No One Saw It Coming
ABC listen
Categories: Education
Listen to the last episode:
It was a colour once reserved for emperors and the elite. But a lab mishap soon changed purple forever. Cultural historian and author of the book The Secret Lives of Colour, Kassia St Clair tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how a London teenager’s failed experiment transformed how fabric dyes were made, how we dressed and how power was perceived. Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch: Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au If you'd like to hear more from Kassia St Clair, listen to her tell the story of The Lingerie Makers who put Neil Armstrong on the Moon.
Previous episodes
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35 - Purple Reign: The Teen Who Bottled Royalty Tue, 18 Nov 2025
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34 - The Secret Photos That Shamed America Tue, 11 Nov 2025
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33 - Hairspray, Cigarettes and the Wild History of the Asthma Puffer Tue, 04 Nov 2025
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32 - Beer vs Cholera: The Map That Changed Medicine Tue, 28 Oct 2025
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31 - POW Turned Pioneer: The Aussie Who Changed Bipolar Treatment Tue, 21 Oct 2025
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30 - The Untold History of Henrietta Lacks and Her Miracle Cells Tue, 14 Oct 2025
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29 - From Showman to Balloon Spy: The Man Who Changed How Wars Were Fought Tue, 07 Oct 2025
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28 - The Butterfly Thief: The Great Museum Heist Still Being Felt Today Tue, 30 Sep 2025
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27 - Norman Ohler: Hitler's Secret Drug Addiction and How It Changed WW2 Tue, 23 Sep 2025
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26 - What Survives the Crash: The Man Who Gave Planes Memory Tue, 16 Sep 2025
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25 - The Mafia Bar Riot That Sparked Gay Pride and the LGBTQ+ Movement Tue, 09 Sep 2025
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24 - Coney Island’s Miracle Babies and the Fake Doctor That Saved Them Tue, 02 Sep 2025
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23 - The Wrong Turn That Started a World War Tue, 26 Aug 2025
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21 - From War to Wardrobe: The Epic Saga of the High Heel Tue, 19 Aug 2025
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20 - Radium Girls: The Glow in the Dark Women Who Changed Everything Tue, 12 Aug 2025
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19 - Workers. Wages. Revolution: The True Story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs Tue, 05 Aug 2025
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18 - Creepy Guy Meets Recording Device: The True Origins of Reality TV Tue, 29 Jul 2025
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17 - Richard Fidler: The Volcano That Toppled Two Empires Tue, 22 Jul 2025
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16 - Treadmills Were Made for Torture Tue, 15 Jul 2025
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15 - The Lingerie Makers who put Neil Armstrong on the Moon Tue, 08 Jul 2025
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14 - A Gossip Writer Invented the Renaissance!? Tue, 01 Jul 2025
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13 - The Nazi siege and the secret seeds Tue, 24 Jun 2025
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12 - Where Freestyle Swimming REALLY Comes From Tue, 17 Jun 2025
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11 - Cecil Rhodes and his Secret Plan for World Domination Tue, 10 Jun 2025
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10 - When X-Rays Were an Amusement Park Attraction Tue, 03 Jun 2025
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9 - Absinthe isn’t Dangerous. It was Framed for Murder Tue, 27 May 2025
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8 - The Hidden Origins of Chemotherapy Tue, 20 May 2025
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7 - America’s Secret Pact with the Mafia Tue, 13 May 2025
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6 - The Blunder that Broke the Berlin Wall Tue, 06 May 2025
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5 - This Tragic Accident Changed How We Think About the Brain Tue, 29 Apr 2025
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4 - Marie Antoinette, mother of French fries? Tue, 22 Apr 2025
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3 - The Secret Weapon that Changed War Tue, 15 Apr 2025
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2 - Stealing the Mona Lisa: The Crime that Created a Legend Tue, 08 Apr 2025
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1 - INTRODUCING — No One Saw It Coming Fri, 28 Mar 2025