THE GILDED AGE: ASTORS VS VANDERBILTS PT. 2
Gilded Age New York was all about flaunting your money. And no one did it better than the first families of excess, the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Part two is all about multi-hyphenate Alva Vanderbilt. Social climber, society leader, architect, suffragette. We will also take a look at her daughter Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough. Tune in!
THE GILDED AGE: ASTORS VS VANDERBILTS PT. 1
Gilded Age New York was all about flaunting your money. And no one did it better than the first families of excess, the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Part one of a multi part series, today we’re looking at the life of Caroline Astor, the “Mystic Rose” and arbiter of taste in New York Society. You’ll want to listen to the episode to get primed on the new HBO series, The Gilded Age. Tune in!
STORICAL HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: LIZZIE BORDEN TOOK AN AXE
This is the Storical Halloween Special. The veil is thin and the dead walk among us. Before you indulge in some tricks or treats, enjoy this episode and decide whether Lizzie Borden really took an ax to give her mother 40 whacks. Links to all sources referenced and full transcript are below!
SARAH WINNEMUCCA: NATIVE ACTIVIST & AUTHOR
It’s Native American Heritage Day! For today’s episode, I’ll be shining a light on an important Native woman in Nevada history: Sarah Winnemucca. She was the first Native woman to write an autobiography and traveled around the US on a lecture tour educating and protesting the plight of her people. Take a listen and get inspired, then research the tribes indigenous to your area. There is fascinating history all around us.
JOAN OF ARC: SOLDIER AND SAINT
Joan of Arc is the patron saint of France, and unlike many of the saints…she actually existed! Listen to the episode to learn how an illiterate peasant girl was able to drive out the English and put the French back on the path to reclaim their country during the Hundred Years War. Did she really speak to angels? Was she a bloodthirsty soldier? We know more about her than most Medieval women but there are no easy answers in her story.
STORICAL FOOTNOTES: MADAME TUSSAUD'S CHAMBER OF HORRORS
After you visited the museum, if you were brave enough and could afford the extra six pence admission, Madame Tussaud would allow you entry to her infamous Chamber of Horrors. An early version of The Chamber was created in the late 1700s and was the most popular exhibit until its demise in 2016. Today we’re looking at the gory appeal of Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors.
MADAME TUSSAUD: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION IN WAX
You’ve seen the creepy wax figures of celebrities, but did you know that Madame Tussaud was an actual person who hung out with Marie Antoinette? Today we’re looking at the artist who survived The Terror to rule an entertainment empire that is still going strong 200 years later.
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: THE BLOOD COUNTESS ELIZABETH BATHORY
Happy Halloween listeners! In honor of my favorite holiday, I send you off into the last creepy night of October with the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the inspiration behind modern vampire lore and the most prolific female serial killer in history. Bathory is said to have bathed in the blood of virgins to stay young and beautiful with a victim count as high as 600 and as low as 50. Tune in for all the bloody details.