History Lab

After Jimmy's trial, what happened to his brother Joe? Joe has mostly been forgotten by history, and his presence in the archives is little more than a whisper. From coronial records, family tales and a visit to a country pub, it becomes clear that Joe fell foul of the frontier, in life and death. And yet, more questions remain: Was Joe Governor, an outlaw, killed lawfully? How do his ancestral remains become another transactional asset in the murky world of race science? And why is western knowledge still entangled in its colonial past?

How does the law deal with an outlaw? Jimmy Governor is captured and his legal case becomes a lightning rod for justice in the new federation. But how did Australia's most-wanted murderer get one of the best lawyers in the colony? A prison experiment begins with a diary and we find out how the present mimics the past.

This is the tale of a prison colony trying to become a country and the murder case that stood in its way, but this is not a true crime podcast. Jimmy and Joe Governor, two brothers from Wiradjuri and Wonnarua country, were the last proclaimed outlaws in Australia - wanted dead or alive. 120 years later we examine what has survived and what we can still learn from the Governor brothers' story. To find out more visit: https://thelastoutlaws.com.au

The Last Outlaws is the latest audio series to be released by Impact Studios, an audio production house embedded in the University of Technology Sydney. The trilogy podcast is based on UTS Law Professor Katherine Biber's tenacious and careful research of Jimmy and Joe Governor, Australia's last proclaimed outlaws. The Governor brothers' story has been told in books and film before, but never like this. For the Governor family descendants this is a difficult story to tell, but one that demands to be heard. Coming September 22nd.

How will Australian universities fare in a post-pandemic world? It depends on an influential but rarely talked about relationship between the state, its institutions, and the public. Discover more in the first podcast episode of The New Social Contract. Brought to you by the makers of History Lab.

Three days before Spain's general elections in 2004 a series of bombs exploded on crowded Madrid commuter trains, killing almost 200 people. The Spanish authorities found a plastic bag a few blocks away from one of the bomb sites with a single, incomplete fingerprint. This was the trace linked to a man living 9000 kms away, a US Attorney in Oregon by the name of Brandon Mayfield. We've been told that every fingerprint is unique to every finger, but what if this is the wrong question to ask? Forensic Science was founded on the principle that 'every contact leaves a trace' but history shows we can't always rely on one trace alone.

When was the last time you were asked to sign something and did you stop to think how the strange squiggly mark you make on a page could be used? The signature is a performative act, crucial to the law's way of knowing, but it's also been used as an instrument of power and control. In this episode of History Lab we hear from a boy who was stolen, the man who took him away and the Judge who was asked to decide if a mother's thumbprint was a sign of consent. The presence or absence of a signature on a legal document can speak volumes and throughout history Aboriginal people have been reclaiming this marker of individual identity to represent the many and speak back to an empire. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this episode contains the voices and names of deceased persons.

'Making a Fortune' looks at the popularity and persecution of two of the most formidable fortune tellers of Federation Australia. In the first decade of the 20th century, Australians were focused on the future. It was the dawn of a new century, and a newly-formed nation. But during this time, police were cracking down on a booming industry dominated by women-it was a service that society deemed superstitious, archaic and fraudulent and one that is unlawful to this day in some parts of Australia. This is a story of entrepreneurship, independence and the force of the law. Why were these female fortune tellers so aggressively pursued by the police and how did they use the law to fight back?

History Lab host Dr Tamson Pietsch hands over the mic to Dr Alecia Simmonds, an interdisciplinary scholar of law and history at the University of Technology Sydney. In this bonus episode they dissect how it is the law 'knows' and discuss how both history and the law rely on traces from the past to draw conclusions in the present. If truth is uncertain in historical archives - is it even harder to find in the courtroom? Season 3 of History Lab will be taking a short break returning February 4 2020. Episode two 'Making a fortune' is dropping in the new year with Dr Alana Piper from the Australian Centre for Public History.

Death, money and family are the key ingredients in any last will and testament. They also make a killer cocktail that unleashes a special force not present in any other part of the law. In this episode of History Lab, we're looking at how the law determines your last wishes through some truly unusual cases. Whether it's for reasons of urgency, eccentricity or expediency, courts around the world regularly have to make calls on the wishes of the dead. But how does the law know it's getting it right and what does it mean for those left behind.

History Lab is back for a third season, fresh from wins at the New York Radio Festival Awards and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. In this special four-part series we'll be exploring the 'law's way of knowing', looking at histories that intersect with the law. From fortune telling to fingerprints, unusual wills and the forensic theory that something is always left behind, join us as we delve into the traces left by the law. Episode One drops December 12.

Missing your History Lab fix? We've got something else for you in the meantime. Introducing a new season of All Things Equal. This series will take you into the school yard and beyond, where kids learn that things aren't always fair. Through the stories of real students and staff, Uniform will change the way you think about education; because when it comes to learning, one size does not fit all. Subscribe to All Things Equal in your favourite podcast app, or listen to the show here: https://www.whooshkaa.com/shows/after-metoo-stories-of-social-change

History Lab audio makers explore how we've tried to understand the past through sound in season two

In the aftermath of World War One, nations came together in an attempt to ensure war on the same devastating scale could never occur again. The result? The League of Nations: a revolutionary idea to form the world's first international organisation. But clearly it did not stop the world from going to war. A century later we are still questioning our ability to come together. In this episode, Glenda Sluga and Ninah Kopel search for the ephemeral traces of a unified past. They find stories of hope, ambition but also skeletons lurking in the closet. Many say the League failed. But did the spirit live on?

Where do jelly babies come from? Mass-produced things are all around us. But they all start with a single object. In this episode, Olivia goes looking for the patternmakers, whose invisible hands are the original creators of much of the stuff we use every day. They see a world no-one else can see. So why are they disappearing? And what will we lose when they are gone? Producer: Olivia Rosenman Collaborating historian: Jesse Adams Stein Host: Tamson Pietsch Executive Producer: Tom Allinson