In the 15th century, the Medicis were the most powerful banking family in Italy. Members of a rival banking family known as the Pazzi attempted to overthrow them but failed. What would the world look like today if the Medici line had ended in 1478?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 15
Rewind: Area 51, S4, and the Rise of Bob Lazar
This July, we’re revisiting five classic topics in our Conspiracy Theories: Rewind series! Its existence and location were not formally acknowledged by the government in 2013. But “Area 51” – so named for its map designation, as part of the Nevada Test Site – has been shrouded in ... Show More
1 h
Jun 2023
The Men Who Would Kill the Medici, Part 1
<p>Lorenzo de Medici was the center of power in Florence. Three men—Girolomo Riario, Francesco de Pazzi, and Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa—were determined to take him down. They just needed the authority of a Pope behind them.</p> <p><a href="https://notsorryworks.com/da ... Show More
38m 8s
Jun 2025
572. The Medici: Masters of Florence (Part 1)
What are the origins of one of history’s most glittering, and for a time, most powerful families in Europe; the Medici? How were they able to seize supreme power in the Republic of Florence , one of the most dazzling cities in the world, during the 15th century, at the height of ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 2025
573. The Medici: Lorenzo the Magnificent (Part 2)
Who was Lorenzo the Magnificent, the most glamorous, glittering, and blood-soaked of all the Medici, who became his family’s formidable but compulsive “Godfather” from the age of only twenty one? What was the Pazzi Conspiracy, in which he was almost murdered in a bloody plot to e ... Show More
59m 58s
Jun 2025
574. The Medici: Curse of the Mad Monk (Part 3)
Did Lorenzo de’Medici’s rule in Florence incur prosperity, or was it a corrupt and autocratic regime, rife with torture, that would spell the doom of the former Republic? While building an edifice of power, wealth and luxury, how was he secretly bankrupting his famous family and ... Show More
59m 33s
Aug 2021
Tyrannical Popes: Leo X Pt. 1
Giovanni de' Medici was a shrewd strategist who became pope before the age of 40. As a cardinal, he ended the Medicis’ exile in Florence, returning the dynasty to their seat of power. As pope, he would nearly bankrupt the Vatican — and upend the Christian world. Learn more about ... Show More
50m 34s