Richard Dadd was a chocolate-box style painter destined to be forgotten, until he tragically went insane and murdered his own father in 1843. After he was transferred to Bedlam, Dadd’s paintings became labyrinthine, masterful, and incredibly dark. Over a period between six to nine years, he created his astonishing masterpiece, ‘The Fairy-Feller’s Master-Stroke’. With its strange disruptions of scale and perspective, its intricate detail and its myriad characters, the work is an astonishing display of a haunted imagination. Richard Dadd’s work has had a big impact on writer Neil Gaiman, as well as on many other authors. In this podcast, he discusses its effects on his literary imagination and its lasting influence. He also discusses other moments of inspiration. In this fascinating interview with Janina Ramirez, we delve behind the scenes of Gaiman’s creative process and learn about the work and man that inspires him to this day.
Dallas Campbell talks to Dan about the secret history of the Space Race, reveals the truth about the moon landings and examines mankind's insatiable, eternal drive to reach new worlds.
The F-35 is the latest plane to join the ranks of the RAF. What is so special about it is that it is a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed for many missions with advanced, integrated sensors built into every aircraft. Missions that were traditionally performed by small numbers of...
Most history is hierarchical: it’s about popes, presidents and prime ministers. A very small section of society has wielded very great power. But what if that’s simply because they are responsible for creating the historical archives? What if we are missing out on understanding equally powerful b...
