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PODCAST

Rearview Mirror Chronicles

Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast Asia Editor for International Living magazine, Keith explores the intersections of history, culture, and modern life across the region.A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is

history documentary

All Episodes

49:17

Virginia Wolf - The Bloomsbury Group and Much Much More

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/05/10

Send us a text Virginia Woolf didn’t just write novels—she cracked open the mind and bled onto the page. Time, memory, madness, sex, death—nothing was too sacred. Nothing was off limits. In the heart of Bloomsbury, she found her tribe—artists, rebels, lovers who believed in truth over convention. They questioned everything: war, empire, gender, even sanity itself. She defied the norms of literature—and of love. Her affair with the dazzling Vita Sackville-West lit a fire in her, one that...

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42:55

Newton’s Eye and Homer’s Sky

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/05/03

Send us a text In the 1660s, Isaac Newton sat alone in the dark… and slid a needle behind his eyeball — not out of madness, but to unlock the secrets of light. Centuries earlier, Homer described the ocean not as blue, but “wine-dark.” In fact, in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the colour blue doesn’t exist. It’s never mentioned. Not once. That strange absence haunted William Gladstone. As a scholar—and Prime Minister—he scoured the ancient world’s most sacred texts: the Bible, the Vedas, the Kora...

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52:20

Mallory and Irvine - Ghosts on Everest

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/04/27

Send us a text High above the clouds, where the air thins and every step is a battle, two men vanished into legend." In June 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set out to conquer the unconquerable — the summit of Mount Everest — armed with little more than grit, woolen coats, and an indomitable spirit." "They were last seen alive, climbing high into the mist, agonizingly close to the top... and then — nothing. For nearly a century, the question has haunted mountaineers...

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55:59

JFK: The Man Who Dared to Dream

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/04/19

Send us a text He had the jawline of a movie star, the charm of a matinee idol, and the pedigree of American royalty. But John Fitzgerald Kennedy was more than just a handsome face — he was a war hero, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and the youngest man ever elected President of the United States. He was the golden boy — but behind the perfect smile and polished speeches, he lived a life built on contradictions. He saved lives in the Pacific, but couldn't rescue the Bay of Pigs. He stared d...

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40:32

The Immortal Alchemist: The Legend of Nicholas Flamel

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/04/16

Send us a text They say he died in the fourteenth century. But his tomb was empty. No body. No bones. Just silence. Nicholas Flamel—a name etched into dusty grimoires and whispered in secret circles. A medieval scribe who, legend claims, unlocked the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone. Gold from lead. Life from death. Immortality. For over six centuries, he’s been spotted across Europe—unchanged. Ageless. Watching. Join Keith as he opens the ancient doors and steps into the shadows, where fac...

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30:01

Rome's Scandalous Emperors

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/04/01

Send us a text How depraved was Caligula? More than Tiberius? How monstrous was Nero? The dark reputations of these emperors owe a great deal to the Roman writer Suetonius, whose 121 AD work, "Lives of the Caesars" offered intimate portraits of 12 rulers of Rome - from Julius Caesar to Domitian. Join Keith as he interviews historian and podcaster Tom Holland who has just produced a new translation of the "Lives", as he speaks about the profound influence of Suetonius' work on today's so...

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35:46

Lord Lucan

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/03/26

Send us a text In the dead of night on November 7, 1974, Lord Lucan vanished without a trace after the brutal murder of his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, in a case that gripped Britain like a thriller novel come to life. Was this aristocratic gambler a cold-blooded killer who took his own life to escape justice—or did he disappear into a world of shadows, aided by a cabal of elite friends, slipping away to live under an assumed identity in far-off lands? In today’s episode, we dive into on...

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47:55

Slave, Slaver, Abolitionist - Three Scots in Africa

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/03/23

Send us a text Today’s journey takes us deep into the heart of Africa – a continent rich in culture, but ravaged by the forces of empire, greed… and the struggle for humanity. Sir John Henderson – the nobleman who was a slave. Richard Oswald – Politician and slaver, and Dr. David Livingstone – the missionary, explorer, and abolitionist, whose footsteps carved both legend and controversy across the continent. These men didn’t just witness history – they shaped it. Some with chains. Some with w...

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62:30

J.R.R Tolkien - Part Two - The Lord of the Rings

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/03/14

Send us a text Welcome back to Rearview Mirror Chronicles! Last time, we explored J.R.R. Tolkien’s early life and the war that shaped him. Now, we turn to The Lord of the Rings—a story born from his experiences of battle, loss, and faith. The trenches of World War I echo in the battlefields of Middle-earth, while his Catholic beliefs infuse the story with themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the corrupting power of the One Ring. Yet, despite its deep roots in tradition, Tolkien’s epic found a...

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54:07

J.R.R Tolkien - Part One

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/03/11

Send us a text In the quiet corners of a small English town, in the flickering glow of candlelight, a boy loses himself in the pages of myth and legend—unaware that one day, his own words will shape the greatest fantasy saga ever written. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien… a name that would one day transport millions to the lands of elves, dwarves, and dragons. But before Middle-earth, before the One Ring, before the sweeping battles and the lore that would captivate generations, there was simply a y...

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47:45

Malta - The Greatest Siege in History

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/03/06

Send us a text Picture this: A sun-scorched island in the heart of the Mediterranean. A desperate band of knights, vastly outnumbered, stands against the might of an empire. It is the year 1565, and the Ottoman war machine—30,000 strong—has arrived on the shores of Malta, determined to wipe the Knights of St. John off the face of the earth. But what follows is not just a battle—it is one of the most ferocious and awe-inspiring sieges in history. For four months, against impossible odds, the d...

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33:50

Nostradamus

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/02/25

Send us a text For centuries, Nostradamus has loomed over history like a spectral prophet, his cryptic quatrains sending shivers down the spines of believers and skeptics alike. Did he truly foresee the rise of Napoleon, the horrors of World War II, or even the attacks of September 11th? Or was he just a clever wordsmith, spinning riddles vague enough to fit any catastrophe? Tonight, we unravel the mystery of Michel de Nostredame—the apothecary, the astrologer, the man whose predictions refus...

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35:32

Banking Collapses - A History. Why they Happen and...

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/02/18

Send us a text Money makes the world go ‘round… until it doesn’t. From the financial districts of ancient Rome to the stock exchanges of London and the skyscrapers of Wall Street, history has been shaped—again and again—by catastrophic banking failures. When credit dries up, confidence crumbles, and fortunes vanish overnight, the same question always follows: How did we let this happen? In today’s episode of Rearview Mirror Chronicles, we’re diving deep into three of history’s most infamous f...

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36:57

Greenland

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/02/17

Send us a text Greenland, the world’s largest island, has a history shaped by its harsh Arctic environment and the strategic interests of powerful nations. First settled by the Inuit over 4,500 years ago, it later became home to Norse settlers led by Erik the Red in the 10th century, though their colonies mysteriously vanished by the 15th century. Claimed by Denmark in the early 18th century, Greenland remained under Danish rule until it was granted home rule in 1979 and later expanded self-g...

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45:10

The Madman’s Library - Macabre Books and Bizarre...

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/02/11

Send us a text The madman’s library is a realm where the bizarre and the forbidden collide, a collection of history’s most unsettling tomes. Dusty shelves groan under the weight of grimoires devoted to demonology, their pages inked with occult symbols and sinister invocations. There are volumes written in blood, their creators driven by obsession or madness, each word an unsettling testament to human extremes. In this grotesque collection, one might find books bound in human skin, their leath...

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34:48

The Panama Canal

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/02/01

Send us a text The Panama Canal is one of the greatest engineering marvels in history—a saga of ambition, failure, and triumph. It all began in the 1880s when the French, fresh from their success with the Suez Canal, attempted to carve a passage through the dense jungles of Panama. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, the effort was doomed by rampant disease, landslides, and financial ruin. Then came the Americans, who—after some geopolitical maneuvering—took over in 1904. Armed with modern engineeri...

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31:28

Greatness

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/01/30

Send us a textGreatness is a concept that has shaped history, yet it feels increasingly rare in modern discourse. From Alexander the Great to Catherine the Great, history has bestowed this title upon figures whose vision, ambition, and impact transcended their time. But what made them "great"? Was it military conquest, statesmanship, cultural influence, or sheer force of personality? And why do we hesitate to use the term today? Have our values shifted, or has the world become too complex for...

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55:56

Alexander The Great - Part 2

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/01/24

Send us a textAs Alexander the Great marched triumphantly into the Indian subcontinent, his ambition burned brighter than ever. He faced the fierce resistance of King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes River, where the Macedonian phalanx clashed with towering war elephants in a battle of unparalleled ferocity. Yet, victory was his, and Porus, impressed by Alexander’s magnanimity, became a loyal ally. But even as he stood on the edge of the known world, gazing at the Ganges with dreams of fur...

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54:02

Alexander The Great - Part 1

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/01/14

Send us a textAlexander the Great’s story begins in 356 BC, born in Pella to King Philip II and the fiercely ambitious Olympias. From his earliest days, Alexander was surrounded by greatness—his mother claimed divine lineage from Achilles, and his father, a master strategist, shaped Macedonia into a military powerhouse. Tutored by Aristotle, young Alexander absorbed the wisdom of philosophy and science while honing his skills as a warrior. His boundless ambition and fearlessness were evident ...

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40:21

The Great Fire of London

Rearview Mirror Chronicles ·

2025/01/04

Send us a textIn September 1666, the heart of London became an inferno, devouring over 13,000 homes, landmarks, and centuries of history in just four days. But the Great Fire was more than just a catastrophe—it was a crucible of chaos, courage, and transformation. What ignited the blaze that reshaped the city? How did a baker's oven spark a firestorm that even the mighty River Thames couldn’t quench? Join us as we step back into the smoke-filled streets of Restoration London to uncover the un...

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152 results

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