logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
30m 40s

Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridic...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

For centuries, westerners devoured lurid, embellished stories about the mysteries of Near Eastern culture -- and, chief amid their fascinations, the idea of the Sultan's harem. But what exactly was this thing, and how did it actually work? In the first part of this two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max bust some myths about the harem system that continue, weirdly enough, in the modern day.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
<p>For most people, Tylenol is nothing more than an ol' stand-by, over-the-counter pain reliever. Yet, as Ben, Noel and Max learn in today's episode -- this wasn't always the case. Today's episode takes the boys to 1980s Chicago, when a ghoulish series of still-unsolved murders r ... Show More
39m 23s
Nov 22
CLASSIC: Benjamin Franklin's Advice On "Finding A Mistress"
<p>Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was a man of many interests, but his endeavors were by no means limited to technical innovation, philosophy and politics. In fact, throughout his life he had a reputation as an irredeemable lech -- literally, in later years, a dirty old man -- ... Show More
31m 43s
Nov 20
Wait! Can a tree really own itself?
<p>Do you have a favorite tree? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max head over to the famous college town of Athens, Georgia where -- legend has it -- one guy was so enamored with his childhood oak that he ultimately deeded it to itself. How much of the story is true? Can a tree ... Show More
42m 22s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
30. Sultanas to Slaves: Voices from the Harem
What was life like for women in the Ottoman Empire? Was the Sultanate of Women the golden era? What was the role of the Harem? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Bettany Hughes to discuss the role of women in the Ottoman Empire. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @ ... Show More
57m 58s
Jun 2010
Harem wall painting fragments
Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects at the British Museum. This week, he is exploring life and intrigue in the great courts of the world at the same time as the European medieval period. Today he is with the women of Samarra in Iraq. This ancient city, north of ... Show More
14m 8s
Mar 2024
Inside the Bizarre World of Dictators
Why are so many autocrats germaphobes? Why was the truth so dangerous for Soviet engineers? And what can salami reveal to us about the mind of Vladimir Putin? This is the first of two special episodes in partnership with HBO's new series "The Regime". Tim Harford investigates rea ... Show More
42m 8s
Sep 2023
Trois Histoires Paranormales d'Afrique du Nord et d'Orient !
<p>Si les histoires d’esprits frappeurs et de revenants sont très présentes dans le folklore occidental, celle des djinns l’est tout autant dans les pays du Maghreb et plus largement au Moyen Orient. Parfois bienfaiteurs et amoureux, souvent vindicatifs et cruels, les djinns aspi ... Show More
42m 21s
May 2022
Daughter of Gods Meets Phoenician Hero, the Story of Cadmus & Harmonia (Part 1)
Revisiting Liv's favourite myth in much more detail... What happens when a hero marries a goddess? The story of Cadmus and Harmonia, the mysterious and yet deeply important couple and the origins of their family's curse.CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's ... Show More
34m 30s
Jul 2018
Her Side of the Story
Ghada and Ranyah don't know each other, but their stories have a lot in common. When they each married their husbands, everybody around them assumed they'd live happily ever after. But it didn't turn out that way, for either of them. They were both left to rebuild new identities ... Show More
26m 48s
May 2023
La tradition
Qu’est ce qui fait qu’une histoire d’amour est digne d’être dans EX ? Il faut une histoire qui a du panache, une histoire avec des obstacles, la rencontre de deux êtres qui doivent se battre pour faire exister leur amour, une histoire qui subsiste contre vents et marées, contre l ... Show More
41m 54s
Jan 2023
The Sultanate of Women 2/3: Nurbanu & Safiye
Ottoman Sultans kept a harem of hundreds of enslaved concubines to bear their children. But from 1533 to 1656 a handful of remarkable women bent the harem system to their wills and exercised extraordinary political influence and power. This period is known as the The Sultanate of ... Show More
26m 28s
Apr 2023
SMNTY Classics: The Myths of Virginity (Part 1)
History has long made a Big Deal out of virginity, and also created a lot of (harmful) myths about it. Anney and Samantha shift through the history, unsubstantiated science and cultural importance of virginity, and the myths that surround it in this classic episode.See omnystudio ... Show More
44m 7s
May 2020
History's Most Insane Rulers, Part 3: Ibrahim I -- The Sultan Who Loved Fur and Drowned His Harem
Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim (1616-1648) believed he was the sort of ruler that came out of legend, so he ordered a massive tax to fund the decoration of his palace in sable fur. He also preferred full-figured women and commissioned his advisers to find for him the largest woman in his ... Show More
50m 45s