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Hosted by Robert Bacon · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 32 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
History is full of terrible decisions, epic failures, and absurd moments. Mistakes Were Made is here to celebrate them. Comedians Robert Bacon, Mike Kauffman, Bobby Smithney, and Jenna O'Brien dive into the greatest blunders in history, from the Great Molasses Flood in Boston to the rise of eccentric dictators, bizarre wars, and even the oddities of human behavior. With sharp humor, detailed storytelling, and a healthy dose of sarcasm, they teach each other, and you, how humans have screwed up throughout the ages. Expect epic fails, ridiculous mishaps, and the funniest ways people have ever accidentally changed the world.Whether it’s military disasters, political catastrophes, failed inventions, or historical oddities like Dancing Mania and the Winter War, this podcast mixes comedy with real history for a laugh-and-learn experience. If history had bloopers, this is where you’d find them. Keywords: history podcast, funny history podcast, comedy history podcast
Robert Bacon hosts Mistakes Were Made, a history show with 32 episodes published.
In 1875, Dublin was flooded with whiskey, literally. When a bonded warehouse in the Liberties district went up in flames, over 300,000 gallons of burning whiskey poured through the streets, turning one of Ireland’s poore
We're back! After a 7-year break, Mistakes Were Made returns with a high-flying tale—literally. In this episode, Bacon tells Mike the bizarre history of people who tried to fly using helium balloons. From lawn chairs to
In the late 1960s, Chairman Mao Zedong turned a simple piece of fruit into a symbol of blind devotion—and chaos. When Mao gifted crates of mangos to Chinese factory workers, the nation erupted into a frenzy of worship, c
n 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland in a conflict known as the Winter War. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Finnish forces put up a fierce resistance in freezing conditions. Among them was Simo Häyhä, nicknamed
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo—a single event that triggered the chain reaction leading to World War I. Ferdinand’s death exposed the tangled web of alliances,
In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million—a deal widely mocked at the time as “Seward’s Folly.” Critics believed the U.S. had bought nothing but frozen tundra, ice, and bears. History, of c
Robert Bacon, Mike Kauffman, and Bobby Smithney tackle one of the 20th century’s most infamous symbols: the Berlin Wall. Erected in 1961, the Wall didn’t just divide a city—it divided families, friends, and an entire ide
For the first time, Mistakes Were Made welcomes a new co-host: Bobby Smithney joins Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman as they dive into one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. On December 6, 1917, the bustling h
The art of showing one’s rear end has a surprisingly long and hilarious history—and it might just date back to ancient Rome. In 66 CE, tensions flared between Romans and Jews, but Emperor Caligula had bigger problems: sp
Mobutu Sese Seko, the flamboyant and corrupt ruler of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), earned his nickname the “Leopard Hat Dictator” for his ostentatious fashion and absolute power. Rising from a milita
Saparmurat Niyazov, born in 1940 in the Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, survived a childhood straight out of a tragedy. After losing his family in an earthquake and emerging from the rubble after eight days, he was sent
On April 6, 1945, the German U-1206 submarine set sail from Kristiansand, Norway, on a mission that would quickly go down in history as a catastrophic and hilariously tragic misadventure. This was no ordinary naval misha
Nicolae Ceaușescu was born into a poor Romanian peasant family in 1918, and by the end of his life, he was one of the most notorious dictators of the 20th century. From escaping an abusive father to becoming an apprentic
In 1919, Boston experienced one of the strangest disasters in American history: a massive wave of molasses barreling through the streets of the North End. When a 50-foot-tall storage tank burst, over 2 million gallons of
Medieval Europe wasn’t exactly a party paradise—famine, plague, and political chaos made life miserable for most people. So why, then, did groups of people suddenly start dancing uncontrollably in the streets? Known as D
Since the dawn of recorded history, humans have been obsessed with one question: how do we live forever? From alchemists chasing the elusive elixir of life to eccentric rulers trying bizarre experiments to extend their y
Before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, America tried a different tactic: compromise. From the Missouri Compromise to the Compromise of 1850, lawmakers desperately tried to keep the Union together: slavery in,
“The reign of tears is over,” promised Reverend Billy Sunday when America banned booze. Spoiler: it was not over. In fact, Prohibition turned the entire country into one big underground cocktail party. Between 1920 and 1
Centuries before Columbus, a group of adventurous Vikings actually made it to North America… and immediately started killing people and complaining about the food. Around the year 1000, Leif Erikson and his band of Norse
In the 1630s, the Dutch Republic went completely insane for flowers. Tulip Mania was the world’s first recorded economic bubble, when a single tulip bulb could cost more than a house, fortunes were made and lost faster t
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Mistakes Were Made is hosted by Robert Bacon. The show is categorised under history (comedy) and has published 32 episodes.
Mistakes Were Made has published 32 episodes.
Mistakes Were Made regularly covers history, comedy, improv. It sits in the history category, with a comedy focus.
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Episodes of Mistakes Were Made average 36 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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