The woman who is blamed for turning Henry VIII from a most Catholic king into the one who separated Tudor England from the Catholic Church was a dark eyed stunner named Anne Boleyn. This is the story of how a king overturned the institutions of his country to get a divorce. It is also the…
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This episode uncovers the forgotten history of some of the most badass women you’ve never heard of. The Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa had all female army units who consistently fought better and more courageously than the men. Their deeds of bravery are recorded by their admiring enemies. These real women are the inspiration…
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Stories of badass warrior women continue to fascinate us today, as they did the ancient Greeks. In Greek stories the Amazons were a tribe of all female warriors who were formidable in combat and fascinating for their bravery, athleticism, and beauty. But the Amazons are not a myth. They were real people in history, and…
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Attila the Hun still looms in our memory, though less and less is remembered about the man himself and the fierce people he led. This episode introduces the Huns of history, paints the world they inhabited, and sets the stage for the emergence of Attila. From unique battle tactics to cranial deformation, this is an…
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After a century of scandal, a new Pope takes over in Rome. Leo IX has sweeping plans for reform, and then gets taken prisoner by Norman warriors. Meanwhile church controversies brew over everything from beards to communion bread until an explosive collision of personalities leads to drama in the Hagia Sophia itself. The moment that…
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A teenaged boy inherits the Papacy and the keys to Rome, and begins a career of wild partying. John XII plays power games with dangerous military leaders, and attempts to backstab the most powerful warrior in Europe. The House of Theophylact continues to create scandal, selling the Papacy itself to an Italian godfather. It’s Game…
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Historians have called this period the “pornocracy”. Find out why in this episode, when the powerful and ambitious women of the House of Theophylact take over Rome and control the Papacy. Sex, murder, blindings and treachery, it’s a wild ride through the Dark Ages.
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“Innocent have I come into prison… innocent have I been tortured… innocent must I die. For whoever comes into the witch prison must …be tortured until he invents something out of his head.” These lines come from a letter written by a father to his daughter in 1628, as the witch craze raged across Europe….
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“Witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” – from the Malleus Maleficarum, the 1486 witch manual. Bodies swing from the gallows in the small town of Salem in New England. People have been executed on charges of witchcraft in America. How did we get to this? The story starts in Old Europe…
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