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What We Did Before | Human Survival and Ancient Inventions

OG Podcasts - Pre Modern Life and Human History
Migration
Neanderthals
Showers
Smartphones
Agriculture
Guernsey Deportees
Bronze Age Mortuary Practices
Cleopatra
Homo Sapiens
World War II
Telegraph
Borders
Hunter-Gatherers
Biberach
Brain
Pigeons
Letters
Central Europe
Dawson (internment Camp)
Dorsten

Before modern inventions and conveniences, humans had ingenious ways of solving problems. So how exactly did humans survive before fridges, without clothes or before surnames were invented? Find out the answers to these questions and more, right here. Hosted by Ollie Guillou.

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Latest Episodes

💬 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 h... more

đź’¬ 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 h... more

💬 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... more

💬 The Cumbria Clock Company has been home to many of Britain’s most famous and most historic clocks. In this workshop the likes of Big Ben, the Salisbury Cathedral Clock and the astronomical clock and Hampton Court Palace.

⚡ Keith Scobie-Youngs set... more

đź’¬ 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 identifi... more

💬 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 on... more

You 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... more

💬 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 ha... more

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Recent Guests

Natasha Solomons
Author of Cleopatra
Author
Episode: Before Social Media: How Cleopatra Turned Herself Into a Living God | Natasha Solomons
Mike Marshall
Guest expert on ancient human species
Author/Researcher on ancient humans
Episode: Before We Were The Last Human Species: When We Lived With Neanderthals
Judith Wilde
Heritage Manager at Catalyst Museum
Catalyst Museum
Episode: Before Chemicals: 'Bleach Packers' and the Birth of the Chemical Industry
Matthew Cobb
Author of The Idea of the Brain
University/Author (as discussed)
Episode: Before Brain Science: When We Thought With Our Hearts | Matthew Cobb
Barry Molloy
Archaeologist who studies Bronze Age mortuary practices
Crick Institute (collaborations mentioned)
Episode: Before Burial: When Bronze Age Homes Were FULL of Human Bones
Jill Chubb
Grandma, Guernsey Deportee
Guernsey Deportees Association
Episode: Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps
Ralph Godwin
Guernsey Deportee, camp survivor
Guernsey Deportees Association
Episode: Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps
Janet de Santos
Deportee, Irish/British family background
Guernsey Deportees Association
Episode: Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps
Matt Lucas
Guernsey-based historian
Historian (The First and Second World Wars)
Episode: Britain’s Forgotten Deportees: Families Sent to Nazi Camps

Hosts

Ollie Guillou
Host of What We Did Before | Human Survival and Ancient Inventions; main presenter and co-host
Matt
Co-host of What We Did Before

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Before Organisations: From Stone Age Tribes to a Fragmented World | Peter Garrett
Q: What do you mean by the age of organizations, and how did we move away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle?
The guest explains that organizations are human-made constructs that coordinate large groups and enable modern life, but they also create distances from our natural, communal ways of living. The shift began with agriculture, leading to land ownership, hierarchical structures, and rules that organized bigger populations, ultimately fragmenting social life and tying everyday existence to formal systems.
Before We Were The Last Human Species: When We Lived With Neanderthals
Q: What ancient human species do we know about and how certain are we about their boundaries?
We know about a few dozen species, spanning millions of years, but the boundaries between them are blurry and often debated, with interbreeding muddying clear lines.
Before Brain Science: When We Thought With Our Hearts | Matthew Cobb
Q: What pivotal evidence began to shift consensus toward the brain as the seat of thought?
Galen's experiments with animals suggested the brain played a crucial role in consciousness and movement, and later Broca's work pinpointed a specific brain region for speech, challenging the idea of a single center like the heart.
Before Brain Science: When We Thought With Our Hearts | Matthew Cobb
Q: Why did ancient cultures localize thought and emotion to the heart instead of the brain?
Historically, people observed bodily cues like a pounding heart during strong emotions and lacked detailed anatomical knowledge, so the heart was seen as the seat of life and feeling, with the brain viewed as a cooling or less central organ.

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Frequently Asked Questions About What We Did Before

What is What We Did Before about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This program surveys the long arc of human history and pre-modern innovation through expert interviews and accessible storytelling. Episodes frequently center on archaeology, ancient civilizations, historical science, and the social meanings of material culture, often featuring researchers, museum professionals, and authors who bridge scholarship and public understanding. Notably, the show combines rigorous historical context with engaging narratives about how people lived, interacted, and adapted—from Bronze Age mortuary practices to the birth of industries and the evolution of ideas about the mind, migration, and technology. The format tends to balance scholarly depth with approachable storytelling, making it useful for listeners who enjo... more

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What We Did Before launched 10 months ago and published 41 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on What We Did Before?

Recent guests on What We Did Before include:

1. Natasha Solomons
2. Mike Marshall
3. Judith Wilde
4. Matthew Cobb
5. Barry Molloy
6. Jill Chubb
7. Ralph Godwin
8. Janet de Santos

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