STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MARIE ANTOINETTE'S GHOST
In 1901, two British academics had a strange experience at Versailles. Listen in to learn about the Moberly-Jourdain incident, a tale of time travel and Marie Antoinette’s ghost.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MARIE ANTOINETTE’S HOLY TRINITY OF FASHION
Marie Antoinette’s fashion is iconic to this day. But how did she go from frumpy Austrian Archduchess to the reigning Queen of Couture? Three people were behind Marie Antoinette’s fashion transformation. Meet Rose Bertin, Léonard Autié, and Jean-Louis Fargeon. Rose was the Minister of Fashion, Léonard the hairdresser, and Jean-Louis the perfumer and cosmetics purveyor. Tune in!
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MARIE ANTOINETTE'S TRAGIC LOVE AFFAIR
Marie Antoinette was accused of having affairs with numerous men and women. But there was only one who held her heart. There’s no denying her fondness for Axel von Fersen, but were the two actually lovers? Tune in to learn more about Marie Antoinette’s sultry Swedish sidepiece and his tragic end.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: LET THEM EAT CAKE
Did Marie Antoinette really say, “Let them eat cake?” NO! Then where did the phrase come from and how did it get attributed to her? Today, we’re talking cake, brioche, and Enlightenment philosophers!
MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE LAST QUEEN OF FRANCE
Powder your wig and add an extra hoop to your skirt, today we’re talking all things Marie Antoinette. Who were her lovers? Did she cause the French Revolution? Did she actually say, “Let them eat cake”? We’ll discuss all that and more on today’s episode.
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: THE BLOOD COUNTESS ELIZABETH BATHORY
Happy Halloween listeners! In honor of my favorite holiday, I send you off into the last creepy night of October with the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the inspiration behind modern vampire lore and the most prolific female serial killer in history. Bathory is said to have bathed in the blood of virgins to stay young and beautiful with a victim count as high as 600 and as low as 50. Tune in for all the bloody details.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: HOUDINI'S FINAL SÉANCE
Today we whisper a final goodnight to Harry Houdini as we discuss the tradition of Houdini séances that have taken place continuously since his death on Halloween night of 1926. Tune in on Halloween for a special episode about the Blood Countess.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: THE WITCH OF LIME STREET VS HOUDINI
Margery the Medium used the ghost of her dead brother Walter to conduct her séances. When Scientific American Magazine put forth a contest with a $2500 prize for any medium who could produce verifiable psychic phenomena , Sir Arthur Conan Doyle recommended her. Harry Houdini was not having it and made it his mission to expose Margery as a fraud.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MADAME BESS HOUDINI
In today’s episode, we’re going to give voice to Bess Houdini a performer and magician in her own right, who like many women was eclipsed by her husband’s ambition. Tune in to learn all the magical details about Bess’ life before and after Harry.
HARRY HOUDINI: THE MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS
If you hear the name Houdini and just think of the David Copperfield, David Blaine, Criss Angel school of magicians, that is to say campy and old fashioned, I’m here to blow your mind with espionage, Sherlock Holmes, the Romanovs, and more psychics than you can count! Buckle up dear listeners and imagine yourself in a dark room, hands clasped around the séance table as a series of unearthly raps starts tapping out a message from beyond the grave as we dive into the life of Harry Houdini, Master Mystifier.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE SEARCHES FOR AGATHA CHRISTIE
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was a RAGING spiritualist. When Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared in 1926, the police investigators searching for her had no leads. So they turned to famed detective writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers for fresh angles in their search. Sayers investigated the crime scene, Doyle hired a psychic.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: DID AGATHA CHRISTIE HAVE ALZHEIMER'S?
The Queen of Crime was a prolific writer. But research suggests that there may have been clues to dementia in Agatha Christie’s later writing. For more information on the research presented, check out the following links:
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: AGATHA CHRISTIE THE ARCHAEOLOGIST
After her divorce from Archie Christie, Agatha Christie found new love and a new life with a young archaeologist. Tune in to learn how the Middle East inspired her and how she made contributions to the field of archaeology.
AGATHA CHRISTIE: A LIFE OF MYSTERY
Agatha Christie’s life was just as mysterious and action packed as her novels. Listen to this month’s deep dive episode as we discuss her mysterious disappearance, her penchant for archaeology, and her time as an apothecary’s assistant. Tune in the next three Mondays for Storical Footnotes, bite-sized episodes that discuss Agatha more in depth.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES - FRIDA KAHLO'S MENAGERIE
Frida Kahlo had a lot of pets. Many of them even made it into her most famous works of art. Listen in to learn all about Frida's animals.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES - FRIDA'S FRENEMY
Lupe Marin was more than just the ex-wife who taught Frida Kahlo how to cook for Diego Rivera. In this edition of Storical Footnotes, we take a look at Frida and Lupe’s complicated relationship.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES - FRIDA KAHLO’S PERFUME COLLECTION
Introducing Storical Footnotes! Schedule permitting, I’ll be posting these little bite sized nuggets between longer episodes. I’ll continue posting them on Mondays.
FRIDA KAHLO: HER SURREAL REALITY
We’re finally leaving the Middle Ages to take a look at the colorful, iconic, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Her life was marked by pain and suffering of both the body and the heart. Listen to learn about the life and loves of Frida. Links to all recommendations below.
ANNE BOLEYN: THE DOOMED QUEEN
Feminist, fierce, and ahead of her time, Anne Boleyn was King Henry VIII’s most intriguing wife. While Henry and history have tried to silence her, she’s had a bit of a renaissance of late. Listen to get Anne’s side of the story.
HENRY VIII: HIS KINGDOM FOR A SON
Get ready for some drama filled history as we welcome our first gentleman subject to Storical, King Henry VIII. Love him or loathe him his story is epic. And, spoiler alert! We’ll be doing a whole episode on Anne Boleyn, his most intriguing wife, next month. Links to all recommendations below.
