Drinking from Skulls

Hurrah! A new year and possibly a new schedule for the Z List Dead List Podcast. I'm going to try and put out two episodes a month (as well as an episode of The British Museum Membercast and four episodes of setisoppO and four episodes of The Women's Fitness Podcast  plus any other podcasts that I can guest on!). So please reward my hard work by liking and sharing and doing everything you can to get new ears listening! 

The first episode in the month will be shorter, to the point and sometimes with no guest, the second will be a usual Z List Dead List episode. This episode however has the fabulous Paul Sinha, talking about the grisly end to Cyrus the Great - possibly the most powerful man who ever lived... the King of Kings! Was he really murdered by some girl?! 

It is a bit of a #strongwoman month, not only this episode of the Z List Dead List but also on Tuesday January 9th I'll be back on BBC Radio 4's Making History. This time in a dojo, talking to Naomi Paxton and Ady Treadwell about Jiu Jitsu suffragettes. Ady is a real policeman, and one of my instructors who has recently graded to 3rd dan. He is the sort of man who wouldn't look out of place drinking from skulls. While naomi is a fellow comedian and historian, looks like a tiny version of me... and according to the history books, would have no trouble dispensing of a massive burly copper. 

 I actually learned jitsu after interviewing Naomi for the Z List Dead List podcast back in 2014 for the episode 'of mice and policemen'.  I found out all about the cat and mouse game - how women were considered so dangerous they were chased through the streets and evaded arrest with a crucial mix of cunning and violence. The suffragettes always seemed so dull at school - overly right-on women, moral, dull and a bit meek who starved themselves. They came across as very passive apart from that one who threw herself under a horse. And even then, the message was a bit too much like emo-self harm than cool superheroes or troubled villains.  Little did I realise the actual truth that they were tough, flawed and completely bananas, not only smashing stuff up but smashing people too.  They were so crazy they even got ALL WOMEN banned from the British Museum. We were the muslims of our day ;). 

Had I known about this at school I think I'd've had a lot more respect and found them a lot more interesting too. But no, women in history like women in the modern age cannot be shown to be flawed or idiotic or downright crazy or have any human qualities at all... well... they can now.

So tune into Radio 4 on Tuesday afternoon to hear that piece. I'm hoping also to have a new video for you next week, as well as an episode of #womfitpod and setisoppO! It is all go this end.

Are you not entertained? 

3.30pm Tuesday 9th Jan Radio 4

Listen to Making History for an interview about kick ass jiu jitsu suffragettes with Naomi Paxton and Iszi Lawrence