The Obscure

The Unkillable Soldier - Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100

Adrian Carton de Wiart lived a life so extreme it feels fictional — a one‑eyed, one‑handed, bullet‑ridden British officer who fought in the Boer War, WWI, and WWII, survived a plane crash, escaped a POW camp, negotiated in China, and still insisted he’d “enjoyed every minute of it.” In this episode of The Obscure, Daniel and Minna explore the unbelievable true story of a man who seemed physically incapable of dying.

In this episode:

His early life and the making of a war legend
Outrageous Boer War escapades
The WWI injuries that would have ended anyone else’s career
His escape attempt from an Italian POW camp
His surreal diplomatic years in China
Why Happy Odyssey remains one of the wildest autobiographies ever written

If you enjoy eccentric history, improbable survival stories, and characters who feel too outrageous to be real, this one is unmissable.

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Trailer - The Obscure

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0100

A quick introduction to The Obscure - a history podcast about strange stories and forgotten figures.

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The Gold‑Nosed Astronomer Who Measured the Heavens and Died of Politeness

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:45:00 +0100

Daniel Darkens is accompanied for another episode of The Obscure by Minna Hayman in which we explore the extraordinary and eccentric history of Tycho Brahe — a forgotten scientific pioneer whose naked‑eye astronomical observations transformed our understanding of the cosmos.

Join us as we take you through the life and achievements of Tycho Brahe. Tycho was the last of the great naked eye astronomers shuffling off this mortal coil just eight years before the introduction of the astronomical telescope.

He was a wildly eccentric man, with a gold prosthetic nose (gained after a duel resulting from an argument over who was the best mathematician), a pet moose and a dwarf prophet that sat under his dining table mumbling pronouncements. He is also the only person that we know of that died of politeness.

All of these should be overshadowed by his remarkable astronomical observations and records which paved the way for the modern understanding of the night sky and the motions of astronomical objects. Enjoy this story of the life of Tycho and leave any comments relating to your thoughts on this remarkable man.

Join us for future episodes as each new episode will pluck another interesting character out of the obscure and take them into the limelight. If you like our content, you know what to do – like, subscribe, hype, comment and whatever else shows your appreciation of the show.

Literary sources:

The Martyrs of Science, Sir David Brewster, 1841

Rebels And Reformers (Biographies for young People), Arthur and Dorothea Ponsonby, 1919

Great Astronomers, Sir Robert Ball, 1895

Pronunciation sound file:

Wikipedia user Malene Thyssen, 21 January 2006

Images attributions (in order shown in the video):

Knutstorp Castle By User Jorchr on sv.wikipedia - Bilden tagen av mig själv (Jorchr) 17 september 2005., CC BY-SA 3.0,

Celestial Globe: Bez Barier via Pexel

Augsburg Great Quadrant: Public Domain,

Aerial view of island of Hven: By Bjørn Christian Tørrissen - Own work by uploader, CC BY-SA 4.0,

View of Uraniborg: By Tycho Brahe - Blaeu's Atlas Major, Public Domain,

View of layout of Stiernberg: By Tycho Brahe - Tycho Brahe's observatory on Ven: Johan Blaeu, Atlas Major, Amsterdam, 1662-DET KONGELIGE BIBLIOTEK, Public Domain,

Brahe using a large quadrant: By Unknown author - Engraving from the book: Tycho Brahe (1598), Astronomiae instauratae mechanica, Wandsbeck. Downloaded from the online exhibition at the Royal Library; stitching by Axel Boldt, Public Domain,

Tycho Brahe instrument Armillary 14: Public Domain,

Armillary Sphere: By Ktf5vd - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Tycho’s illustration of 1577 comet: Public Domain,

Tychonic model of the universe: By User:Fastfission - Own work, Public Domain,

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Kidnapped, Sold Into Slavery, Escaped - The Astonishing Life of Indian Peter Williamson

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0100

Welcome to the latest episode of The Obscure with Daniel and Minna, where we explore the strange and often disputed history of Indian Peter Williamson - a forgotten Scottish figure whose dramatic tale of kidnapping, slavery, escape and reinvention may be part truth and part fiction.

Peter has long been accused of exaggerating parts of his life and inventing others completely, but the story is so compelling it deserves to be told regardless.

Our sources for this episode were Indian Peter's own published works, which are referred to throughout the podcast, and are no longer in print.

Let us know what you think - how much of Indian Peter's American adventures do you believe?

If you enjoy the episode, stick around. We release a new story every two weeks.

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The Calculating Boy Who Built Britain's Railways - the Little-Known Story of George Parker Bidder

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0100

In this episode of The Obscure, we uncover the remarkable history of George Parker Bidder — a forgotten Victorian engineer and former child prodigy whose influence on railways, docks, harbours, and early telegraphy helped shape the modern world.

Daniel Darkens is accompanied for another episode of The Obscure by Minna Hayman. Join us as we take you through the life and achievements of The Calculating Boy - George Parker Bidder.

George's story has two distinct aspects to it. Firstly as a child prodigy in the field of arithmetic, with an uncanny ability to perform mental calculation with no formal education and not even an ability to read or write. Secondly as a hugely important but largely forgotten engineer, with a crucial role in the development of British (and European and Asian) railways, docks, harbours and playing a significant part in the very early development of the use of the electric telegraph.

How he is so little known is a mystery, and we would not have discovered him had it not been for the erection of a statue commemorating him and his achievements in his home town of Moretonhampstead in Devon.

Thankfully, as well as the information plaque near his statue, there is also a comprehensive biography by his great-great-grandson, which was our principal source of information for this episode:

GEORGE PARKER BIDDER The Calculating Boy by E. F. Clark (published 1983)

Join us for future episodes as each new episode will pluck another interesting character out of the obscure and take them into the limelight.

If you like our content, you know what to do – like, subscribe, hype, comment and whatever else shows your appreciation of the show.

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Britain's Most Eccentric Aristocrat - The Wild Life of Mad Jack Mytton

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0100

In this episode of The Obscure, we dive into the eccentric and often unbelievable history of Mad Jack Mytton — a forgotten 19th‑century figure whose wild antics and chaotic life have become legendary in British folklore.

Join Daniel Darkens and, while Nina takes a short break, a very special guest Minna Hayman in the latest episode of The Obscure.

Using the biography written by his friend Nimrod, fascinating details of this remarkable character come to light.

This ultimately tragic tale includes anecdotes from throughout his life - his chequered education, his sporting interests, his enjoyment of the occasional tipple (he was rumoured to drink up to six bottles of port a day) and his fondness for a practical joke are all covered.

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Scotland's Greatest Scientist? John Scott Haldane, The Man Who Risked His Life to Understand Poison Gas

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0100

In this episode of The Obscure, we explore the remarkable and often overlooked history of John Scott Haldane — a forgotten pioneer whose groundbreaking work in safety, welfare, and human physiology shaped everything from coal mining to mountaineering and deep‑sea diving.

Join Daniel Darkens and Nina Bickerton for another episode of The Obscure as they take you through the life and achievements of this great Scottish scientist.

Each future episode will pluck another interesting character out of the obscure and take them into the limelight.

JS Haldane's is a story of remarkable achievement in the area of safety and welfare, from coal miners to mountaineers, from deep sea divers to soldiers in the first world war trenches.

We relied heavily on the excellent biography:

Suffer and Survive by Martin Goodman (published 2007)

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The Man Who Flew to Everest to Climb it Alone - the Remarkable Story of Maurice Wilson

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:23:20 +0100

In this episode of The Obscure, we explore the extraordinary and little‑known history of Maurice Wilson — a forgotten figure whose attempt to climb Mount Everest alone remains one of the strangest stories of the early 20th century.

Join Daniel Darkens and Nina Bickerton as they take you through Maurice Wilson's story in this first ever episode of The Obscure podcast.

Every episode will pluck another interesting character out of the obscure and into the limelight.

Maurice's is a tragic tale, but includes incredible bravery and ambition. Most of the information for the episode is taken from his two biographies:

I'll Climb Mount Everest Alone by Dennis Roberts (published 1957)

The Moth and the Mountatin by Ed Caesar (published 2020)

both are highly recommended for an even deeper dive.

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