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Stuff The British Stole

Program: Stuff The British Stole

Source:ABC Radio National

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ABC Radio National

ABC Radio National

Presented by

Marc Fennell

Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today the Empire's loot sits in museums, galleries, private collections and burial sites with polite plaques. But its history is often messier than the plaques suggest.

In each episode of this global smash hit podcast, Walkley award-winning journalist, author and genetic potluck, Marc Fennell, takes you on the wild, evocative, sometimes funny, often tragic adventure of how these stolen treasures got to where they live today. These objects will ultimately help us see the modern world — and ourselves — in a different light.

This is a co-production between the ABC and CBC Podcasts.

Stream the brand new season of Stuff The British Stole on ABC iview

Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today the Empire's loot sits in museums, galleries, private collections and burial sites with polite plaques. But its history is often messier than the plaques suggest.

In each episode of this global smash hit podcast, Walkley award-winning journalist, author and genetic potluck, Marc Fennell, takes you on the wild, evocative, sometimes funny, often tragic adventure of how these stolen treasures got to where they live today. These objects will ultimately help us see the modern world — and ourselves — in a different light.

Episodes

Sorted by latest

The Girl Called Pocahontas

How do you uncover the true life of a woman whose existence is wrapped in myth, propaganda and a famous animated children’s movie?

Published: 1 Aug 2023Tue 1 Aug 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 33 minutes 45 seconds

The Fever Tree Hunt

Most heists target gold, jewels or cash. This one targeted illegal seeds. As the British established their sprawling empire across the subcontinent and beyond, they encountered a formidable adversary — malaria.

Published: 25 Jul 2023Tue 25 Jul 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 30 minutes

Zero Marks The Spot

It’s round. It has a hole in it. It symbolises nothing and yet it is the possibility of something... meet zero.

Published: 18 Jul 2023Tue 18 Jul 2023 at 4:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 35 minutes 31 seconds

The Unfinished Prince

There's a body buried in the grounds of Windsor Castle whose real home is thousands of miles away. Since 2007, there have been calls for Prince Alamayu’s remains to be returned to Ethiopia.

Published: 11 Jul 2023Tue 11 Jul 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 44 minutes 45 seconds

Bottles in the Basement

Deep in the cellars of one of England’s grandest country homes, covered in dirt and cobwebs, lay dozens of bottles of ancient rum. Their discovery set off a frenzy among collectors vying to own the oldest rum in the world.

Published: 4 Jul 2023Tue 4 Jul 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 36 minutes 30 seconds

The Head in the Library

In an old country town high school library there is a glass case that displays something highly unusual and, for some, confronting.

Published: 27 Jun 2023Tue 27 Jun 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 41 minutes

INTRODUCING — Stuff The British Stole | Series 3

Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today the Empire's loot sits in museums, galleries, private collections and burial sites with polite plaques. But its history is often messier than the plaques suggest.

Published: 19 Jun 2023Mon 19 Jun 2023 at 3:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 2 minutes

Special Announcement

We’re working hard on bringing you more podcast episodes but in the meantime, we have a special announcement…

Published: 3 Nov 2022Thu 3 Nov 2022 at 3:00amwith Marc Fennell

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 2 minutes

Strange Fowle

It’s become a symbol for extinction; the dodo is a semi-mythical creature which most of us know only through Alice in Wonderland. But one particular dodo was the victim of a crime – murder.

Published: 16 Nov 2021Tue 16 Nov 2021 at 2:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 34 minutes 54 seconds

Not Your Venus

Sarah 'Saartjie' Baartman was taken to the UK by a British doctor. But did she know what she was signing up for? Stage-named 'The Hottentot Venus', Sarah was paraded around freak shows in London and Paris.

Published: 9 Nov 2021Tue 9 Nov 2021 at 2:00pm

Stuff The British Stole

Duration: 35 minutes 7 seconds

Feature articles

An Englishman took 70,000 seeds from the Amazon. It changed the world

Rubber is waterproof, durable and in so many everyday items it would be impossible for our world to exist in this form without it. However, like many resources, it has a dark past.

An 1800s photo of an old man with a large white moustache

Published: 4 Aug 2024Sun 4 Aug 2024 at 9:00pmby Nick Baker and Marc Fennell

How files showing the British tortured and killed resistance fighters 'on a mass scale' were revealed

For decades the British government hid secret files about the detention and torture of Kenyan resistance fighters. This is how they were revealed and the horrors they contained.

A closeup of one of the secret files about the Kenyan detention camps released by the British government.

Published: 28 Jul 2024Sun 28 Jul 2024 at 11:52pmby Georgia Hitch

The 'Irish Giant' was petrified of becoming a surgeon's plaything. A betrayal saw his worst fears come true

Known as the "Irish Giant", Charles Byrne's dying wish was to be buried at sea to avoid being dissected and displayed after he died. But he was betrayed and centuries later the debate over where his remains should rest continues.

An illustration of a very tall man with an 18th century tricorne hat on. Other people come up to his elbows in height

Published: 25 Jul 2024Thu 25 Jul 2024 at 11:42pmby Georgia Hitch and Emma Machan

'We were floored': How a chance discovery led to the return of Aboriginal girl's 200yo doll

When an archives manager in England stumbled upon a small black doll, she was puzzled. A clue pointed her to Tasmania and a girl called Mithina, who lived almost 200 years ago.

A small doll next to a pin cushion on a silk white pillow. A hand with a blue glove places the pin cushion down

Published: 7 Jul 2024Sun 7 Jul 2024 at 8:14pmby Georgia Hitch

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