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The Dubious Book of Famous Deeds — History
The Dubious Book of Famous Deeds

One day, Paul Bates found a book in an alley. It wasn’t a magical book, but it was very old – 132 years old, to be exact. It’s called The Pictorial Treasury of Famous Men and Famous Deeds: its cover is beautiful, its language is flowery, and its tone is problematic. It’s also full of wildly obscure and preposterously inaccurate stories about people and deeds you’ve probably never heard of. And, it’s the basis for this history podcast. Each episode Paul shares a chapter with a guest and together they cut through the rhetoric, fill in the blanks and bring a modern perspective to this relic from the height of the British Empire.

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Latest Episodes:

Chapter 19. Horatio Nelson, or: The Naval Gaze Aug 01, 2022

Comedian Clare Blackwood joins me for the thrilling tale of Lord Admiral Nelson: commander of the Royal Navy, hero of the Napoleonic Wars, deadbeat husband. Listen to the story of a man who left everything on the field, including an arm, most of his teeth and an eyebrow.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 18. Samuel Colt, or: From My Old, Dead Hands Jul 25, 2022

If you’re tracing the roots of America’s gun culture, you’ll surely stumble across Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt Pistol, revolutionary in firearm manufacture and marketing, and total gun nut by anyone’s standards. Guests Rhys Waters and Jesse Harley (‘Canadian Politics is Boring’) come for the weaponry and stay for the pyromania as we explore the life of a man who had a singular appetite for destruction.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 17. Walter Raleigh, or: Misadventure Time Jul 11, 2022

Comedian Brandon Hackett is here for the story of Walter Raleigh, namesake of Raleigh, North Carolina: a great explorer, so we’re told, but really – did he get a single thing right? Or was he really famous because Queen Elizabeth I had the hots for him? Learn all about the man whose missteps and screw-ups landed him in the Tower of London so many times, they’ve still got his room set up.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 16. Sir Henry Holland, or: Lady Chatterley’s Doctor Jul 04, 2022

In a surprisingly horny episode, comedian Ashley Botting (Second City, Because News) is here for the story of Sir Henry Holland: physician to the wealthy, confidante to the elite, and – to spread a rumour we can in no way substantiate – hot lover to them all?

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 15. Great Lighthouse Disasters, or: Lead Belly Jun 13, 2022

Comedian Alastair Forbes is here for stories about lighthouses! Specifically, stories about the destruction of said lighthouses. We’ll also hear a bit about John Smeaton, the first ever civil engineer… but mainly we’re talking lighthouses failing. You know what they say: tragedy plus time equals good podcast content.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 14. John Milton, or: Walking Tour de Force Jun 06, 2022

Allana Reoch is here to learn all the strange, tragic and uncomfortably public details about legendary poet John Milton, all against the backdrop of the English Civil War. The guy was a major pill but will Allana come around on him? Does she have a soft spot for broken things?? Or is John Milton just *that* charming??? (He isn’t.)

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 13. Sir Edwin Landseer, or: Must Love Dog Art May 03, 2022

Welcome to season 2! The Dubious Book returns with an extremely funny episode about Queen Victoria’s favourite painter, Edwin Landseer. Tim Baltz (Righteous Gemstones, Shrink) and Marty Adams (Second City) join the podcast to – let’s be honest – absolutely devastate this long dead artist whose main gig was painting pictures of dogs. Find the artwork we discuss at my IG account @famous.deeds, or at this episode’s page on www.thesonarnetwork.com!

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Season 2 Announcement! Apr 19, 2022

Hi friends! Been a long time. But I’m happy to tell you that more episodes are just around the corner. Season 2 arrives May 3rd with with more great guests, obscure names and fun stories.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 12. Edward Baines of Leeds, or: Trowel Drop Sep 27, 2021

It’s the season finale! Comedian Lisa Brooke is here for the rags to riches tale of Edward Baines, the newspaperman who had the distinction of being burned in effigy by his fellow citizens not once, but twice. Come for the accusations of bastardy… stay for the silliest name in British history since Ralph Roister Doister.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 11. The Emancipation of the Serfs, or: Happy Butter Week Sep 20, 2021

Just before slavery was abolished in the USA, tens of millions of Russian serfs also received their liberty. But was there a catch? Yes, of course there was! Actor/comedian Anand Rajaram is here for a tale about the high cost of freedom, especially when the nobility pulls the strings.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 10. Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama & Vespucci, or: The Tale of Enrique Sep 13, 2021

Paloma Nuñez (Baroness Von Sketch, Shazam) joins me for the story of not one but four explorers: all famous, all psychos. How much of a bastard was Christopher Columbus? How bad a guest was Vasco Da Gama? How the hell did Amerigo Vespucci get two continents named after him? All this and more as we dive into a very pro-colonial chapter.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 9. Sir Titus Salt, or: The Silicon Valley of Wool Sep 06, 2021

Kris Siddiqi and Nigel Downer – stars of the television show Bit Playas – are here to learn about Sir Titus Salt, the wealthy industrialist who, for reasons unexplained, built a city in his own name! Was it a Christian utopia? A triumph of capitalism? A child-labour sweatshop? Can it be all three?? Listen and find out!

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 8. 19th Century Surgeons, or: Time Me Gentlemen, Time Me Aug 30, 2021

Comedian Stacey McGunnigle is here to learn about Sir William Ferguson, beloved Scottish surgeon, and stares aghast as we cut open and examine the world of surgery in 1800s London! You’ll hear about Robert Liston, a surgeon known more for speed than precision; the grizzly Burke & Hare murders done in the name of science; and a too-graphic account of the full surgery experience.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

BONUS – Nikola Tesla & the AC/DC War, or: Pour One Out for Topsy the Elephant Aug 26, 2021

How many animals died to satisfy Thomas Edison’s thirst for power? How did Nikola Tesla cause Mark Twain to soil himself? And how is former President & Game Show Host Donald Trump connected? Find out in this bonus content from Chapter 7 – Thomas Edison!

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 7. Thomas Edison, or: Innovation’s Greatest Monster Aug 23, 2021

From his early days rescuing children from railroad tracks to his tenure as the Wizard of Menlo Park, this contemporary account of Thomas Edison portrays the famed inventor as a brilliant wunderkind – but comedian Carson Pinch is here to tell you he was a cruel, manipulative fraud. Which is the truth? There can be no in-between!

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 6. Giovanni Dupré, or: How’s He Hiding the Genitals? Aug 16, 2021

Actor/writer/comedian Jan Caruana (CBC’s Because News) is here for the life and times of 19th Century Italy’s second-greatest sculptor! From his pitifully sad childhood to the creepy courtship of his wife, learn what made this talented man who could simply NOT turn down a gig – be it from despotic Dukes, or even one of the most brutal butchers of the age.

Follow along with the images below!

Portrait of Giovanni Dupré
Abel, G. Dupré, c.1839
Abel – alternate angle
Cain, G. Dupré, 1840
Marshall Julius Jacob Von Haynau
Marshall Haynau (mounted), Giuseppe Bezzoli
La Pietà, G. Dupré, 1863
La Pietà – close-up

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 5. Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, or: Wall to Wall Freaks Aug 09, 2021

Paul is reunited with Nug Nahrgang and Lee Smart, his co-hosts of the hilarious sci-fi comedy podcast Illusionoid. Together they learn the tale of Adolph Nordenskiöld, the Arctic explorer and discoverer of the north-east passage: a man whose family were weirdos, whose mouth got him in all sorts of trouble, and whose rich daddy got him out of it.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 4. The Muscovy Company, or: A Huge Plot Hole in the History of the World Aug 02, 2021

England’s first major attempt at maritime exploration was a nautical disaster! But the survivors didn’t come home empty-handed. Actor/comedian Christy Bruce is here for the tale of how English sailors developed a new relationship with – and a huge crush on – Ivan the Terrible himself.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 3. The Longest Tunnel in the World, or: Don’t Worry, the Hospice is Just Around the Corner Jul 26, 2021

Comedian Alastair Forbes could not be more disappointed to be on an episode about tunnels, but sticks around anyway for a whirlwind tour of 19th-century Switzerland – replete with St. Bernards, fashionable hats, serving wenches and many dead horses.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 2. Schamyl, the Circassian Chief, or: Putin’s Erotica Jul 26, 2021

Meet the warrior whose life and times inspired Frank Herbert’s DUNE! Ruthless, courageous and charismatic, the Imam Shamil brought the pain to Russian soldiers in the Russian-Circassian war. But in Circassia’s darkest hour, did Shamil have its back? Baroness Von Sketch Show’s Aurora Browne is here for a tale of conquest and vengeance in the Caucasus.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Chapter 1. William Shakespeare, or: Kid Prodigies are Garbage People Jul 26, 2021

William Shakespeare, according to the Dubious Book, was a model of virtue and character. But David Tomlinson (Star Trek: Discovery) is not having it. Does mastery of the human condition equal Great Guy? Or could Shakespeare have been a selfish a-hole? We’ve dug up everything but his bones to find out.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Let’s open The Dubious Book of Famous Deeds Jul 07, 2021

One day, Paul Bates found a book in an alley. It wasn’t a magical book, but it was very old – 132 years old, to be exact. It’s called The Pictorial Treasury of Famous Men and Famous Deeds: its cover is beautiful, its language is flowery, and its tone is problematic. It’s also full of wildly obscure and preposterously inaccurate stories about people and deeds you’ve probably never heard of. And, it’s the basis for this history podcast. Each episode Paul shares a chapter with a guest and together they cut through the rhetoric, fill in the blanks and bring a modern perspective to this relic from the height of the British Empire.

Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

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