041 – A Runaway pope and the end of the ...

Episode SummaryPicking up where we left off, Giovanni de’ Medici, son of Caterina Sforza and known to history as Giovanni of the Black Bands, continues his meteoric rise through the bloody and chaotic world of Renaissance warfare. Backed by a Medici pope and driven by his fierce ... Show More

Hello You! for our 220th and 8th anniversary episode I thought I would invite contributions from the most VIP I could think of... YOU!So please send in a sound file or, if you don't feel like it, written message with a contribution, consideration, question, something i didn't men ... Show More

In this episode, we reunite with an old friend of the show — Caterina Sforza, the indomitable “Tigress of Forlì.” From her, we follow the turbulent and violent early life of her son, Giovanni de’ Medici, known as Il Gran Diavolo — the Great Devil — a man whose passions, battles, ... Show More

Following the death of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005. He was elected after four ballots of the papal conclave. The late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor took part and told Rebecca Kesby the story of how the new leader of the Ca ... Show More

Elevated into power by his uncle, Pope Calixtus III, Rodrigo Borgia became instrumental in settling affairs throughout the Papal States. As a cardinal, he orchestrated the election of popes for decades — all the while biding his time before making his own moves to become a pope h ... Show More

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

Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII on 20th September, 1378. Inconveniently, there was already a pope: Urban VI. Cue three decades of confusion and division, as citizens and nations had to choose which pope to support - the one in Rome, or the one Avignon - the situatio ... Show More

According to the records of the Catholic Church, there have been 266 men who have been pope. However, for centuries it was thought that there was another pope not on the list that was different from all of the others. What made this pope different is that the pope was a woman. Le ... Show More

Pope Paul VI was in charge of the Catholic Church in a tumultuous time. Communists are locking up Catholic priests, the Vietnam War is raging on, and free love is in full swing. Does he modernise and change with the time? Or does he batten the hatches and stick to the status quo? ... Show More

<p>In February 2013, Pope Benedict said he would become the first pope to retire in 600 years. Check out this episode of Stuff You Should Know to find out just what the pope does and the process of choosing a new one.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https ... Show More

A Pope of great renown once reigned during chaotic years for the medieval Church: she was an extraordinary figure, from a time when women were forbidden from even becoming priests - indeed she is History’s only female Pope. But did this “Popess" really exist, and if so, who was t ... Show More

As the world ushered in a new year on the 31st of December 2022, it also said goodbye to possibly its most well-known religious leader, Pope Benedict XVI. As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger’s uncompromising conservative views earned him the nickname "God's Rottweiler". As Pope, his ... Show More