April 27, 1856. In Beijing’s Forbidden City, one of the emperor’s consorts, a woman named Cixi, has given birth to a son – the emperor’s first heir. This landmark event is met with mass celebration. But in just five years time, the emperor will be dead and Cixi will be planning a coup to take power for herself. How will she ever succeed? Special thanks to ou ... Show More
Oct 30
Salem’s First Witch Trial
Happy Halloween! Today, we're bringing back a particularly spooky episode from the archives...June 10, 1692. Bridget Bishop is loaded into a two-wheeled cart and brought from her Salem jail cell to a pasture on a hill, where a rope is hanging from freshly-installed gallows. A cro ... Show More
28m 48s
Oct 26
1066: The Brother Who Broke England (w/ Greg Jenner)
October 28, 1065. The king’s council meets in Oxford and throws a man out of England. His name is Tostig Godwinson, and the north of England already hates him. His own brother Harold, the most powerful earl in the realm and the likely next king, refuses to save him.Tostig does no ... Show More
29m 22s
Jan 2024
Empress Dowager Cixi of China Part 1: Coup There It Is | 4
<p>Empress Dowager Cixi wasn’t born into power – she took it. After participating in a 19th century version of The Bachelor, Cixi was chosen as one of the Emperor’s concubines. In part one of this two-part series, Cixi uses her cunning, wit, and scrappy attitude to rise through t ... Show More
44m 36s
Jan 2024
Empress Dowager Cixi of China Part 2: Villain Era | 5
<p>In Part One, Cixi went from concubine to all-powerful Regent, thanks to her bestie and a savvy political coup. But while she was wielding her new found power, Cixi’s enemies were plotting her demise. Now that they’ve executed the man she loved, Cixi wants to even the scor ... Show More
44m 50s
Feb 2020
The Ghosts that Haunted the Female Emperor
<p>In 7th-century China, Wu Zetian went from low-tiered concubine to Empress and then, finally, to Emperor in her own right. Her legacy is murky and strange, and her rise to power is trickled with blood. </p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheart ... Show More
21m 47s