Vulgar History: Tudors
A feminist women's history comedy podcast. We look at history through a feminist lens, focusing on the women often removed from the narrative. This season is all about the Tudor era.
So This Guy: Henry VIII
Henry VIII stomped all over the Tudor era, and for a long time people thought he was a great guy. Some people knew he was not, like the six women unlucky enough to marry him. But in a post-Six world, Henry is now seen as the villain of this story.
We're joined by Jillian Laine, author of the new novel Henry Tudor Must Die, to explain why Henry VIII was, in fact, The Worst.
Buy a copy of Henry Tudor Muse Die (affiliate link)
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Shakespeare's Greatest Character, Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was a prominent figure during England's Wars of the Roses, just before the Tudor Era. At the end of the Tudor Era, William Shakespeare wrote several plays about the Wars - and in these, we see Margaret progress from young Princess to warrior Queen to mystical witch-crone. No other character has such a dramatic portrayal across Shakespeare's plays.
The new book Shakespeare's Margaret is a biography of both Margaret, the real person, and also Margaret, the character written by Shakespeare. The book's authors Charles O'Malley and Scott W. Stern join us to talk all...
The Women Behind the Tudor Dynasty
The Tudors are the most famous royal family in English history (or at least, the most notorious). Where did they come from? The surname came from Wales; their claim to the throne came partly from France, and it was, frankly, a little dodgy, which is why later Tudor Kings didn't want you to think about their claim to the throne too hard!
This week, we look at the women responsible for bringing the Tudor name to the throne: Catherine of Valois and Margaret Beaufort. With cameo appearances by Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville and Elizabeth of York...
Vulgar History: Tudors (trailer)
The Tudors are the most famous dynasty in English history. Names like Anne Boleyn, Bloody Mary, and Henry VIII are still known today.
This season on Vulgar History, we'll spill the tea on the notorious Tudors.
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Zelda Fitzgerald Deserved Better (featuring Alicia from Trashy Divorces)
Zelda Fitzgerald is best known as the long-suffering wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. But she was MUCH more interesting than he ever was, and we're here to tell her story.
My guest this week is Alicia from Trashy Royals and Trashy Divorces, and she's got a LOT of feelings about Zelda.
Listen to Alicia's podcasts Trashy Royals and Trashy Divorces wherever you get podcasts!
AND stay tuned to the very end of this one to learn what the theme will be for Vulgar History season 9!
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Remember Abigail Adams (with Meredith Constant)
When John Adams was working to establish the United States of America, his wife, Abigail Adams, urged him to "remember the ladies" and grant women greater freedom.
Who was Abigail Adams? America's first feminist? The most prolific letter-writer of all time? Queen Charlotte's number one hater? All of the above? We dig into her life with special guest Meredith Constant (from Off With Their Headlines podcast).
Listen to a playlist of Vulgar History episodes about the American Revolution.
Follow Meredith's podcast Off With Their Headlines
Follow Meredith's Substack, Pulling Threads
<...Introducing NeferTV: Spartacus Blood and Sand - season 1 episode 1 - The Red Serpent
Enjoy the first episode of the new podcast NeferTV with Ann Foster and Gina Berry! New episodes every alternate Monday. Subscribe to NeferTV wherever you get podcasts!
Gina Berry has watched Spartacus: Blood and Sand many, many times. Ann Foster has never seen it before. Together, they will recap every episode of this series in our new podcast, NeferTV! New episodes every other Monday.
In the first episode, we meet all the main characters and set up the dramatic (and BLOODY) rivalries of the season.
You can watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand on...
You Wouldn't Want To Be Enslaved In Ancient Rome! (with Emma Southon)
Ancient Rome is often thought of as an ideal society where toga-clad men debated democracy while eating grapes. But in fact, the Roman Empire and Republic couldn't have existed without slavery. What were these enslaved people's lives like? Pretty awful, actually!
Historian Emma Southon joins us to talk about slavery in Ancient Rome: what it was like, why people like to pretend it wasn't so bad, and what did Spartacus have to do with it all?
Buy a copy of Emma's new book Not Built In A Day (affiliate link)
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TRAILER: NeferTV with Ann Foster and Gina Berry
NeferTV is a new TV recap podcast by Ann Foster and Gina Berry, where we talk about shows set in the ancient world. This season, we're going through every episode of SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND.
Subscribe to NeferTV wherever you get podcasts!
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Queen Zenobia vs The Roman Empire
We're joined by return guest Gina Berry (previously heard on our Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Livia episodes) to talk about Syrian icon Queen Zenobia. Queen Z was maybe descended from Cleopatra, and definitely defeated the Romans (several times) - and lived to tell the tale.
Want more of Gina and me in your lives? Follow our new podcast NeferTV wherever you get podcasts!
You can also follow the NeferTV podcast on Instagram!
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What Accent Did People Really Have in Shakespeare's Time?
English accents have been evolving ever since the first people started speaking this very strange language. People in historic films often speak with a modern British accent, and when they don't, people think it's inaccurate. But what did people really sound like during Shakespearean times? Or American Revolution times?
Author and linguist Valerie Fridland joins us to discuss all these questions and more!
Buy a copy of Valerie's book Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents (affiliate link)
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Wallis Simpson vs Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Wallis Simpson was an American divorcee who won the heart of Prince Edward. In 1935, Edward abdicated as King so that he could marry Wallis. Meanwhile, his brother Prince Albert married Scottish noblewoman Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. For most of their lives, Elizabeth and Wallis hated each other.
This dramatic real-life rivalry inspired The Windsor Affair, a new novel by Melanie Benjamin. Melanie joins us to discuss this scandalous history and how modern-day British royal women compare to these famous rivals.
Buy a copy of The Windsor Affair (affiliate link)
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Did Doctors Really Prescribe Vibrators To Victorian Women? And Other Sexual Myths (with Kate Lister)
Vulgar History x Betwixt The Sheets: the collab you never knew you needed! I was so excited to chat with Dr. Kate Lister of Betwixt the Sheets about her new book: Flick: A Brief History of Female Pleasure.
Flick shares the story of female sexual pleasure from ancient Mesopotamia to the 1960s so-called sexual revolution and right up to modern day. Have you heard that proper British ladies would "sit back and think of England"? Guess what: they did NOT. Nor did doctors in the Victorian era prescribe vibrators!! Stop spreading that rumour!!
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Why Is Jane Austen Still Popular Today? (with June Hur)
Jane Austen remains the most famous person who lived during the Regency Era. As a finale of our Regency Era podcast series, we look at why her books (and life) are still so popular today.
Our guest is June Hur, a lifelong Jane Austen fan. June's newest book, Behind Five Willows reimagines Pride & Prejudice in 18th-century Korea, and features several Easter Eggs for Austen fans.
Buy a copy of June Hur's new book Behind Five Willows (affiliate link)
Learn more about June's other books and upcoming events
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ArtMuse: Mary Robinson, part one
ArtMuse is a podcast about the women who inspired great works of art: the muses, whose names often go unknown.
This episode about Mary Robinson fits in perfectly with our Regency Era series, because she interacted with so many notable people of that era (like Emma Hamilton and trigger warning, Prinny). This is part one of two, so make sure to listen to part 2 on ArtMuse, wherever you get podcasts!
Support our REGENCY QUEERA Trevor Project fundraiser
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How Ada Lovelace Predicted The Rise of AI
Ada Lovelace was born during the Regency Era, the daughter of Annabella Milbanke and (trigger warning) Lord Byron. Her story brings us from the Georgian era into the Victorian era as she wielded her father's charisma and her mother's love of math to (very accurately) predict the dangers of AI. And also start a horse race gambling ring, pawn the family jewels, and invent a flying machine!
Returning guest Lana Wood Johnson joins us to celebrate the dirtbag legacy of Ada Lovelace, so much more than a woman in STEM (but also, a woman in STEM).
<...Lady Caroline Lamb: Regency Era Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Lady Caroline Lamb was an author, party hostess, and occasional hot mess. Best known for her short affair with (trigger warning!) Lord Byron, she powered through Regency London with main character energy.
Romance author Alexandra Vasti joins us to celebrate the audacious and Bravo TV-coded life of Lady Caroline Lamb.
Preorder Alexandra's book Scandal of the Summer (affiliate link)
Support our REGENCY QUEERA Trevor Project fundraiser
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Regency Era Trans Icon Chevalière d'Éon (revisited)
Chevalière d'Éon was a French spy, championship fencer, soldier, and absolute icon. No wonder the Ton of Regency England became obsessed when she moved there.
In this episode, originally from 2022, author Maya Deane joins us to explain d'Éon's audacious story and the importance of her life to queer and trans history.
Buy a copy of Maya's book Wrath Goddess Sing
Support our Trevor Project fundraiser project
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Regency Era Grifter "Princess Caraboo"
The mysterious woman known as Princess Caraboo took Regency Era England by storm. Speaking a language no one understood, she captivated the Ton... until her true identity was revealed.
In this revisited episode (with 45 minutes of new content!), we're joined by Gavin Whitehead (The Art of Crime podcast) to discuss the audacious schemes of "Princess Caraboo."
Learn more about Gavin's podcast The Art of Crime.
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Regency Era It Girl Emma Hamilton (part two)
Watch this episode as a video.
Emma Hamilton was the ultimate artist's muse, posing for more portraits during her life than anyone before or after. She was also a political operative, helping the royal family during the Naples reverse-revolution, and facilitating ties between Britain and Naples. She was also, perhaps most famously, the lover of Lord Nelson (the military hero). And then she was erased from history.
We're joined again by guest co-host Amanda Matta to tell the action-packed second part of Emma's wild life story.
Learn more about Amanda, her podcasts, and other wa...
Regency Era It Girl Emma Hamilton (part one)
Click here to watch this episode as a video.
Emma Hamilton was born as Amy Lyon, a poor girl with a murky background. Through a mixture of ambition and luck, her gorgeousness helped her rise out of poverty and into high society as the mistress of a powerful man. And her story was only starting.
Guest co-host Amanda Matta joins us to discuss the incredible first part of Emma Hamilton's life story.
Learn more about Amanda, her podcasts, and other ways to keep up with her.
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Regency Era Witch Mary Bateman
Click here to watch this episode as a video.
The Regency Era is known for its gowns, balls, and Bridgerton-style love stories. But England at this time was also very superstitious, which is how Mary Bateman aka The Yorkshire Witch found numerous ways to grift people. From fortune-telling to magical hens to herbal remedies, Mary found ways to scam people by using their spiritual beliefs against them.
We're joined by award-winning author Allison Epstein to cover Mary's lifetime of audacious cons, and how the law finally caught up with her.
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<...What If Anne Boleyn Sewed Her Head Back On?
Rebecca Lehmann's new book The Beheading Game begins with Anne Boleyn, post-execution, waking up and reattaching her head. From there, this book explores life in Tudor era England, Anne Boleyn's quest for revenge (and to reunite with her daughter), and so much more.
Rebecca joins us this week to talk about how she got the idea for this book, her research process, and what she really thinks about Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's relationship.
Buy a copy of The Beheading Game (affiliate link)
Learn more about Rebecca and her work
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Was the Real Queen Charlotte Black? (Revisited)
Queen Charlotte on Bridgerton is inspired by the real-life Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom. On Bridgerton, Charlotte is shown as a Black woman living in Regency England. There have long been rumours about Charlotte’s real-life Black ancestry. To understand this complex situation, I sat down with two experts to learn more.
In interviews recorded in 2023 and revisited here, I spoke with Dr. Stacey Murrell about Queen Charlotte's ancestory, and with Dr. Brooke Newman about how Charlotte was viewed during her lifetime.
Learn more about Stacey Murrell and her work
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Margaret Beaufort, The Original Tudor Icon
Margaret Beaufort was one of the most important women in Medieval England. Her story has been twisted to make her a villain, even a murderer, but who was she really?
Lauren Johnson joins us to discuss Margaret Beaufort's remarkable life - and bust some of the most pervasive myths about her. Learn more in Lauren's new book Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker.
Buy Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker (affiliate link)
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Disabled Regency Era Artist Sarah Biffin
Watch this as a video
Sarah Biffin was one of the most sought-after portrait artists of the Regency Era, painting members of the royal family, including the King. How did a farmworker's daughter born without hands reach such success?
Joining us to celebrate Sarah Biffin's iconic saga is special guest Kristen Lopez.
Learn more about Sarah Biffin's work (and view some of her paintings) at the "Without Hands" exhibition page.
Buy Kristen's book POPCORN DISABILITIES (affiliate link)
Follow Kristen's film writing at The Film Maven
Listen to...
Regency Era Spy Grace Dalrymple Elliott
Grace Dalrymple Elliott was a courtesan in London, a spy in French Revolutionary Paris, the lover of two of history's most annoying Princes, and finally, a memoir-writer in the Regency Era. Our guest today, Gavin Whitehead (from The Art of History podcast) joins us to talk about the unending twists and turns of this woman's life!
Listen to Gavin's new podcast, Raven, wherever you get podcasts!
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Elizabeth Bathory: Serial Killer?
Elizabeth Bathory is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most prolific female serial killer. But was she?
Author Shelley Puhak's new book The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster interrogates how and why Elizabeth Bathory got such a killer reputation, and what may have really happened all those years ago in her castle.
Buy a copy of The Blood Countess (affiliate link)
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The Brontë Sisters: Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë
Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë were all accomplished novelists. Charlotte's famous work is Jane Eyre, and Emily's is Wuthering Heights. But how did three sisters all become popular authors at the same time? Could it have been the cemetery water they grew up drinking??
Jane Eyre superfan Lana Wood Johnson joins us to discuss the tuberculosis-laden lives of these Northern English authors (with Irish accents).
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Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (part two)
Last time, we discussed the first part of Georgiana's life. This time, we get into all the illegitimate children of it all, with bonus visits to Revolution-era Paris and also Earl Grey tea time. With special guest, royal commentator Amanda Matta (matta_of_fact on social media).
Watch this episode as a video.
Support the fundraiser for Minnesota
Georgiana, Anne Damer, and Elizabeth Lamb's witch portrait
Shop at Teapothecary Tea
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Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (part one)
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire is a key person connecting the French Revolution era to the Regency Era, because she was besties with Marie Antoinette, wore poufs, and then became besties with the Regent himself, George, Prince of Wales.
We're joined by Vulgar History returning guest Amanda Matta (matta_of_fact on social media) to talk about the first part of Georgiana's wild life.
Watch this episode as a video.
Here is a picture of Georgiana in her famous "picture hat".
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A Regency Era Sapphic Schoolteacher Scandal
In the Regency Era, reputation was all many working-class women had. When Edinburgh schoolteachers Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie were accused of sapphic behaviour by their student Jane Cumming, they lost everything. So they decided to sue their accuser's wealthy grandmother for libel. The legal case, Pirie and Woods vs Cumming Gordon, only fanned the flames of the scandal.
This week, our guest Indigo Dunphy-Smith walks us through the racism, classism, and homophobia that turned these rumours into a well-known scandal.
Learn more about Indigo's work at A Queer Was Here
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Queen Marie-Louise Christophe: A Black Regency Era Queen
It's our Regency Era, which means we had to get Vanessa Riley (current Queen of Regency era fiction) on the podcast. This week we're revisiting out conversation from 2023 about her novel Queen of Exiles, about the life of Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise Christophe.
It's interesting to revisit this now, after discussing the Haitian Revolution last series, and seeing Marie-Louise in the context of the Regency Era in England.
Plus: bonus! Vanessa joined me again to record a new segment where we honour Marie-Louise with a score on the Scandiliciousness Scale!
Learn more about Queen...
Jacquotte Delahaye: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean
The real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! And Jacquotte Delahaye was the most famous of them all.
Author Vanessa Riley's new novel, Fire Sword and Sea, is a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary seventeenth-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye. Vanessa joins us on the podcast to talk all about this lesser-known figure, and how she managed to research this story!
Learn more about Vanessa Riley and Fire Sword and Sea.
Buy Fire Sword and Sea (affiliate link)
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Regency Era Sex Ed: Round Two
To round out this year on Vulgar History, I want to revisit this instant classic episode with Regency Era romance author Alexandra Vasti, all about Regency Era Sexy Times!! Now that the podcast is in our Regency Era, it bears repeating.
Enjoy!! And can't wait to spent 2026 with you all.
Buy Alexandra's sapphic Regency romance Ladies in Hating (affiliate link)
Info on Alexandra Vasti and her books
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Hortense Mancini: It Girl of Restoration England
Hortense Mancini was the It Girl of 17th-century France, then put on a pair of pants and ran away from her awful husband. She then became It Girl in exile around the European continent, finally winding up in London as mistress to the Merry Monarch, Charles II. And then her life really began, as for the next two decades she hosted an influential salon in London.
Author and historian Annalisa Nicholson has two new books out about Hortense's life, especially her salon era. She joins us to celebrate the life of this underrated, iconic woman.
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Rachel: The One-Named Jewish Actress And Her Many, Many Lovers (revisited)
For this year's Hanukkah special, we're revisiting the timeless saga of RACHEL, the Jewish actress so iconic she needed only one name. It's so interesting to look at her story again after the French Revolution series, because it shows that Market Ladies: The Next Generation were just as riot-happy as the original Sans-Culottes Squad.
We're joined by Allison Epstein, our French Revolutionary history advisor, to discuss Rachel's (sexual) Napoleon complex, and all the revolutions that she lived through.
When we recorded this, Allison's book Fagin the Thief was not yet for sale. But now it...
Mary Shelley's Scandalous Sister, Claire Clairmont (Revisited)
We're in our Regency Era and just finished Mary Shelley Month, and Claire Clairmont REFUSES TO BE IGNORED. We're revisiting the story of this iconic woman, whose story feels even more meaningful now that we've learned about her (kind of) stepmother Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as more about the Regency Era in which Claire made her mark.
Plus, our guest Lesley McDowell's book Clairmont is now available in North America!! (It wasn't when we first recorded this a bit ago).
Click here to buy the Clairmont eBook. (aff link)
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The Regency Era and Consent
Ever since the novel was invented, women have used it as a platform for sharing ideas about sexual consent. In her new book Courting Disaster: Reading Between the Lines of the Regency Novel, Dr. Zoë McGee reveals how Jane Austen and other women writers from this time used their stories to try to change society's mind about rape culture - and to reassure survivors they were not alone.
Zoë joins us today to talk about how her research revealed a quiet feminist movement that still resonates today. Because every novel about marriage is also a novel about co...
Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, and America's 250th Anniversary
It's (American) Thanksgiving, so here's a special American History episode! In this, you can hear my discussion with Dr. Jane Kamensky, President and CEO of Monticello/The Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
We talk about how Monticello strives to continually engage visitors with the complex history of enslavement, how Monticello honours Sally Hemings, how Monticello plans to celebrate America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and also we learn answers to burning questions like: is Monticello haunted?? And: can you get mac and cheese there?
Learn more about Monticello at monticello.org
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