Listen to the trailer
I’m on a mission. To make as many people as possible love history. Our history. Your history.
History For F***’s Sake, aka HISTORYFFS, is a weekly podcast that explores the hidden threads of history, art, and culture with humour, humanity, and the occasional irreverent question.
I have ADHD. A pretty new notion after a lifetime of teaching myself how to… well, everything. I have two degrees, four businesses, two cats, I have lived in three countries and the one thing I’ve learned is that nothing is textbook. So this podcast is the antidote to history by numbers. It’s about the stories behind what we remember—and what we forget—told through the lens of creativity, legacy, and how we experience the past in the present.
Each episode is anchored in an anniversary or cultural moment and pairs rich storytelling with interviews from historians, artists, writers, and cultural leaders. It’s witty but warm, smart but never stuffy.
Previous and upcoming guests include theatre makers, cultural innovators, artists, writers, and historians who want to reach a broad, curious audience—people who love culture but don’t necessarily think of themselves as “history buffs.”
I have a mission. To get as many people as I can to love history. Our history. All our history. The little history we made yesterday. To think about our history as our culture – our arts, our literature, our film making, our performances – and to get people who love art to think more about how history isn’t boring. It is our muse.
This is because it’s… History For F***’s Sake
Season 2
new historic happenings
Season 1 all episodes
Catch up with all the latest happenings in history here
Did you ever wonder how we got here, and how sometimes tiny pieces of history make up, and have shaped our lives?
Or realised how every day, all of us are making history?
Join me, Sarah Dowd, in exploring what has happened in the everyday lives of people for the better, or at least the experiences that have just make us laugh and say…
This is… History. For F***’s Sake, the podcast that explores untold stories that make a difference.
When the world seemingly shut down for almost two years, what were we doing? We were creating art, making history and crying out of human contact. We were craving our culture.
I’m your host, Sarah Dowd, and I have worked on over 200 history, heritage and arts projects in the last 20 years across the world, everywhere from the Imperial War Museum in London to exploring how we put a fleet of ships in the sky, or bringing wrecks back from Honolulu.
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD which has brought a whole new layer of thinking about creativity and how we get people – ALL PEOPLE – really engaged with our shared history and culture.
Stories. Art. Film. Books. Ships. Music. Museums. People. Joy. Experiences. Humour. Humanity.
Because it’s all History, For F***’s Sake.
Find out more at historyffs.com
What happens when blockbuster adaptations and binge-worthy TV turn British heritage into the world’s hottest travel destination? In this meta, thought-provoking episode of It’s History for F***’s Sake, host Sarah Dowd welcomes Seren Welch, one of the UK’s leading screen destination consultants, whose career bridges decades of filmmaking, tourism marketing, and location storytelling for hits like Downton Abbey, Sherlock, and Poldark.
Together, Sarah and Seren unravel the complicated love affair between screens and real places: Why do we yearn to step into Austen’s ballrooms, Brontë’s windswept moors, or the wizarding world of Harry Potter? What draws us to “set jet” across Britain, and what risks do we run on turning living, breathing heritage into mere theme parks?
Expect lively debate on literary pilgrimage versus screen tourism, the ethics of destination storytelling, and why period dramas and gothic romance keep us coming back for more. Plus, the next era of on-screen-inspired travel, how locations become characters, and what’s coming soon to shape your travel bucket list.
If you’ve ever booked a trip because of a movie, lost hours to Regency fantasies, or wondered who decides what parts of history get the Hollywood glow-up, this episode is for you.
Here are the highlights:
00:00 Sense and Sensibility’s release turns Regency into fantasy and launches a new era of “heritage on screen”
02:00 Meet Seren Welch: 25+ years shaping how story turns into place
05:33 Behind the first Harry Potter screen tourism boom
07:20 How Downton Abbey changed everything for high-end TV
12:54 Fandom and why we want to “visit old friends” after the credits roll
18:46 The secrets of 1990s filming (when everything was under wraps) versus today’s immersive, always-on behind-the-scenes world
23:12 When does screen tourism shape the stories, instead of just following them?
25:31 How heritage sites cope and thrive when TV turns them into stars
31:46 How today’s dramas spark new questions about history, race, and whose stories get told
36:34 Period drama and gothic romance: why we crave non-conformity
40:38 What’s next for screen tourism?
43:38 Why history on screen, fandom, and travel will always keep evolving
About Seren Welch:
Seren Welch is a leading voice on the screen tourism, otherwise known as the Set-Jetting trend. With over 25 years’ experience promoting countries, regions and historical sites, developing cross sector partnerships with the films & TV industry, she has turned viewers into visitors. By tapping into the emotional connection the audience has with what they’ve seen on screen the economic return continues long after the cameras have stopped rolling.
Connect with Seren:
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/seren-welch-7274921
About Sarah Dowd:
I’m Sarah Dowd – writer, speaker, heritage and arts consultant, producer, and all-around nerd – here to share the stories of our past that make us laugh, gasp, and mutter: It’s History… For F***k’s Sake.
For 25+ years I’ve created immersive, inclusive experiences that bring history alive, from rallying Second World War convoys through London to staging performances between Pearly Kings and Gen Z creatives. My work spans museums, cathedral crypts, pop-up theatres, global brands, and community projects across the UK and beyond.
As a Canadian living between the UK and France (with a late ADHD diagnosis that fuels my curiosity and creativity), I zigzag through culture, history, and big ideas, but never boring ones.
Every week on HistoryFFS, we explore how history echoes through today, make sure you are following the show so you don’t miss an episode.
Connect with Sarah:
Substack: @historyffs
YouTube: @HistoryFFSPod
Instagram: @historyFFSPod
TikTok: @historyffspod
Bluesky: @historyffs.bsky.social
Follow the show for new episodes exploring the objects, people, and moments that shaped our world. If you want the story AND the sound of the past, this is essential listening.
