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The Men Who Would Kill the Medici, Part 2
Episode 134
The men knew they needed to get rid of Lorenzo de Medici, they just didn't know how. In the end, they decided the right place would be High Mass, on …
2 years, 9 months ago
The Men Who Would Kill the Medici, Part 1
Episode 133
Lorenzo de Medici was the center of power in Florence. Three men—Girolomo Riario, Francesco de Pazzi, and Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa—were…
2 years, 9 months ago
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Fighting To Be Seen
Episode 132
Our two part series on the Chevalier de Saint-Georges continues, with our hero rubbing elbows with Whig politicians and fighting for freedom during t…
2 years, 9 months ago
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Excellent or Nothing
Episode 131
In the late 1700s, one man became a celebrated fixture of Parisian salon culture: he was a prodigy fencer, and then a brilliant composer and violinis…
2 years, 10 months ago
The Woman Who Wrote Fairy Tales
Episode 130
When it comes to fairy tales, most people know Charrles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. Fewer know of Madame d'Aulnoy, whose own life of murder and …
2 years, 10 months ago
Through the Eyes of La Castiglione
Episode 129
More than a hundred years before the selfie became commonplace, a woman in France used photographs to immortalize her favorite subject: herself. But …
2 years, 10 months ago
The Pretty Prime Minister (with Jennifer Wright)
Episode 128
TW: This episode contains discussions of violence towards children that might be disturbing for some listeners.
For decades, one woman was the heart …
2 years, 10 months ago
The Party to End Nicolas Fouquet's Career
Episode 127
In August 1661, the superintendent of finance in France threw the party of the century. In September, he was arrested. The lesson: don't fly too clos…
2 years, 11 months ago
The Self-Reported Life of the Sham Prince
Episode 126
In the aftermath of World War I, aristocratic Germans were clinging to whatever sense of identity and social structure they could. They relished the …
2 years, 11 months ago
The Resurrection of the Parking Lot King
Episode 125
After the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. But what happened to the king he replaced, King Richard III? Well, we weren't …
2 years, 11 months ago