Angela Barnes (The News Quiz, Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo) has teamed up with comedy writer and author John O’Farrell (Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, Grumpy Old Men) to produce a series of weekly ‘less-than-serious’ history podcasts.
Series 1 of We Are History was launched this week. Early episodes cover the Profumo Affair of 1963, coinciding nicely with the current BBC drama about Christine Keeler, the cult of nudism in communist East Germany and Vlad the Impaler (the original ‘Dracula’). "We are not academics or qualified historians," says Barnes. "We are just a couple of history nerds researching and discussing subjects that interest or maybe amuse us. Plus, we were concerned about the desperate shortage of podcasts, and wanted to do our bit to help".
John O’Farrell’s An Utterly Impartial History of Britain and its sequel sold half a million copies, and it was while listening to the audiobook that Angela Barnes decided to get in touch to suggest they work together. "I’d been a big fan of Angela’s stand up, ever since I saw her first show in Edinburgh, so I didn’t hesitate to yes," said O’Farrell, "Plus I’ve heard podcasts are a goldmine, with several pounds to be made."
Future editions of We Are History will cover such varied subjects as the Opium War of 1839 (‘the first war on drugs, when Britain was on the side of drugs’), the 1871 siege of Paris (when they ate all the animals in the zoo), and Britain’s ‘very polite’ invasion of Iceland in 1940. "We read the books so you don’t have to," says Barnes, who will now have to fit in podcast recording alongside her new role as one of the hosts of Radio 4’s The News Quiz.
We Are History is released via Acast and can be downloaded via all the usual podcast platforms "except in the Isle of Wight where it is available on cassette".
Update 2020: Angela Barnes is on House of Games, 6pm, BBC2 from Monday, November 16 - Friday, November 20.
In other podcast news, comedian Carl Donnelly has launched a new short podcast this week. In A Comedian Called Carl Drinking Coffee he muses into a microphone while enjoying his morning coffee. Subscribe here.
Picture: Ed Moore
