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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 also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone.
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)
www.entrepotpublishing.com
Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Pythagoras - The Hypotenuse Whisperer
When you hear the name Pythagoras, you probably think of triangles, theorems, and long-forgotten maths lessons. But behind the formulas was a far stranger figure—a mystical philosopher, a cult leader, and the founder of a secretive brotherhood that aimed to create nothing less than a Utopia on Earth.
Pythagoreanism wasn’t just about numbers—it was about the cosmos, the soul, and a radical new way of living. Vegetarianism, reincarnation, sacred geometry, even a ban on beans—this was philosophy meets cult, with ambition on a cosmic scale.
In today’s episode, Keith dives into this ancient social experiment and explores history’s other bold, bizarre, and beautiful attempts to build paradise—before offering a few choice words of advice to a certain modern utopian: Mr. Elon Musk.
If you thought math was boring… think again.
Referral Links:
For books written and published by Keith Hocton