Anne and Religion Askew
In the reign of Henry VIII, religion in England became a minefield of confusing and shifting doctrine. Anne Askew, the daughter of a well-co...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Society & Culture
Noble Blood
Author Dana Schwartz explores the stories of some of history’s most fascinating royals: the tyrants and the tragic, the murderers and the murdered, and everyone in between. Because when you’...
Episodes
20 of 312 episodesA Ploughman's 'Uprising' (with Dan Jones)
In the new film Uprising, a ploughman played by Andrew Garfield joins in the 1381 Peasants' Revolt against Richard II of England. Historian...
"The Apple is Ripe; Pick It Now Or It Will Rot"
Leopoldina married into the royal family of Portugal, which meant moving to Brazil with her husband. But civil war was bubbling on both side...
Lord Kitchener Wants You!
The image of Uncle Sam saying "I Want You!" is one of the most famous poster designs in the world... but it was a copycat of a British origi...
Frances Duff's Jamaican Inheritance
When Frances was a child, her mother went before the Assembly to petition that she be legally classified as "white." Frances would go on to...
Children of the Moon [from Very Special Episodes]
Emma has never felt the sun on her skin. Born with a rare condition that makes UV light dangerous, she lives by sunscreen, meters, and moonl...
The Surreal Life of Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiapparelli was the founder of a fashion house which has become known for its sometimes outrageous, always glamorous designs. But bey...
The Tudor Villainess
She has been called "the most hated woman in Tudor England." Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law to Anne, served five queens. Two of them were behead...
The House of Boleyn (with Tracy Borman)
Where does a woman go when a King is wooing her and won't stop? Dana speaks with Chief Historian of Historic Royal Palaces, Tracy Borman, ab...
How a Dog Talks: The Surprising Redemption of Comic Sans [from Very Special Episodes]
Comic Sans is a punchline. But the notorious font's legacy isn't one of failure, because Comic Sans succeeded in ways its critics never saw...
The King for a Day
In December of 1586, the King of Poland died suddenly and without an obvious successor. King was an elected position, and the noblemen bicke...
Wyatt and Elizabeth in Revolt
Queen Mary I's decision to marry a foreign prince turned people against her. Some were so against her they planned an uprising to overthrow...
How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 2)
The British Monarchy were using the divisions of the Māori people against them. And so, some Māori thought that what they needed to face off...
Chaotic Philanthropy: Saint Joan of the Golden Arches [from Very Special Episodes]
Thanks to her McDonald's fortune, Joan Kroc was one of the world's wealthiest people. And she was determined to die nearly broke. * Hosted b...
How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 1)
Eventually, Te Wherowhero would become the first Māori king. But decades before that, he would face off against rival tribes, proving his le...
Countess of the Demimonde
At the dawn of La Belle Epoch in Paris, a trans woman who became known as "The Countess" would journey from ballrooms to prison and back, a...
The Forbidden Star Trek Fanfiction [from Very Special Episodes]
In 1968, a woman wrote a romantic story about Kirk and Spock, passed it quietly among friends, and hoped it would never see the light of day...
The Chloroform Baronet (Part 2)
In 1847, James Young Simpson successfully used chloroform for the first time to help in childbirth. But the anesthetic was still controversi...
The Chloroform Baronet (Part 1)
James Young Simpson, as a young surgeon, was distraught at the seemingly inescapable pain and fear that patients were suffering. He decided...
Napoleon's Forgotten Wife
When Josphine failed to produce heirs, Napoleon secured a divorce and arranged for another marriage: to the 18-year-old daughter of the Empe...