STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MOZART VS SALIERI
The movie Amadeus solidified the belief that not only was Mozart murdered, but he was murdered at Salieri’s hand. That didn’t actually happen and the real story is a lot more complicated. Listen to the episode to learn more about Mozart’s “rival,” Antonio Salieri.
FAN FAVE - HENRY VIII: HIS KINGDOM FOR A SON
Replay episode! Get ready for some drama filled history as we welcome our first gentleman subject to Storical, King Henry VIII. Love him or loathe him his story is epic. And, spoiler alert! We’ll be doing a whole episode on Anne Boleyn, his most intriguing wife, next month. Links to all recommendations below.
STORICAL SHAKESPEARE SPECIAL
This week marks both the birthday and death day of one of (the?) greatest writer of all time, William Shakespeare! For the Storical Shakespeare Special, we’re doing a primer on his life with some interesting, little known facts about the Bard. All the world’s a stage and he was merely a player…but a player who left a lasting impact on Western culture.
GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST:
Pssst…it turns out Christmas is a super pagan holiday. On today’s episode we’re doing a brief overview of the origins of Christmas and how Charles Dickens brought the holiday back after Oliver Cromwell had Christmas canceled. For all those who think there’s a war on Christmas…just be glad Oliver Cromwell’s not still around.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES:
Edgar Allan Poe’s masterpiece, The Raven, was inspired not by any ordinary raven, not by a harbinger of doom, it was a talking pet raven named Grip owned by none other than Charles Dickens. Tune in for the story of Grip…then go visit the real Grip who is still on display at the Free Library of Philadelphia!
CHARLES DICKENS: A DICKENS OF A TALE
‘Tis the holiday season which means that the roughly 9 billion adaptations of A Christmas Carol are on television playing in a continuous loop. But who was the man behind the season’s greatest ghost story? Charles Dickens is considered the greatest English writer, behind Shakespeare, to have ever lived. Tune in to learn about his time in the workhouse, how he influenced Edgar Allan Poe, and how his secret double life was almost his undoing.
HARRY HOUDINI: THE MAGICIAN AMONG THE SPIRITS
If you hear the name Houdini and just think of the David Copperfield, David Blaine, Criss Angel school of magicians, that is to say campy and old fashioned, I’m here to blow your mind with espionage, Sherlock Holmes, the Romanovs, and more psychics than you can count! Buckle up dear listeners and imagine yourself in a dark room, hands clasped around the séance table as a series of unearthly raps starts tapping out a message from beyond the grave as we dive into the life of Harry Houdini, Master Mystifier.
HENRY VIII: HIS KINGDOM FOR A SON
Get ready for some drama filled history as we welcome our first gentleman subject to Storical, King Henry VIII. Love him or loathe him his story is epic. And, spoiler alert! We’ll be doing a whole episode on Anne Boleyn, his most intriguing wife, next month. Links to all recommendations below.