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Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all. Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: a pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021)
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
Episodes
80 episodes
Nostradamus
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 t...
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Season 1
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Episode 80
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33:50
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Banking Collapses - A History. Why they Happen and How to Avoid them in the Future
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....
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Season 1
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Episode 79
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35:32
Greenland
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 78
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36:57
The Madman’s Library - Macabre Books and Bizarre Manuscripts
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 sin...
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Season 1
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Episode 77
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45:10
The Panama Canal
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 d...
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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34:48
Greatness
Greatness 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 the...
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Season 1
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Episode 75
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31:28
Alexander The Great - Part 2
As 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 toweri...
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Season 1
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Episode 74
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55:56
Alexander The Great - Part 1
Alexander 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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 73
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54:02
The Great Fire of London
In 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 transform...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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40:21
Christmas
This week on Rearview Mirror Chronicles, we unwrap the rich tapestry of Christmas history! From the sacred nativity stories in the Gospels to the Reformers’ bold attempts to redefine the holiday, we trace the evolution of this beloved ...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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34:52
The Colosseum - Rome's Arena of Death
Step back in time to the heart of ancient Rome, where the roar of the crowd rivaled the clash of swords, and the sands of the arena were stained with the stories of bravery, betrayal, sheer spectacle and blood. The Colosseum wasn’t just a stadi...
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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53:01
Persia
Persia, the land of kings and legends, was a marvel of human achievement, blending unparalleled innovation, cultural sophistication, and vast empire-building. Stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indus Valley, the Persian Empire was a beaco...
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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44:45
Kipling's "IF" and "The Two Sided Man" - Your Questions Answered
Rudyard Kipling’s "If—" and "The Two-Sided Man" are masterclasses in poetic craftsmanship, distilling the essence of human resilience and complexity into words that resonate across generations. Join Keith as he ex...
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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8:44
What Ifs - Counterfactuals
What Ifs, Counterfactuals, are a gateway to the infinite possibilities of history, where imagination collides with reality to unravel the fragile threads of what might have been. They remind us that history is not a predetermined march but a ch...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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55:00
Admiral - Thomas Cochrane - Part 3
In the twilight of his turbulent life, Lord Thomas Cochrane stood as a testament to unyielding defiance and unrelenting ambition. Once jailed and cast out of the Royal Navy under a cloud of scandal, his indomitable spirit found new purpose acro...
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Season 1
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Episode 66
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53:22
Post Captain - Thomas Cochrane - Part 2
Thomas Lord Cochrane's daring assault at the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809 was nothing short of audacious. Leading a fleet of fire and bomb ships, Cochrane, a brilliant but rebellious Royal Navy officer, spearheaded a bold night attack against...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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59:08
Master and Commander - Thomas Cochrane - Part 1
Thomas Cochrane's meteoric rise to Post Captain was a whirlwind of audacity, brilliance, and defiance. In 1801, after just a few years of service, Cochrane's relentless daring at sea earned him the rank, Master and Commander, of the tiny HMS
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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45:16
Pompeii
The ancient city of Pompeii, frozen in time by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, offers one of the most extraordinary glimpses into Roman life. Imagine walking through streets where vibrant murals still adorn walls, bread si...
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Season 1
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Episode 63
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48:04
The Rosetta Stone
In the summer of 1799, a simple black slab unearthed by a group of French soldiers in Egypt would forever change our understanding of ancient history. This stone—now known as the Rosetta Stone—bore a decree written in three scripts: Greek, Demo...
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Season 1
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Episode 62
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34:13
Aphra Behn - English 17th Century Writer, Author, Playwight and Spy
Welcome to today's episode, where we dive into the daring and double life of Aphra Behn, the first Englishwoman to support herself through her writing — and perhaps the most intriguing spy of the 17th century. Imagine being a playwright whose b...
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Season 1
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Episode 61
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35:45
Crossing The Rubicon - Path of No Return
After crossing the Rubicon, Caesar plunged Rome into chaos, setting the stage for one of history's most dramatic power struggles. With his legions at his back, he marched swiftly towards Rome, sending shock waves through the Senate and striking...
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Season 1
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Episode 60
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37:41
Crossing of the Rubicon - The Die is Cast
The year is 49 BC, and Rome teeters on the edge of chaos. Julius Caesar, a brilliant general with legions of fiercely loyal soldiers, stands on the banks of the Rubicon River—a shallow stream marking the point of no return. Behind him lies the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 59
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34:33
Verses of Resilience - 8 Inspirational Masterpieces
Keith has a cold this week (cue the sad violins) and couldn’t finish the research for the podcast he really wanted to do. So instead, he's decided to take us on a thrilling poetic ride—because why not, right?Join us as he dives ...
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Season 1
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Episode 58
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31:39
The Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group was an eclectic circle of intellectuals, artists, and writers who defied convention and redefined the cultural landscape of early 20th-century Britain. Imagine a salon where Virginia Woolf's groundbreaking narratives, John ...
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Season 1
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Episode 57
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43:02
The Freemasons - Their Secrets Revealed
The Freemasons have long been a subject of fascination and intrigue, shrouded in secrecy, mystique, and conspiracy theories. Originating as a stonemason guild in the late medieval period, the organization evolved into a global fraternity with a...
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Season 1
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Episode 56
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1:02:10