Welcome to History's Fly on the Wall

Here’s where you’ll find the workers, the women, and all the other powerless people who witnessed the upheavals of history. Like the proverbial fly on the wall, they went unnoticed, but they saw and heard everything and survived to tell their stories.

We’ll kick off with a man who knew a strange little Austrian called Adolf Hitler before anyone else, and the clairvoyant who predicted Hitler’s future but saw his own fate a day too late.

About me

My name is Leila McKinnon, and I’ve been a broadcast journalist and writer for more than 30 years. I’ve been a fly on the wall myself, from the courthouse at Guantanamo Bay to the Olympics, the Oscars red carpet, coups, floods, cyclones, fires, palaces, and prisons. I’ve interviewed Prince William and Prince Harry, prime ministers, murderers, billionaires, sporting legends, and Beyoncé – twice.

What’s in it for you?

There’ll be a messy story from Mussolini’s redheaded mistress who, in 1930, wrestled a bag of cocaine from the staggering dictator. We’ll learn about the night Marie Antoinette’s lady’s maid helped her burn her private papers as an angry mob stormed toward the palace. And that’s just the start of a thousand all but forgotten first-hand accounts from the archives.

So, if you’d like to hear from people like you and me, people who could have told the emperor he wasn’t wearing any clothes, but who kept their mouths shut a nd their eyes open, you’ve come to the right place.

You’ll find that their stories of inequality, intolerance, authoritarianism, natural disasters and war shed a lot of light on our own turbulent times.

What’s in it for me?

I live in regional Australia, and it turns out there’s a limit to how many fascinating historical stories my husband and children are willing to hear. I’m hoping that this is where I find my people, so if you’re endlessly curious, a history nerd, or just someone who loves a cracking true story, please join me.

Why subscribe?

Every week you’ll receive the kind of history content you’ll immediately want to share, whether it’s a deep dive into the archives that unearths something astounding, absurd, or scandalous; a book review that hits just right with the kind of vivid, relatable history we love; or the story behind an artefact that’s gathering dust despite its extraordinary past. You can also join the subscriber chat, where we can discuss the rhymes, quirks, and what-ifs of history.

As a paid subscriber ($6 monthly, $60 annually), you can join me deeper down the rabbit hole, with bonus content that goes into much more historical detail, and explores the footnotes that bring history nerds true joy. As a paid subscriber, you’ll be able to comment on posts, and you’ll also have access to on-camera interviews with authors, historians, and experts who analyse past events through a modern lens.

And if you’d like to become a founding member, or Certified Gadfly ($120 annually), you get all this plus a What Did The Fly See? hat (merch!), two requests for the kind of history content you’d like me to share, direct messaging me here, and the chance to become a cornerstone of History’s Fly on the Wall.