No One Saw It Coming
History

No One Saw It Coming

by ABC Australia

The bit players, the unexpected twists, the turning point you missed. Join Walkley award-winner Marc Fennell as he uncovers the incredible moments that changed the course of history.
New episodes out Tuesday.

51 episodes
EN language
All Episodes
1
Let slaves dance: The secret of New Orleans jazz
25:46 Mar 8, 2026
2
She faked insanity. Then became a star.
25:45 Mar 1, 2026
3
The mafia bar riot that sparked gay pride
25:47 Feb 22, 2026
4
The royal roots of French fries
25:33 Feb 15, 2026
5
Three words brought down the Berlin Wall
24:29 Feb 8, 2026
6
The art heist that made the Mona Lisa famous
25:47 Feb 1, 2026
7
The colony that broke Scotland (and made Great Britain)
0:00 Jan 25, 2026
8
The Hollywood femme fatale who invented wi-fi
0:00 Jan 18, 2026
9
The ballet that caused a riot and changed music
25:47 Jan 12, 2026
10
The Forgotten Female Codebreakers of WWII
25:48 Jan 5, 2026
11
Time is Chaos. The Calendar Tries (And Fails) to Fix That.
25:46 Dec 29, 2025
12
The Nativity Scene You Know—And The One You Don’t
24:53 Dec 22, 2025
13
An 1843 Lifehack Became a Christmas Tradition
25:46 Dec 15, 2025
14
Poison to Beauty: The Story of Botox
25:46 Dec 8, 2025
15
The First Computer Was Greek (And Shipwrecked)
25:46 Dec 1, 2025
16
William Dalrymple: China’s Game of Thrones
25:46 Nov 24, 2025
17
Purple Reign: The Teen Who Bottled Royalty
25:39 Nov 17, 2025
18
The Secret Photos That Shamed America
25:47 Nov 10, 2025
19
Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer
25:47 Nov 3, 2025
20
Beer vs Cholera: The Map That Changed Medicine
25:44 Oct 27, 2025
21
POW Turned Pioneer: The Aussie Who Changed Bipolar Treatment
25:39 Oct 20, 2025
22
The Untold History of Henrietta Lacks and Her Miracle Cells
25:48 Oct 13, 2025
23
From Showman to Balloon Spy: The Man Who Changed How Wars Were Fought
26:07 Oct 6, 2025
24
The Butterfly Thief: The Great Museum Heist Still Being Felt Today
25:48 Sep 29, 2025
25
Norman Ohler: Hitler's Secret Drug Addiction and How It Changed WW2
0:00 Sep 22, 2025
26
What Survives the Crash: The Man Who Gave Planes Memory
25:00 Sep 15, 2025
27
The Mafia Bar Riot That Sparked Gay Pride and the LGBTQ+ Movement
25:00 Sep 8, 2025
28
Coney Island’s Miracle Babies and the Fake Doctor That Saved Them
25:00 Sep 1, 2025
29
The Wrong Turn That Started a World War
25:00 Aug 25, 2025
30
PRESENTS – The Case Of
2:16 Aug 24, 2025
31
From War to Wardrobe: The Epic Saga of the High Heel
25:00 Aug 18, 2025
32
Radium Girls: The Glow in the Dark Women Who Changed Everything
28:00 Aug 11, 2025
33
Workers. Wages. Revolution: The True Story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
28:00 Aug 4, 2025
34
Creepy Guy Meets Recording Device: The True Origins of Reality TV
25:00 Jul 28, 2025
35
Richard Fidler: The Volcano That Toppled Two Empires
26:00 Jul 21, 2025
36
Treadmills Were Made for Torture
25:00 Jul 14, 2025
37
The Lingerie Makers who put Neil Armstrong on the Moon
25:00 Jul 7, 2025
38
A Gossip Writer Invented the Renaissance!?
25:00 Jun 30, 2025
39
The Nazi siege and the secret seeds
25:00 Jun 23, 2025
40
Where Freestyle Swimming REALLY Comes From
27:00 Jun 16, 2025
41
Cecil Rhodes and his Secret Plan for World Domination
25:00 Jun 9, 2025
42
When X-Rays Were an Amusement Park Attraction
25:00 Jun 2, 2025
43
Absinthe isn’t Dangerous. It was Framed for Murder
25:00 May 26, 2025
44
The Hidden Origins of Chemotherapy
25:00 May 19, 2025
45
America’s Secret Pact with the Mafia
25:00 May 12, 2025
46
The Blunder that Broke the Berlin Wall
0:00 May 5, 2025
47
This Tragic Accident Changed How We Think About the Brain
25:00 Apr 28, 2025
48
Marie Antoinette, mother of French fries?
0:00 Apr 21, 2025
49
The Secret Weapon that Changed War
0:00 Apr 14, 2025
50
Stealing the Mona Lisa: The Crime that Created a Legend
0:00 Apr 7, 2025
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