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Striking Gold and Surviving a Nuclear War

Devin Grier of Edinburgh University introduces Susan Morrison to the hazards of the 1849 Gold Rush. Plus preparing for nuclear war.

Nuclear journalist, Julie McDowall introduces Susan to living on the eve of destruction with the local government plans made for World War 3 - where to put the bodies? How to evacuate the cities? Collapsible coffins complete with tassels... It would all have done us no good whatsoever if The Bomb had actually dropped but people felt they ought to at least try. On a less doom-laden note, trying to get to California was all the rage in 1849 when Scotland went mad for the Gold Rush. Devin Grier of Edinburgh University introduces Susan to the hazards of the journey and the many ways to lose your fortune, even if you did strike gold. Finally, was there a cow’s eye view of witchcraft? Dr Lizanne Henderson of Glasgow University has been researching why cows come into so many witchcraft accusations, and whether they might actually have been affected by some of the 17th century magical practices people tried on them.

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Tue 25 Jun 2019 13:30
  • Sun 30 Jun 2019 07:00
  • Thu 2 Jan 2020 06:00

Podcast