Bang! Boom! History!

The Stuarts (with special guest, Joel!)

This week Luke and Mike are joined by special guest, Joel (11) to tell us a banana themed fact about the Stuarts!
We also cover 111 years of English history that sees the execution of the King and 11 years without any monarch.
Mike also gets confused about how Charles II could hide inside a tree and Luke theorises about what would have happened if the Puritans had known Oliver Cromwell was going to come to power.
 
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Jamestown - The Beginning of the USA

In this episode Luke and Mike tell the story of the first permanent English colony in North America - Jamestown!
Having recently visited historic Jamestown, Luke is full of facts and stories of the early days of the colony right through to its eventual demise a hundred years later.
In the "Great Library of Alexandria"  we review the review the DK book, the Children's Encyclopedia of American History. 

The Trojan War

This week is a bumper episode as we dive into the "Is it fact? Is it fiction?" story of the Trojan War! We look at the evidence for it being a true story as well as enjoying the bits which are definitely made up!
 
In the "Great Library of Alexndria" we review the book of the podcast that inspired Bang! Boom! History! - Greeking Out! by Kenny Curtis & Jillian Hughes.

William Shakespeare

In this episode Luke and Mike talk all things William Shakespeare. They chew over the age old mystery of whether Shakespeare really wrote his plays and Luke tells Mike about the disgusting details of Elizabethan play production and a mishap involving a cannon. 
In the "Great Library of Alexandria" we review The Usborne Encyclopedia of History.
Shout out to the Handlebards too, who inspire our family's enjoyment of Shakespeare!

The Battle of the Bulge

In this episode Luke and Mike talk about the last major offensive of the second world war, the Battle of the Bulge. As usual, Luke surprises Mike with some random facts, whilst Mike tells a story about how the Americans responded to the German demands for them to surrender.
In the "Great Library of Alexandria" Luke and Mike review "Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood" by Nathan Hales.

The Gunpowder Plot

This week Luke and Mike recount the treasonous acts of Guy Fawkes in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The plot involves poor project planning, spurious fake names and an ill advised method of drying gunpowder.
 
In the "Great Library of Alexandria" we review "A Street Through Time"  - a DK book illustrated by Steve Noon.

Pompeii

This week Mike and Luke tell the story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of the ancient roman city of Pompeii.
Mike reminisces about his holiday trip to the city whilst Luke is keen to remember all the gory details!
Over in the "Great Library of Alexandria" Mike and Luke review "Romans Magnified" by David Long.

The Norse Creation Story

In this final episode of the mini-series on historical creation myths, Luke tells the story of how the Vikings believed the universe was created. This episode features a mythical cow who sculpts gods using his tongue and giants being born from the armpits of another giant!
Over in the 'Great Library of Alexandria' we talk about the Vicious Vikings, from the Horrible Histories series, by Terry Deary.

The Egyptian Creation Story

In this episode Luke tells Mike the Ancient Egyptian creation myth, introducing him to a talking ocean, a sun protected by a cobra and green god covered in plant pictures.
 
Over in the "Great Library of Alexandria" we talk about the Myth Atlas by Thiago de Moraes.

The Ancient Greek Creation Story

In this episode Luke tells the Ancient Greek Creation story - The War of the Titans. Meanwhile Mike struggles to pronounce the word, "hecatoncheires" and gets confused with all the names and relations of the Greek Gods.
Get ready for a God who eats his kids and a gruesome grandma who is ready for war!
 
In the Great Library of Alexandria, we recommend books to our listeners. Today's book is "Greek Mythology" by Jean Menzies