Did The Victorians Ruin The World?

Episodes

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0101Squirrels2017040320180802 (R4)It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

The Victorians were huge nature lovers but, in their quest to find all manner of exotic flora and fauna across the world and bring them back to Blighty, did they know they were doing more harm than good?

It was the Victorians who unleashed grey squirrels and a whole lot more besides on the unsuspecting British countryside. In so doing, were they really a bunch of environmental vandals?

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Do grey squirrels prove that the Victorians were a bunch of environmental vandals?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

The Victorians were huge nature lovers but, in their quest to find all manner of exotic flora and fauna across the world and bring them back to Blighty, did they know they were doing more harm than good?

It was the Victorians who unleashed grey squirrels and a whole lot more besides on the unsuspecting British countryside. In so doing, were they really a bunch of environmental vandals?

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Do grey squirrels prove that the Victorians were a bunch of environmental vandals?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

0102Beards2017040420180809 (R4)It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

The current fad for furry face furniture can be traced back to the Victorians. If you think we're at Peak Beard in 2018, think again!

But the growth of facial hair isn't a straightforward story. In 1840 beards were derided and only one MP dared to sport one. Just 50 years later, before the end of the century, nearly every man in the public eye had bearded up. Why did beards explode under Queen Victoria? And is it true that beards can be good for health? Helen and Kat are hunting for the hairy truth.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Why was there a beard explosion under Queen Victoria? And can beards be good for health?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

The current fad for furry face furniture can be traced back to the Victorians. If you think we're at Peak Beard in 2018, think again!

But the growth of facial hair isn't a straightforward story. In 1840 beards were derided and only one MP dared to sport one. Just 50 years later, before the end of the century, nearly every man in the public eye had bearded up. Why did beards explode under Queen Victoria? And is it true that beards can be good for health? Helen and Kat are hunting for the hairy truth.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Why was there a beard explosion under Queen Victoria? And can beards be good for health?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

0103Cars2017040520180816 (R4)It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

There are few if any more influential inventions on modern life than the automobile but, as revolutionary as cars were in the late 19th century, has the cost to the environment been worth it? Especially as history could nearly have been very different indeed. Is it true that the Victorians in fact invented the electric car, and a petrol-free society was within reach? Helen and Kat are on the trail.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Was the history of the car nearly different? Did the Victorians invent the electric car?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

There are few if any more influential inventions on modern life than the automobile but, as revolutionary as cars were in the late 19th century, has the cost to the environment been worth it? Especially as history could nearly have been very different indeed. Is it true that the Victorians in fact invented the electric car, and a petrol-free society was within reach? Helen and Kat are on the trail.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Was the history of the car nearly different? Did the Victorians invent the electric car?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

0104Darwinism2017040620180823 (R4)It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

Charles Darwin's discoveries have done more than anything before or since to radically change the way we think about natural history and where we came from. It's one of the most robust and powerful scientific concepts of all time and Darwin applied it across the animal kingdom - but he was always reluctant to be drawn on the role of natural selection in human development. However, his cousin Francis Galton had no such qualms, and used Darwin's ideas to develop a theory of Eugenics.

Between the good of Darwin and the bad of Galton, whose ideas were the more powerful?

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Whose idea was more powerful - Darwin's good one or his cousin Francis Galton's awful one?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

Charles Darwin's discoveries have done more than anything before or since to radically change the way we think about natural history and where we came from. It's one of the most robust and powerful scientific concepts of all time and Darwin applied it across the animal kingdom - but he was always reluctant to be drawn on the role of natural selection in human development. However, his cousin Francis Galton had no such qualms, and used Darwin's ideas to develop a theory of Eugenics.

Between the good of Darwin and the bad of Galton, whose ideas were the more powerful?

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Whose idea was more powerful - Darwin's good one or his cousin Francis Galton's awful one?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

0105Toilets2017040720180830 (R4)It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

Was the water-based toilet the pinnacle of 19th century hygienic invention, or did the Victorians literally flush away our most precious resource? Why did they choose the water closet over the alternatives that were available to them - the Earth Closet and the Air Closet? And was there a Fire Closet too (or was that just the result of that other great Victorian import, the curry?). Helen and Kat are holding their noses and diving in.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Are toilets a case of Victorian genius, or did they flush away our most precious resource?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink?

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

Was the water-based toilet the pinnacle of 19th century hygienic invention, or did the Victorians literally flush away our most precious resource? Why did they choose the water closet over the alternatives that were available to them - the Earth Closet and the Air Closet? And was there a Fire Closet too (or was that just the result of that other great Victorian import, the curry?). Helen and Kat are holding their noses and diving in.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Are toilets a case of Victorian genius, or did they flush away our most precious resource?

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.