who Glowed in the Dark
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💬 In the early 20th century, radium was hailed as a wonder substance. Young women landed well-paid jobs painting glow-in-the-dark watch dials with it, even putting their brushes between their lips to keep a fine point. Years later, their teeth began falling out, their bones started disintegrating and the horrifying truth about radium emerged.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Kate Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls. She tells the remarkable story of the women who took on the powerful companies that had employed them - fighting for justi...
Trailer: What We Did Before
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About the podcast:
What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.
About your host:
Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.
Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:
https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before
Before Stand Up Comedians: What Did Medieval People Find Funny?
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💬 What did Medieval people actually find funny? Very little record of Medieval comedy remains, but thanks to one 15th century priest we now have a rare glimpse into the life of a Minstrel and the types of jokes they would’ve told.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Dr James Wade, professor in English at Girton College at Cambridge and expert on the Middle Ages. His work has involved deciphering a manuscript written by Richard Heege, which has reshaped how we view Medieval culture.
James even cracks out a few Med...
Before Workers’ Rights: White Phosphorus and The East End Matchwomen
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💬 The East End Matchwomen produced one of Victorian Britain’s most important everyday products - but the job could be deadly.
In Victorian London, the East End was seen as the slums. High society looked down on the people who inhabited this part of the city - so the horrors that faced East End workers comes as no surprise.
⚡ In this episode we hear from Labour historian Dr Louise Raw, author of Striking a Light: The Bryant & May Matchwomen and Their Place in History.
Louise tells us about th...
Before Fire Brigades: The Strange History of Fighting Fires
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💬 Firefighting hasn’t always meant red engines and professional crews. For centuries, fighting fires was much more chaotic. Even by the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain still had more than a thousand separate local authority fire brigades.
⚡In this episode, curator of Fireground Museum in Rochdale, Bob Bonner, takes us on a tour through the history of firefighting, explaining how it evolved into the service we know today. From insurance fire brigades, to legendary figures like Alfred Tozer and the story of the unsung heroes of the Blitz.
Visit...
Before Online Games: How “MUD” Gave Birth to a Whole New Generation of Gaming
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💬 Before World of Warcraft, RuneScape or even the internet as we know it, there was MUD - the world’s first multiplayer virtual world. Created in 1978 by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, it would help lay the foundations for an entirely new generation of gaming.
Early online games were very different from the enormous commercial worlds we know today. There were no battle passes, cash shops or daily login rewards. Instead, their creators were experimenting with what a virtual world could actually be - and, crucially, what it could say about the r...
Before Religious Freedom: The Tragedy of the Guernsey Martyrs
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💬 Visit the site of a brutal moment in Guernsey history. At Tower Hill Steps three women faced religious persecution - and were burned alive at the stake.
One of the women, Perotine Massey, was pregnant and gave birth in the flames. What happened next was horrific. This dark chapter of Guernsey’s history shows the grim realities of past religious conflicts.
⚡With Guernsey tour guide Korinne Le Page, we discuss why these “Guernsey martyrs” died and how societal beliefs have shifted over the centuries.
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Before We Had Answers: When Witches Met At This Ancient Grave
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💬 At this ancient monolithic burial chamber, witches were said to convene with the devil to conduct The Black Mass. This imposing Dolmen came up time and time again in the brutal witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries.
⚡ This was a time when witchcraft was truely a force to be feared. But why did we believe so strongly that our neighbours were placing curses on us? And why were people burned for a crime that didn’t exist?
In this episode we visit Le Trép...
Before Radar: How The Hearing of "Aircraft Listeners" Saved Lives
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💬 Long before radar, armies relied on people with enormous metal trumpets strapped to their heads to listen for approaching aircraft. Aircraft listeners had the bizarre but vital job of detecting the sound of enemy planes, working in exposed positions and often in difficult conditions to give early warning of an incoming attack.
⚡Before radar transformed air defence, these acoustic listening devices were used to track aircraft by sound. Operators would work together to determine the apparent direction and elevation of an aircraft, while another operator could plot their observations and use pre-c...
Before Prisons: Local Justice & the World's Smallest Prison
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💬 Herm island might just be home to the world’s smallest prison. And yet it’s not the world record holder - that title belongs to a very close neighbour. So why doesn’t Herm prison hold the record - and what was such a tiny jail used for?
⚡Herm is an island in the English Channel with a population of just 65, but it has lived many different lives over the years. Take a trip to the beautiful shores of Herm to see its tiny prison up close and learn about its history...
Before Sewers: How Toshers Had One of Victorian Britain's Most Disgusting Jobs
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💬 Toshers had one of the most disgusting jobs of Victorian Britain. Searching the sewers of 19th century London, people would sieve through human sewage looking for discarded treasures. It’s a job that made them a lot of money - but came with many hazards.
⚡Before the sewage system we know today, Victorian London was a very smelly city. With the population expanding fast thanks to the industrial revolution, London became the biggest city in the world, home to more than 2 million people. But the sewer system couldn’t keep up.
The...
Before Cotton Left Britain: Inside Bancroft Mill Where The Weaving Looms Still Run
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💬 This is the deafening noise that powered Britain's Industrial Revolution. At its peak, thousands of men and women spent their days surrounded by the relentless clatter of weaving looms - a workplace so loud that many workers gradually lost their hearing.
⚡ Yet despite the dangers, becoming a weaver was a skilled and sought-after job. Britain's cotton industry transformed Lancashire into the workshop of the world, with entire communities built around the mills. But what was daily life really like inside them?
In this episode I visit Bancroft Mill, one of th...
Before Cushioned Shoes: The 1970s Style That Changed Footwear Forever
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💬 Shoes got a massive makeover 50 years ago, thanks to a boom in interest for running. A style that first emerged in the 1970s quickly became the dominant one - cushioned soles, elevated heels, narrow toes. And it’s the style we still see today. But why?
⚡ Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years barefoot - and when we did make shoes, they were made of plant fibres or thin animal hides. We’ve cycled through many variations over the years, but today’s shoes are very different - maximising comfort and protection.<...
Before Weapons: Unearthing Ancient Wooden Tools and Spears | Dr Annemieke Milks
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💬 Archaeologists have found evidence of the oldest wooden handheld tools used by humans. Discovered in Greece, these ancient tools are around 430,000 years old.
⚡Dr Annemieke Milks is a palaeolithic archaeologist and part of the team which identified the objects. They were recovered from Marathousa, a Middle Pleistocene site which may have been inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis - one of our distant ancestors.
In this episode we find out about this incredible discovery - and discuss Annemieke’s wider research looking into the ancient wooden hunting weapons used by humans in the...
Before Instagram: Why Rich People Built Fake Ruins
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💬 There’s a ruined archway sitting among the trees of my local park - but what grand building did it once belong to? A castle? A church? A grand manor house?
In this episode I take a trip to Worden Park in Leyland. Rich in history, this park was once the estate of James Nowell Farington, who set about a major programme of improvements when he inherited it in 1837.
⚡ Join me on a trip to visit an archway with a very strange backstory, a Victorian-era ice house decorated with ancient...
The Bleach Packer: Your Questions Answered
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You had lots of questions about the Victorian job of the "Bleach Packer". So I invited Judith Wilde from Catalyst museum back for a Q&A.
Together we dig deeper into the fascinating history of this gruelling job, that helped build the chemical industry.
🎧 Judith answers questions like:
➡ Why didn't their eyes burn?
➡ Did the muzzle actually work?
➡ Why were some of them drinking ten pints a day?
➡ Did this really continue into the 1950s?
➡ What is the area of Widnes lik...
Before Tax Havens: How Islands Have Reinvented Themselves For Millenia | Jason Monaghan
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💬 Many islands all over the world are known for their finance industries - and especially for being “tax havens”. But this is just the latest ways islands have reinvented themselves over thousands of years.
As far back as the Stone Age, islands have served as stepping stones, trading hubs, military outposts and gateways between nations.
⚡ In this episode we use the island of Guernsey as a case study, showcasing just how varied - and incredible - its history has been. And guiding us is archaeologist and author Jason Monaghan.
Don't...
The Bleach Packer: One of the Worst Jobs of Victorian Britain | WWDB Highlights
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Bleach packers had one of the worst jobs of the 19th century.At Catalyst Museum in Widnes, discover the history of these workers, why they wore muzzles, and how they helped build the chemical industry.
This is a highlight from a longer episode filmed at Catalyst. Scroll down in your feed if you'd like to learn more.
About the podcast:
What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how...
The Terracotta Army & The Loch Ness Monster | A History Daily Special
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💬 One March 29th 1974, a Chinese farmer was working the field as he always did - when suddenly his shovel struck something hard. Little did he know he had just stumbled upon one of the most important archaeological finds in history.
⚡In this special episode we share two fantastic episodes from our friends over at History Daily. If you love them - subscribe to History Daily here: https://podfollow.com/history-daily
The first is the discovery of China’s Terracotta Army - which turned a small Chinese village into a tourist ho...
Before Tools: How Neanderthals Used Rhino Teeth, Vulture Bones and Deer Antlers
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💬 Neanderthals have been shown to use many incredible tools - but none quite as surprising as this. After studying rhinoceros teeth from a cave chock full of them - researchers managed to figure out why they were covered in strange markings.
⚡Alicia Sanz-Royo and her team of archaeologists examined the teeth that had remained a mystery for many years. By recreating ancient Neanderthal activities, they managed to reproduce the same markings - showing these rhino teeth were probably used as tools!
In this episode we find out how they manag...
Before Social Media: How Cleopatra Turned Herself Into a Living God | Natasha Solomons
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💬 Much of the myth of Cleopatra was crafted by her during her lifetime. An intentional process to shape how the citizens of Egypt - and the world - saw her. But without social media, how did great rulers of the ancient world fashion their own brand?
Cleopatra was unusually good at shaping her own image - and the brand she built has endured for over 2,000 years. But who was the woman behind the myth?
⚡ That’s the Cleopatra Natasha Solomons explores in her new book, where she reimagines the life of...
Before We Were The Last Human Species: When We Lived With Neanderthals
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💬 For a big portion of human history, we shared the planet with other human species. What was that world like to be part of? How often did we interact with prehistoric humans - and would we have recognised the differences between them and us?
⚡ Michael Marshall is a science writer and expert voice on ancient human species. In this episode he paints a picture of this ancient world, where Neanderthals, Hobbits and Denisovans and other early humans walked alongside us.
Don't miss an episode - subscribe now:
https...
Before Chemicals: 'Bleach Packers' and the Birth of the Chemical Industry
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💬 The birth of the chemical industry - one which has reshaped the course of human history - happened in a small town in England. In the 19th century, Widnes was transformed into a major centre of the chemical industry.
This era saw the rise of the bleach packers - workers who shovelled toxic chemicals to earn a living, wearing bandages to protect themselves from burns and muzzles to avoid passing out.
⚡Catalyst is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the chemical industry. And in this episode Judith Wilde, Heritage...
Before Brain Science: When We Thought With Our Hearts | Matthew Cobb
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💬 For thousands of years, humans believed the heart controlled the body - your thoughts, your emotions…everything. The brain was just a radiator - something to discard when preparing the dead.
But why did our ancestors think this for so long? Were there no tell-tale signs? It’s only in the last few hundred years that the brain has received the attention it deserves. And even once it did, we believed a lot of strange things about how it works.
⚡In this episode Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Bra...
Before Burial: When Bronze Age Homes Were FULL of Human Bones
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💬 When Barry Molloy’s team started digging up an ancient Bronze Age settlement - they never expected to uncover quite so many human bones. And they weren’t found in one place - they were everywhere.
Archaeologists uncovered over 100 fortified Late Bronze Age sites, and their findings tell us something unusual about the way we dealt with the dead throughout history. At this time in history - there really was no single way people would bury their dead. Sometimes bodies would be pulled apart, and a loved one’s bones would be brough...
Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps
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⚡ In 1942, during the height of World War 2, Hitler ordered the deportation of more than a thousand islanders from Guernsey. In retaliation against the Allied Forces, innocent men, women and children were forced to leave their island homes - set on a path to Biberach internment camp.
💡 Jill Chubb was just 3 years old when she set sail, but her memories are vivid and clear. And in this special podcast series, her grandson, former BBC Guernsey presenter Ollie Guillou, charts her story - joined by three other deportees and two prominent historians.
Wit...
Before Neanderthals Went Extinct: We Shaped Our Culture Together
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💬 A new study is rewriting our understanding of Neanderthals and human evolution. It seems ancient Homo sapiens didn't just coexist with them - but they shared ideas, cultures and inventions.
⚡ In this episode we challenge long held beliefs about human origins - exploring what the world was like before we were the last species of human left. A time when Neanderthals and Denisovans lived among us.
We highlight one particular finding in Tinshemet Cave in Israel, where shared burial practices, stone tools and signs of symbolic behaviour have been found...
Before Agriculture: Was It Humanity’s Biggest Mistake?
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💬 Did agriculture make life as a human worse? Many historians widely agree the answer is yes! Despite giving us an abundance of food and an ability to spread globally, there are many reasons it may have been a catastrophe for our species.
⚡ In this episode we explore 6 key arguements that outline exactly why agriculture may have created a world that has made inidividual lives more difficult. From creating vast social and economic inequalities, to increasing the spread of diseases - we examine some of the biggest arguments in favour of this idea...
Before Borders: How Migration Made Us Human
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💬 Before borders, passports and immigration systems - early humans moved freely around the world. Throughout history our yearning to migrate and explore the planet shaped our very evolution as a species and built civilisation as we know it.
⚡So what was it really like for our early ancestors, first crossing continents into unknown landscapes? What made them take the risk of venturing beyond the horizon?
In this episode migration historian Markus Reisle explores a time before borders - which was much more recent than you might think - and how m...
Before Money: When Humans Paid With Knives and Giant Stones
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💰 Money is one of those things that feels like it's always existed - like gravity, or disappointing weather on a bank holiday. But for most of human history, there were no coins, no notes, and no bank accounts. So how did people actually buy things? Or did they even buy things at all?
⚡ From giant stone discs that nobody moved, to cocoa beans you could eat (or counterfeit with dirt), to handwritten scraps of paper worth a year's wages - the history of money is really the history of tr...
Before Modern Board Games: What Did Humans Play 6,000 Years Ago? | Walter Crist
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💬 Before the likes of Monopoly and Chess, our ancient ancestors played many, unique board games. It’s a pastime that has endured for 9,000 years - maybe longer!
⚡ And the rules to one mysterious ancient game have just been cracked - using artificial intelligence. Walter Crist is an expert in the archaeology and history of board games, and recently used AI to uncover the rules of a 2,000 year-old game from the late Roman Empire.
In this episode he tells us all about this incredible discovery, while exploring the full history of our...
