The first ever Pride Flag was 30 ft high and 60 ft wide. A suitably epic beginning for a flag that has had a massive impact on the world.

Who design that first flag? Why? And is Judy Garland involved in all this?

Dallas is talking to Journalist Jake Hall, author of The Art of Drag.

Produced by...

Is the pencil an example of perfect design? What is the greatest pencil of all time? What does a fallen down tree in the Lake District have to do with its invention?

Dallas talks to Caroline Weaver, pencil expert and author of “Pencils You Should Know: A History of the Ultimate Writing Utensil...

In Victorian England, a prisoner was promised their freedom if only they could pick a lock...

This week on Patented it's the history of locks and the wild stories of the race for perfect security during the Industrial Revolution. Culminating in the Great Lock Controversy of 1851.

Dallas's guest...

Stone Tools are technology 1.0. They’re where it all begins. For millions of years, Stone Tools were our primary piece of technology. At some point we became dependent on them for survival. They became a defining part of what it meant to be human.

Dallas's guest today is John Shea, an anthropolo...

There's a theory that the invention of paint had something to do with the dawn of humanity. We are on a never-ending quest to create brighter, better colours. From grinding rocks, to crushing bugs, concocting chemicals and now manipulating nanotubes - a mind-boggling array of inventions of beauti...

Giant mouse ears at the ready, we're off to Disneyland! Hop on board and travel with us inside Walt Disney's mind (for better or for worse). We discover how he came up with the idea, what it all means, and how his dream of a Utopian city led indirectly to the Magic Kingdom.

Dallas's guest today ...

The 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1974, cost $32 million to create. The largest investment in publishing history. And yet you can now buy the complete set for pennies.

Who invented encyclopedias? Who wrote for them? And why did Samuel Taylor Coleridge get so upset abo...

We live in a world where everything is bugged. We all know we are being monitored. The surprising thing is that this is nothing new.

From tapped telegraph wires to bugged Martini olives, Dallas is finding out about the history of Wiretapping with Brian Hochman, author of The Listeners: A History...

The most famous chicken nugget of them all, the McDonald’s McNugget, turns 40 this year. So we’re asking, who invented the Chicken Nugget? 

Enter food-scientist Robert Baker who came up with them twenty years before the McNugget was even a glimmer in Ronald McDonald's eye. Baker was a poultry al...

It's Cocktail Hour! In honour of James Bond we ask who invented cocktails? Have they always been a cool thing to drink? And where do horses bottoms fit into things?

Dallas' guest today is the pre-eminent historian (and maker) of cocktails David Wondrich, author of 'Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail...

In this story, the cart really does come before the horse. Horse transport doesn't begin with people riding around on horses' backs. It starts with the invention of the Chariot.

Dallas's guest to explain the origins of horse transport and how it changed the world is William T. Taylor, anthropolo...

Who was the first King of England? Who invented a place called 'England' anyway? And what on earth are the 'bracelets of sincerity'?

With coronations in the air Dallas is going back in search of the origins of all things regal with his guest Matt Lewis, host of the History Hit podcast 'Gone Medi...

How’s this for a CV? 1821 - invented the Electric Motor. 1831 - invented the Electric Generator. Oh, and I also created the first Electric Transformer, discovered Benzene and liquidised Chlorine.

Michael Faraday is a giant of invention. Here to help Dallas tell the story of how he laid the foun...

Fast and sleek with a satisfying rumble in the engine. What else could you want from a car?

Well, for James Bond, the answer to this question is usually a couple of hidden weapons and some form of camouflage device.

For this episode of 'Inventing Bond' - our series marking the 70th anniversary ...

The Book. It’s the most powerful object in history (sorry Sword fans). But how did it come to be? And what was wrong with good old scrolls in the first place?

Dallas is joined by Keith Houston, author of The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time to unpack the...

Dagger shoes, Lipstick gas grenade, Razor rimmed hat, Milk bottle Grenade…Prosthetic Nipple.

We’re continuing our exploration of the inventions that have made Bond, James Bond. This time it’s gadgets, gadgets, gadgets.

Dallas talks to Andre Millard, author of Equipping James Bond, about the rol...

Get ready for the story of how the telegraph went from a long line of monks holding hands to a technology that straddled the earth. One which foreshadowed the internet in many strange ways, from online dating to fraud.

Dallas’s guest is Tom Standage, author of The Victorian Internet: The Remarka...

Well before Bond was lasering and limboing himself out of fictional situations, these were the questions faced by the British forces trying to repatriate prisoners of war during the Second World War. In this episode, we explore the solutions that they came up with.

Dallas is joined by Helen Fry,...

Get ready for the coming of our robot overlords by listening to this episode all about the history of AI. Who was Shakey the robot? Why did we spend thousands of hours trying to tell a machine the basic facts of life (like that the hot tap is coloured red)? What was King Charles’ grey goo theory ...

When does spaghetti grow on trees? When can you milk a duck? When does Google read your brainwaves? On April Fool’s Day!

Come with us into the chaotic world of April 1st as we explore where the tradition originated and how many kinds of hilarious pranks there are.

Dallas’s guest today is Mo...

Early aquariums didn't have much more in them than some sorry looking trout. Yet such was the excitement at being able to see this underwater world for the first time people queued for hours to get a peak.

Taking Dallas through the surprising history of fish tanks and aquariums is the world's on...

The Ouija Board was patented in 1890. But in did not appear out of thin air. It was only one in a long, long line of devices attempting to pierce the veil between this world and the next.

Come with us, if you dare, on a journey through the Spiritualism that rocked America in the 19th century and...