Professional Royal Mistresses

When we think of people carrying out death sentences today, we think of low-key affairs where the media is not invited. However, the Professional Public Executioner was a true showman when he carried out death sentences in front of thousands of people. But that’s not how he made ... Show More

You might want to write this episode down. Helen and Matt look at one of the most important occupations in human history, the Scribe, and we only know about this job because they were so helpful as to write down what they did. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihear ... Show More

From the local small-town stage to New York’s Palace Theater, vaudeville was an essential part of every community. In this episode, Helen and Matt learn about the Vaudevillians, the ones who kept Americans entertained when there wasn’t much to do for fun.  Learn more about your a ... Show More

Why did kings and queens have spectators on their wedding night? Was sex always just for the love of their country and the want of an heir, or were some royals into different kinks? And what about outside marriage? From an official mistress who does not have sex with the king, to ... Show More

We've been fascinated by royalty for hundreds of years, but what do we know about their sex lives? Quite a lot, it turns out. Today we're revisiting an episode Kate recorded with bestselling author Eleanor Herman to find out about what it took to not just be a mistress of a royal ... Show More

Hortense Mancini is perhaps most famous for being a royal mistress, but her life was a series of adventures and scandals. Hortense was willing to do whatever it took to be a woman who lived on her own terms in the 17th century. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihea ... Show More

King George III's "criminal sister" was sent to marry the King of Denmark when she was a teenager. Her husband wanted very little to do with her, and so her attention wandered over to a charismatic doctor. That doctor slowly gathered power until he became all but an autocrat. But ... Show More

As the Queen’s family life becomes more complex, the relationship between palace and press intensifies. But balancing the need for security and privacy against her very public responsibilities is never simple. So who is the real woman beneath the crown? How does she respond to th ... Show More

The dominatrix has become a common pop cultural trope and fashion theme, but mainstream depictions are often misleading. Cristen and Caroline discuss the cultural history of the dominatrix and what a professional dominatrix's job description entails. Learn more about your ad-choi ... Show More

To mark the passing of the Queen, Noiser brings you this episode from the archive of Short History Of…As the Queen’s family life became more complex, the relationship between palace and press intensified. But balancing the need for security and privacy against her very public res ... Show More

From an early age, Katie Sandwina wowed crowds, first as a wrestling act and then exclusively as professional strongwoman. During a time when women's suffrage was a hot button issue, she cultivated an image of a perfectly feminine powerhouse. Learn more about your ad-choices at h ... Show More

The role of the royal mistress may, on the face of it, seem a simple position but in reality, there was a lot more to being a royal mistress than it might seem. Throughout the courts of Europe, the role of the royal mistress was often a semi formalised one and gave these women ex ... Show More

Cristen and Caroline talk to Melissa Petro, sex worker activist who retired from the New York City public school system after the media publicized her past work as a stripper and Craigslist sex worker. Petro talks to Stuff Mom Never Told You about how she's managed life since the ... Show More