Who Was Nostradamus?

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

Myths, Folklore, Mystery, History, Ghosts, Society & Culture, Murder, Ufos, True Crime, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did Nostradamus really predict everything from the Great Fire of London to the rise of Hitler?

We predict that you'll find out in this episode...

Join Anthony and Maddy as they explore the life of 16th century astrologer and so-called seer, Nostradamus, to find out if he really had the ability to see into the future.

This episode was edited by Tim Artsall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Nostradamus, the 16th century astronomer who is said to have somehow predicted the rise of Hitler,
0:10.1	Napoleon, 9-11, and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
0:15.8	He was a man who mixed science with superstition and claimed to read the fate of kings in the movement of the stars.
0:23.9	His cryptic verses penned in riddles and half-truths, terrified monarchs and comforted peasants.
0:31.1	Were they really divine visions, though, or clever poetry designed to survive the wrath of the church. From the Renaissance courts to
0:39.7	conspiracy forums, this is After Dark. The trumpets blare, hooves, thunder and two armored kings
0:48.4	of chivalry lower their lances. The joust begins. The king charges, sunlight glancing off his gilded visor. But in an instant of
0:58.3	splintered wood and shattering steel, his fate is sealed. As surgeons scramble and courtier's panic,
1:04.4	a name begins to be whispered on trembling lips. Nostradamus.
1:12.2	He had predicted.
1:15.5	If Nostradamus could foresee the fall of a king,
1:19.7	what other horrors might already be written in his cryptic verses? Music. Well, hello there and welcome to After Dark. I'm Anthony. And I'm Addie. And today we are talking about
1:48.1	somebody you may well have heard of because he is said to have predicted some of the darkest
1:52.6	events in human history from natural disasters to regicide. But just who was Nostradamus?
2:00.7	Why has his story endured for so long?
2:03.2	And why do we humans need to think that we are able to predict the future?
2:08.1	I have none of the answers to those questions, but I know who does.
2:10.8	Me neither. Goodbye at the end.
2:12.8	It is Maddie Pelling who is going to tell us all about Nostradamus today.
2:16.8	I feel like you're introducing me like a guest. Fun times. Would you like to know a little bit about Nostradas? Well, we're here. We might as well. Yeah. Okay, so he's born in 1503. He's born Mekyll de Nostradam. Excellent French pronunciation. He is born to a Jewish family who have converted to Catholicism. So he's kind of
2:37.1	already a little bit of an outsider, which is quite interesting. And someone who is interested in,
2:41.6	I suppose, the edges and boundaries of religious belief and where that can take you, he grows up like
	...

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