What We Did Before | A History of Everyday Life
OG Podcasts - Exploring Human History 46 episodes Nov 9, 2026
The podcast explores how humans solved everyday problems before modern inventions and conveniences. Each episode answers questions such as how people survived without refrigerators, clothing, or surnames. Hosted by Ollie Guillou, it looks at the ingenuity and history behind ordinary aspects of life.
Episodes
What Was It Really Like to Be a Medieval Executioner?
Send us Fan Mail💬 What was it really like to be a medieval executioner? We often imagine mysterious hooded figures wielding axes and swords, but the reality was far more surprising. Some even worked as physicians.⚡ In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Larissa Tracy, medieval literature expert and author of Exile and Execution in Medieval and Early Modern Society. We discover why executioners were som
Was Medieval Torture Actually As Common As We Think?
Send us Fan Mail💬 Was medieval torture really as brutal and widespread as we've been led to believe? From the rack to the Iron Maiden, the Middle Ages have a reputation for unimaginable cruelty. But how much of what we think we know is actually true?⚡ In this episode we hear from Dr Larissa Tracy, medieval literature expert and author of Torture and Brutality in Medieval Literature. We discov
What If Humans Weren't Always Conscious?
Send us Fan Mail💬 Were humans always conscious? And why did ancient people seem to constantly report encounters with the gods? One theory by Julian Jaynes - the Bicameral Mind hypothesis - suggests that, as recently as 3,000 years ago, the normal state for the human mind was very different to today - that for most of human history, consciousness as we know it today did not exist at all.⚡ In this
White Lead Workers: The Victorian Job That Slowly Poisoned You
Send us Fan Mail💬 White paint was used everywhere in Victorian Britain. The trouble was, the pigment that made this paint so useful was deadly. For the people working in the white lead factories, this job was said to be deadlier than being a soldier.Early chemical jobs were notoriously hazardous, but white lead workers are said to have had it worst of all. We’ve known about white lead’s toxic and
The "Wizard" Who Brought Gas Lighting to Britain – And Its Dark Side
Send us Fan Mail💬 What was life like before gas lighting? Just over 230 years ago, even the wealthiest homes were poorly lit by modern standards. But when a Scottish engineer began experimenting with gas, he sparked a revolution that would transform everyday life.⚡ In this episode we hear from Russell Thomas, Technical Director at WSP and gas historian. We discover how William Murdoch earned a rep
Why Victorian Matchgirls Had To Fight For Their Lives
Send us Fan Mail💬 The East End Matchwomen produced one of Victorian Britain’s most important everyday products - but the job could be deadly.In Victorian London, the East End was seen as the slums. High society looked down on the people who inhabited this part of the city - so the horrors that faced East End workers comes as no surprise.⚡ In this episode we hear from Labour historian Dr Louise Raw
The Radium Girls: The Deadly Job That Sparked a Fight for Justice
Send us Fan Mail💬 In the early 20th century, radium was hailed as a wonder substance. Young women landed well-paid jobs painting glow-in-the-dark watch dials with it, even putting their brushes between their lips to keep a fine point. Years later, their teeth began falling out, their bones started disintegrating and the horrifying truth about radium emerged.⚡ In this episode we hear from Kate Moor
Why Jesters Appear EVERYWHERE Throughout History
Send us Fan Mail💬 When we think of fools or jesters, we often imagine a peculiar Medieval entertainer in a funny hat. But court jesters aren’t confined to one timeline - they appear around the world, throughout history.Far from being silly entertainers, they were often highly intelligent figures who could mock kings, challenge their decisions and wield surprising political power.⚡ In this episode
An Early Steam Vehicle, The Pope Mobile & The Mystery of the Leyland Ladies
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before petrol and electric cars took over our roads, inventors were experimenting with a very different kind of transport - steam-powered vehicles.In 1803, pioneering engineer Richard Trevithick built an extraordinary steam carriage capable of carrying passengers through London. But early road travel wasn't exactly comfortable - and Trevithick's revolutionary ideas didn
Trailer: What We Did Before
Send us Fan MailAbout the podcast:What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.About your host:Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our M
Before Stand Up Comedians: What Did Medieval People Find Funny?
Send us Fan Mail💬 What did Medieval people actually find funny? Very little record of Medieval comedy remains, but thanks to one 15th century priest we now have a rare glimpse into the life of a Minstrel and the types of jokes they would’ve told.⚡ In this episode we hear from Dr James Wade, professor in English at Girton College at Cambridge and expert on the Middle Ages. His work has involved dec
Before Fire Brigades: The Strange History of Fighting Fires
Send us Fan Mail💬 Firefighting hasn’t always meant red engines and professional crews. For centuries, fighting fires was much more chaotic. Even by the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain still had more than a thousand separate local authority fire brigades.⚡In this episode, curator of Fireground Museum in Rochdale, Bob Bonner, takes us on a tour through the history of firefighting, explaini
Before Online Games: How “MUD” Gave Birth to a Whole New Generation of Gaming
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before World of Warcraft, RuneScape or even the internet as we know it, there was MUD - the world’s first multiplayer virtual world. Created in 1978 by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw, it would help lay the foundations for an entirely new generation of gaming.Early online games were very different from the enormous commercial worlds we know today. There were no battle passes, cas
Before Religious Freedom: The Tragedy of the Guernsey Martyrs
Send us Fan Mail💬 Visit the site of a brutal moment in Guernsey history. At Tower Hill Steps three women faced religious persecution - and were burned alive at the stake.One of the women, Perotine Massey, was pregnant and gave birth in the flames. What happened next was horrific. This dark chapter of Guernsey’s history shows the grim realities of past religious conflicts.⚡With Guernsey tour guide
Before We Had Answers: When Witches Met At This Ancient Grave
Send us Fan Mail💬 At this ancient monolithic burial chamber, witches were said to convene with the devil to conduct The Black Mass. This imposing Dolmen came up time and time again in the brutal witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries.⚡ This was a time when witchcraft was truely a force to be feared. But why did we believe so strongly that our neighbours were placing curses on us? And why were
Before Radar: How The Hearing of "Aircraft Listeners" Saved Lives
Send us Fan Mail💬 Long before radar, armies relied on people with enormous metal trumpets strapped to their heads to listen for approaching aircraft. Aircraft listeners had the bizarre but vital job of detecting the sound of enemy planes, working in exposed positions and often in difficult conditions to give early warning of an incoming attack.⚡Before radar transformed air defence, these acoustic
Before Prisons: Local Justice & the World's Smallest Prison
Send us Fan Mail💬 Herm island might just be home to the world’s smallest prison. And yet it’s not the world record holder - that title belongs to a very close neighbour. So why doesn’t Herm prison hold the record - and what was such a tiny jail used for? ⚡Herm is an island in the English Channel with a population of just 65, but it has lived many different lives over the years. Take a trip to the
Before Sewers: How Toshers Had One of Victorian Britain's Most Disgusting Jobs
Send us Fan Mail💬 Toshers had one of the most disgusting jobs of Victorian Britain. Searching the sewers of 19th century London, people would sieve through human sewage looking for discarded treasures. It’s a job that made them a lot of money - but came with many hazards.⚡Before the sewage system we know today, Victorian London was a very smelly city. With the population expanding fast thanks to t
Before Cotton Left Britain: Inside Bancroft Mill Where The Weaving Looms Still Run
Send us Fan Mail💬 This is the deafening noise that powered Britain's Industrial Revolution. At its peak, thousands of men and women spent their days surrounded by the relentless clatter of weaving looms - a workplace so loud that many workers gradually lost their hearing.⚡ Yet despite the dangers, becoming a weaver was a skilled and sought-after job. Britain's cotton industry transformed
Before Cushioned Shoes: The 1970s Style That Changed Footwear Forever
Send us Fan Mail💬 Shoes got a massive makeover 50 years ago, thanks to a boom in interest for running. A style that first emerged in the 1970s quickly became the dominant one - cushioned soles, elevated heels, narrow toes. And it’s the style we still see today. But why? ⚡ Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years barefoot - and when we did make shoes, they were made of plant fibres or thin anima
Before Weapons: Unearthing Ancient Wooden Tools and Spears | Dr Annemieke Milks
Send us Fan Mail💬 Archaeologists have found evidence of the oldest wooden handheld tools used by humans. Discovered in Greece, these ancient tools are around 430,000 years old.⚡Dr Annemieke Milks is a palaeolithic archaeologist and part of the team which identified the objects. They were recovered from Marathousa, a Middle Pleistocene site which may have been inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis - on
Before Instagram: Why Rich People Built Fake Ruins
Send us Fan Mail💬 There’s a ruined archway sitting among the trees of my local park - but what grand building did it once belong to? A castle? A church? A grand manor house?In this episode I take a trip to Worden Park in Leyland. Rich in history, this park was once the estate of James Nowell Farington, who set about a major programme of improvements when he inherited it in 1837.⚡ Join me on a trip
The Bleach Packer: Your Questions Answered
Send us Fan MailYou had lots of questions about the Victorian job of the "Bleach Packer". So I invited Judith Wilde from Catalyst museum back for a Q&A.Together we dig deeper into the fascinating history of this gruelling job, that helped build the chemical industry.🎧 Judith answers questions like:➡ Why didn't their eyes burn?➡ Did the muzzle actually work?➡ Why were some of the
Before Tax Havens: How Islands Have Reinvented Themselves For Millenia | Jason Monaghan
Send us Fan Mail💬 Many islands all over the world are known for their finance industries - and especially for being “tax havens”. But this is just the latest ways islands have reinvented themselves over thousands of years. As far back as the Stone Age, islands have served as stepping stones, trading hubs, military outposts and gateways between nations. ⚡ In this episode we use the island of Guerns
The Bleach Packer: One of the Worst Jobs of Victorian Britain | WWDB Highlights
Send us Fan MailBleach packers had one of the worst jobs of the 19th century.At Catalyst Museum in Widnes, discover the history of these workers, why they wore muzzles, and how they helped build the chemical industry.This is a highlight from a longer episode filmed at Catalyst. Scroll down in your feed if you'd like to learn more.About the podcast:What We Did Before is a podcast where we char
The Terracotta Army & The Loch Ness Monster | A History Daily Special
Send us Fan Mail💬 One March 29th 1974, a Chinese farmer was working the field as he always did - when suddenly his shovel struck something hard. Little did he know he had just stumbled upon one of the most important archaeological finds in history.⚡In this special episode we share two fantastic episodes from our friends over at History Daily. If you love them - subscribe to History Daily here: ht
Before Tools: How Neanderthals Used Rhino Teeth, Vulture Bones and Deer Antlers
Send us Fan Mail💬 Neanderthals have been shown to use many incredible tools - but none quite as surprising as this. After studying rhinoceros teeth from a cave chock full of them - researchers managed to figure out why they were covered in strange markings.⚡Alicia Sanz-Royo and her team of archaeologists examined the teeth that had remained a mystery for many years. By recreating ancient Neanderth
Before Social Media: How Cleopatra Turned Herself Into a Living God | Natasha Solomons
Send us Fan Mail💬 Much of the myth of Cleopatra was crafted by her during her lifetime. An intentional process to shape how the citizens of Egypt - and the world - saw her. But without social media, how did great rulers of the ancient world fashion their own brand?Cleopatra was unusually good at shaping her own image - and the brand she built has endured for over 2,000 years. But who was the woman
Before We Were The Last Human Species: When We Lived With Neanderthals
Send us Fan Mail💬 For a big portion of human history, we shared the planet with other human species. What was that world like to be part of? How often did we interact with prehistoric humans - and would we have recognised the differences between them and us?⚡ Michael Marshall is a science writer and expert voice on ancient human species. In this episode he paints a picture of this ancient world, w
Before Chemicals: 'Bleach Packers' and the Birth of the Chemical Industry
Send us Fan Mail💬 The birth of the chemical industry - one which has reshaped the course of human history - happened in a small town in England. In the 19th century, Widnes was transformed into a major centre of the chemical industry. This era saw the rise of the bleach packers - workers who shovelled toxic chemicals to earn a living, wearing bandages to protect themselves from burns and muzzles t
Before Brain Science: When We Thought With Our Hearts | Matthew Cobb
Send us Fan Mail💬 For thousands of years, humans believed the heart controlled the body - your thoughts, your emotions…everything. The brain was just a radiator - something to discard when preparing the dead. But why did our ancestors think this for so long? Were there no tell-tale signs? It’s only in the last few hundred years that the brain has received the attention it deserves. And even once i
Before Burial: When Bronze Age Homes Were FULL of Human Bones
Send us Fan Mail💬 When Barry Molloy’s team started digging up an ancient Bronze Age settlement - they never expected to uncover quite so many human bones. And they weren’t found in one place - they were everywhere.Archaeologists uncovered over 100 fortified Late Bronze Age sites, and their findings tell us something unusual about the way we dealt with the dead throughout history. At this time in h
Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps
Send us Fan Mail⚡ In 1942, during the height of World War 2, Hitler ordered the deportation of more than a thousand islanders from Guernsey. In retaliation against the Allied Forces, innocent men, women and children were forced to leave their island homes - set on a path to Biberach internment camp.💡 Jill Chubb was just 3 years old when she set sail, but her memories are vivid and clear. And in th
Before Neanderthals Went Extinct: We Shaped Our Culture Together
Send us Fan Mail💬 A new study is rewriting our understanding of Neanderthals and human evolution. It seems ancient Homo sapiens didn't just coexist with them - but they shared ideas, cultures and inventions.⚡ In this episode we challenge long held beliefs about human origins - exploring what the world was like before we were the last species of human left. A time when Neanderthals and Denisov
Before Agriculture: Was It Humanity’s Biggest Mistake?
Send us Fan Mail💬 Did agriculture make life as a human worse? Many historians widely agree the answer is yes! Despite giving us an abundance of food and an ability to spread globally, there are many reasons it may have been a catastrophe for our species.⚡ In this episode we explore 6 key arguements that outline exactly why agriculture may have created a world that has made inidividual lives more d
Before Borders: How Migration Made Us Human
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before borders, passports and immigration systems - early humans moved freely around the world. Throughout history our yearning to migrate and explore the planet shaped our very evolution as a species and built civilisation as we know it.⚡So what was it really like for our early ancestors, first crossing continents into unknown landscapes? What made them take the risk of venturin
Before Money: When Humans Paid With Knives and Giant Stones
Send us Fan Mail💰 Money is one of those things that feels like it's always existed - like gravity, or disappointing weather on a bank holiday. But for most of human history, there were no coins, no notes, and no bank accounts. So how did people actually buy things? Or did they even buy things at all?⚡ From giant stone discs that nobody moved, to cocoa beans you could eat (or counterfeit with
Before Modern Board Games: What Did Humans Play 6,000 Years Ago? | Walter Crist
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before the likes of Monopoly and Chess, our ancient ancestors played many, unique board games. It’s a pastime that has endured for 9,000 years - maybe longer!⚡ And the rules to one mysterious ancient game have just been cracked - using artificial intelligence. Walter Crist is an expert in the archaeology and history of board games, and recently used AI to uncover the rules of a 2
Before Organisations: From Stone Age Tribes to a Fragmented World | Peter Garrett
Send us Fan Mail💬 Our Stone Age ancestors lived for hundreds of thousands of years without organisations. Just small tribes of 20-40 people. But now organisations run every part of our world, from the clothes we wear to the water we drink. ⚡ So have we lost something by allowing faceless organisations to take over? Peter Garrett, author of A New Kind of Dialogue, argues organisations have created
Before Phones Pt 2: The Surprising Ways Humans Sent Messages
Send us Fan Mail💬 The humble landline telephone might seem obsolete in a post-smartphone world, but if we think smartphones reshaped the world - imagine a time without any instant communication with the world around you.This was the reality for most of human history - telephones were only invented in 1876, after all - so how did the world become so reliant on this ability in just a few generations
Before Phones: The Last Generation Before Smartphones
Send us Fan Mail💬 The first mobile phone went on sale in 1983, weighing nearly a kilo and costing the equivalent of $12,000 today. Just four decades later, smartphones have reshaped the world - and many of us can’t imagine life without them.⚡ Yet in 2026 something strange is happening. People are buying landline phones again, switching to dumb phones, deleting apps like WhatsApp and TikTok, and tr
Before Showers: The History of Getting Clean
Send us Fan Mail💬 How clean were humans before showers existed? Were our ancestors just as obsessed as we are about daily cleaning rituals?⚡ While our modern take on hygiene is pretty new - showers have only been widespread for about 60 years - our ancestors were not as dirty as you might think. In this episode we find out what we did before showers, and how our ancestors chose to keep themselves
Before Music: Cave Rituals and Ancient Instruments | Steve Pretty
Send us Fan Mail💬 What did we do before music? And what about before we could listen to music as entertainment whenever and wherever we wanted? It sounds impossible - rhythm and melody feel so fundamental to being human - but music hasn’t always sounded like symphonies, pop songs or even folk tunes. And the recorded music era we're in now has been incredibly short - in the grand scheme of hum
Before the Obesity Epidemic: How Fat Has Been Viewed Through History
Send us Fan Mail💬 A historian’s look at how fat, body size, and health have been understood across different periods of history.We’ve long thought overweight bodies were seen, historically, as a sign of power, authority and wealth. And that’s true - to an extent. But the reality is much more complex. It turns out our modern way of understanding body size started being shaped thousands of years ago
Before Valentine’s Day: The Festival of Lupercalia
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before we had Valentine’s Day, we had a much stranger way of showing love for one another in February. The ancient festival of Lupercalia involved fertility rites, goat sacrifices, public nudity and priests whipping women…⚡In this episode we explore why the ancient Romans chose to mark the 15th February this way each year - and how Valentine’s Day eventually took over. We also di
Before Chocolate: From Ritual Drink to Global Obsession | Spencer Hyman
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before chocolate was turned into a sugary snack, it was a drink of great renown - used in ceremonies and rituals. This frothy elixir was favoured for its power to grant strength and sexual stamina. The cocoa bean itself was even used as an ancient form of currency. So how did modern people end up changing it so dramatically?From its use by Aztec Emperor Montezuma, to the truth be
Before Fridges: How Humans Learned to Control the Cold | Nicola Twilley
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before we all had fridges in our home, cold was a luxury. Just 100 years ago, food spoilage was a constant threat - animals were walked alive to slaughter, and the ice-trade was a booming global industry. But once humans learned how to control the cold, we reshaped the world.For thousands of years our ancient ancestors relied on nature to preserve food. Today, seasonal eating is
Before Bigfoot and Nessie: Earth's Forgotten Monsters
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before we had myths like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, our ancestors believed all sorts of strange creatures roamed the Earth. The difference is, they believed these strange species of half-humans and monsters were real.⚡In this episode we explore the ancient legends of four different cryptids that were once said to roam the distant corners of the unmapped world. Including t
Before Inner Thought: Has Consciousness Changed Through History? | Brian McVeigh
Send us Fan Mail💬 Would you believe there was a time before humans had consciousness? It’s almost impossible to imagine, but there is one theory that proposes this very thing. Brian McVeigh explores the theory of the 'bicameral mind', an incredibly provocative idea about the evolution of modern human consciousness.Today we speak to ourselves inside our own heads - and we understand that
Before Cars: The Dangers of Travel Told in Three Stories
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before we had cars, travel was unforgiving, exhausting and dangerous. Journeys we tune out now were once hard graft, plagued with setbacks, illness, robberies - and sometimes death. So what was travel really like for the people who came before us?⚡ In this episode we follow three journeys of those who travelled pre-car. Firstly Ibn Battuta, one of the most extensive travelers of
Before Surnames: When Names Were Brutally Honest
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before surnames existed, people survived with just one name. Surprisingly, some places in the world still haven’t adopted formal surnames at all. So what led to the spread of the last name? And why were the predecessors of surnames so often insulting?⚡ In this episode we explore what we did before surnames, how they started out simply as descriptions of a person - and why the mod
Before Christmas: The Figures That Ruled the Dark Winter
Send us Fan Mail💬 Before we had Christmas, how did we mark this time of year? Ancient humans were celebrating the winter solstice thousands of years ago. But for them it was about surviving the harsh conditions of an unforgiving season. So how did we get from then to now?⚡ In this episode we explore the many iterations of Christmas that came before it, from Saturnalia to Yule - and the ancient cer
Before AI: Humans Were Building Robots Thousands of Years Ago
Send us Fan MailAI has been a part of our life for a lot longer than we realise - even if it does feel suffocating right now. And humanity’s obsession with self-operating machines actually extends right back into our ancient past.So what was life like before AI became such a powerful force in our world? In this episode we tackle the surprisingly early history of humanity’s foray into autonomous ma
Before Capitalism: How This System Took Over the World
Send us Fan MailIs capitalism dying? If so, what comes next? To answer that question, we first need to look at what we did before capitalism, and how this economic system came to dominate the globe.We journey through time, when our ancient ancestors lived in small communities and shared what they had, up to the beginnings of the early trade systems of ancient Mesopotamia. Discover the alternative
Before Shoes: How Humans Were Built to Walk Barefoot
Send us Fan MailWhat did we do before shoes? For most of human history, we were barefoot - roaming around without anything to protect our feet. Was it painful for our early ancestors? And when did the idea of shoes first begin?Taking you back in time to 300,000 years ago, I explore how early humans would’ve got by without shoes, developing thick calluses on their feet and strong muscles and tendon
Before Beds: How Humans Slept Without Mattresses
Send us Fan MailFossilized grass beds clue us into the ancient sleeping habits of our ancestors. But how advanced were their beds and mattresses - and were they comfortable? In this episode I delve into what humans did before beds and what came before the soft, plush mattresses we know today.I also explore some unusual sleeping habits of our ancestors - who used to love sharing beds with each othe
Before Clothes: When Humans Lived Naked
Send us Fan MailHow did early humans survive before we invented clothing? And exactly how long were we naked for in our evolutionary history? I explore the weird history of clothes, the resourcefulness of our ancient ancestors, the changing view of nudity throughout the years, and the emergence of modesty.Chapters:(00:00) Intro(01:19) When did clothes become a thing?(02:35) Human migration and the
