Vatican Spy Rings

If you’ve heard of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, you’ve surely heard the rumors about its famous owner, Sarah Winchester. Like the claims she was an eccentric hermit who never left her 24,000-square-foot mansion. Or that she demanded construction crews wor ... Show More

Beginning in 1632, a convent of young Ursuline nuns made startling claims – from seeing dead priests, to being possessed by a horde of Satan’s demons. A team of priests presided over daily exorcisms – some of them public – for months…until the blame was directed toward one man: F ... Show More

On Halloween Eve, 1938 Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds aired on CBS radio. It detailed an alien invasion so realistic that, according to legend, it caused widespread panic among listeners. People really believed aliens were invading Earth. The mass hysteria is an important pa ... Show More

All eyes have been on the Vatican in recent days, as the conclave have decided who will be the next pope. But how does the process today compare to that of past centuries? What have been some of the most dramatic papal elections down the centuries? And was there ever really a fem ... Show More

Who were some of the most influential popes of the Middle Ages? What did you have to do to earn the title of 'anti-pope'? And which pope was believed to keep a pet demon? Kev Lochun spoke to historian Brett Whalen to find out more about the fascinating role of the papacy in this ... Show More

Between 1610 and 1614, a series of anonymous letters claimed to reveal hidden knowledge about a mystical secret society. Were the missives divine revelations—or hoaxes? And did a fourteenth-century Christian monk unlock the key to immortality? Learn more about your ad choices. Vi ... 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

From the lagoon of Venice to revolutionary Russia, counterintelligence has always been an important aspect of statecraft. In Brief Histories, the new monthly special from True Spies, series producer Joe Foley is your guide to this secret world - alongside a treasure-trove of stor ... Show More