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The First Malatesta Murder
Episode 250
In Dante's Inferno, Dante meets two lovers, Paolo and Francesca. Francesca was married to Paolo's brother, but the two had a secret affair, until the…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
Renaissance Man (with Peter Weller)
Episode 249
Frederick II was celebrated as a "renaissance man" who championed education and the arts. But his conflicts with the Pope would lead to multiple exco…
7 months ago
An Earl, a Priest, and Martha Ray
Episode 248
When Martha Ray was 18, she met the Earl of Sandwich. The married Earl took Martha as his mistress, and they spent years living together as husband a…
7 months, 1 week ago
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge
Episode 247
When Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge, he was met with a dismal sight. The soldiers were starving, undisciplined, and freezing. The Baron ha…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Who's Afraid of the Duchess of Newcastle (Part Two)
Episode 246
Virginia Woolf compared her to a giant cucumber plant. Had she read that, Margaret Cavendish might have thought it a compliment.
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7 months, 3 weeks ago
Very Special Episodes: JFK's Forgotten Summer as a Journalist (with Rob Reiner)
Eighty years ago this summer, a young John F. Kennedy took a job as a journalist for Hearst newspapers, filing dispatches in the final days of World …
7 months, 3 weeks ago
Who's Afraid of the Duchess of Newcastle (Part One)
Episode 745
In 'A Room of One's Own,' Virginia Woolf writes of Margaret Cavendish's reputation: "Evidentally the crazy Duchess became a bogey to frighten clever …
7 months, 4 weeks ago
The Real King Arthur
Episode 244
King Arthur is arguably the most famous monarch in British history, the subject of countless films and books of both non-fiction and fantasy. But the…
8 months ago
A Smoking Gun in the Spanish Royal Family
Episode 243
King Juan Carlos I had an astonishingly eventful life and ruled as King of Spain for nearly four decades. But a tragic event when he was a teenager m…
8 months, 1 week ago
Beethoven's Immortal Beloved, Part 2
Episode 242
Beethoven wrote an effusive, romantic letter, to a woman identified only as his "Immortal Beloved." Her (or his!) identity remains a matter of debate…
8 months, 2 weeks ago