HistoryFFS

What do a moth in a Harvard computer, Irish family folklore, and Oscar Wilde’s salon have in common? In this episode of History for F***k's Sake, host Sarah Dowd is joined by Henry O’Keeffe, a retired Doctor of Mathematics, lifelong IT boffin, amateur archaeologist, raconteur, and self-proclaimed debugger of life’s glitches for an inquisitive journey into how we remember, misremember, and ultimately try to correct the “bugs” in our histories.

Kicking off with the tale of the world’s first literal computer bug, Henry and Sarah explore the intersections of rigorous scientific thinking and the wonderfully messy business of family stories, oral traditions, and the changing standards of “evidence”.

History as science, history as art, and history as accidental fiction: this is an episode for the curious, the sceptical, and anyone who suspects their family tree might have a few broken branches.

Here are the highlights:

• The story of the world’s first “computer bug” and its role as metaphor for history’s glitches 
• Henry’s journey from mathematical rigour to the ambiguities of the humanities 
• Why proving things in family history is (almost) impossible and why that’s okay 
• The evolution of Irish oral tradition, the seanchai, and the art of “truth as entertainment” 
• Census chaos, misreported ages, and how economic incentives shaped historical records 
• Navigating Irish name changes, anglicisation, and the identity puzzles hidden in every family line 
• How archaeology and DNA both challenge and enrich our understanding of the past 
• Oscar Wilde as myth and the legacy of Jane Wilde’s feminist genius 
• William Rowan Hamilton, the magic of quaternions, finds their use on Broome Bridge
• How the science and art of history can sometimes create real beauty 
• Rigour and record-keeping in the age of misinformation (and what we can all do about it)

About Henry O’Keeffe: 

Henry O’Keeffe is a retired Doctor of Mathematics and technologist based in Cork, Ireland. After a distinguished academic and professional career working in error correction and IT, he has spent his retirement chasing family legends, investigating archaeological sites, and interrogating the fine line between fact and folklore. An enthusiastic storyteller and investigative family historian, Henry brings the methodical curiosity of a scientist to every story especially his own.

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What links a trumpet in Kenya, a Fringe tent in Edinburgh, and a military parade in New York? In this episode of History for F***’s Sake' host Sarah Dowd is joined by Graham (Gaz) , musician, music director, vocal coach, and one-time army bandsman for a wide-ranging chat about the unexpected path that took him from the outskirts of Glasgow to stages and stadiums around the world.

From his earliest memories of family singalongs to playing his first paid gigs in uniform abroad, Gaz talks through the twists and turns of a life shaped by both discipline and creativity. There’s laughter, big opinions (especially about Queen), and a fair bit of swearing, as they compare notes on the best musicals ever written, the worst biopics ever made, and why music doesn’t just reflect history... it sometimes drives it.

Here are the highlights:

• How a teenage trumpet player from Glasgow found his calling in the army
• Surviving the Gulf War and the night he wore a gas mask for 11 hours
• How Gaz wrote an album called “Time” in a desert church with a borrowed keyboard
• The decision to leave the military and forge a life in music, sales, and self-employment
• Why Bohemian Rhapsody is a masterpiece and how it became the soundtrack to a theatre friendship
• How songs anchor us to history, emotions, and the most human parts of ourselves
• The surreal joy of playing trumpet in the New York Gulf War Victory Parade
• What Gaz would erase from history, the past he’d relive, and why he never confessed his love for ABBA (until now).

About Graham Brown

Graham joined the Army in 1987 as a musician, completing a one-year course at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall and serving as a medic in the first Gulf War. He left the Army in 1993 to pursue a career in sales and spent eight years in media sales working initially for the education specialist, Hobsons Publishing selling on print and electronic graduate and undergraduate titles. From there, he was headhunted to be Sales Manager of The Officer and RAF In-Flight magazines and was responsible for the concept and development of Quest magazine. Following the completion of an MA in Film Composition, he left Quest as Publishing Development Director to set up Forces Recruitment Services, the first commercial consultancy to assist ex-military candidates across all ranks and services in 2001.

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How much can a scent tell us about history, memory, identity and even rebellion? Host Sarah Dowd is joined by Valerie Sadoh, playwright and founder of House of Mahogany, for an evocative deep dive into the scented stories of the last century.

From the roaring 1920s release of Guerlain’s Shalimar (the "flapper’s fragrance" that changed perfume forever) to the creative resurgence after World War II, this episode explores how perfume is more than luxury or self-expression. Scent is a time machine – linking us across generations, cultures, and continents.

Valerie shares her personal journey from playwright to scent curator, weaving storytelling and nostalgia into immersive sensory experiences. Learn how the House of Mahogany came about, and why scent transports us so powerfully to other times and places, and how fragrances can spark dialogue across identity, migration, and history.

Together, Sarah and Valerie dig into the upcoming Windrush 80 immersive experience: marking the anniversary of the Empire Windrush’s arrival and honouring the Afro-Caribbean stories too often left untold. Hear why “to be educated is to be enraged” when confronting the gaps in collective memory  and how immersive, multi-sensory storytelling helps us feel history in three dimensions.

What’s inside this episode:

• The wild history of Shalimar and the rise of the modern woman
• How scent shapes memory, identity, and even social change
• Valerie’s creative process fusing storytelling and fragrance
• The power of immersive and multi-sensory history experiences
• Windrush 80: reckoning with community, migration, and the complexities of British history
• Why museums and heritage spaces need to embrace ALL the senses

About Valerie Isaiah Sadoh:

How did a brewer’s debate at a shooting party become a pop-culture phenomenon? Why is the world so obsessed with the biggest, wildest, and most WTF achievements imaginable? In this episode of History for F***’s Sake, Sarah Dowd sits down with former Guinness World Records publishing exec and cultural strategist Sam Fay for the untold, hilarious, and truly bonkers history of the Guinness Book of World Records.

From bar room brainwaves in 1950s Ireland to the Christmas tree bonanza, schoolyard squabbles, and TikTok challenges of today, Sarah and Sam uncover why the record book became a global obsession and how its tale is really one about hope, healing, joy, and postwar curiosity. Expect stories of weird and wonderful record holders, marketing genius, and the irresistible human urge to measure, compare, and compete all fuelled by the enduring power of shared spectacle.

Highlights:

• The accidental origin: how a question about birds and beer started it all
• The McWhirter twins: relentless fact-finders and the science of record-keeping
• Why the book outgrew the bar—and changed Christmas mornings forever
• Iconic record holders, from the tallest man to the most pierced woman, and the joy of celebrating human oddity
• How TV, then TikTok, made record breaking a global (and instant) spectacle
• Postwar Britain’s search for fun, facts, and a little hope after years of austerity
• The Guinness Book as a “curated snapshot” in time—why we still need it in the digital age
• What it means for museums, history, and the power of archived stories today
• Imagine the future: records in virtual reality, on Mars, or measuring joy and goosebumps

About Sam Fay: 

What does it take to transform a ‘crap town’ (I have never thought that!) into a cultural powerhouse? In this hopeful, hilarious, and sometimes hard-nosed episode of History for F**k’s Sake, host Sarah Dowd is joined by Simon Green, Hull’s longtime culture director, cultural regeneration strategist, and unrepentant champion of local pride to mark the 50th anniversary of the Northern Theatre Company and nearly a decade of the Maritime Hull vision.

Sarah and Simon explore the extraordinary, unexpected story of Hull’s transformation from a post industrial docks town to a beacon for arts-led renewal. Blending tales of trawlermen, council wrangles, and world-famous nude art installations, Simon offers a first-hand account of how working-class pride, maritime heritage, and a “just do it our way” spirit turned civic shame into national celebration. From the Arctic Corsair’s Cold War secrets to the blue-painted bravado of the Sea of Hull, this is an episode for anyone who believes that art, history, and community can remake a city and a future.

Here are the highlights:

• Simon’s journey from working-class roots to Hull’s top cultural job  
• How Hull went from national punchline to City of Culture
• The unbreakable link between maritime history, civic pride, and the Hull identity 
• Moving from “paternalistic” heritage to fearless co-creation with communities  
• The real power of culture
• Gentrification versus grassroots - can renewal lift up everyone?
• The Arctic Corsair’s secret Cold War mission, Icelandic friendships, and shared loss  
• Surprising outcomes like getting Hull on the BBC weather map!
• The good, the bad, and the “for f**k’s sake” moments 
• Relentless storytelling, political reality checks, and why culture is not optional.

About Simon Green:

Simon Green recently retired as Managing Director of Hull City Council’s arms length  Culture Company after a thirty-year career leading culture, heritage,leisure as a driver of regeneration in one of the UK’s most misunderstood cities. An advocate for people-first cultural programming, co-creation, and daringly ambitious events, Simon’s legacy includes transforming Hull’s image locally and nationally, championing the working-class and maritime stories at its heart, and mentoring the next generation of culture leaders.

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