197 - Giovanni of the Black Bands part II - The invincible very naughty boy
Episode SummaryPicking up where we left off, Giovanni de’ Medici, son of Caterina Sforza and known to history as Giovanni of the Black Bands, continues his meteoric rise through the bloody and chaotic...
11 Nov 202514min
Call for contributions: episode 200 and 8th anniversary
Hello You! for our 220th and 8th anniversary episode I thought I would invite contributions from the most VIP I could think of... YOU!So please send in a sound file or, if you don't feel like it, writ...
1 Nov 20251min
196 - Giovanni of the Black Bands part 1: birth of a legend
In this episode, we reunite with an old friend of the show — Caterina Sforza, the indomitable “Tigress of Forlì.” From her, we follow the turbulent and violent early life of her son, Giovanni de’ Medi...
21 Okt 202517min
195 - Italian Wars 12 - The sack of Rome (again) and the end of the Sforza (1526 - 1530)
In this episode, we pick up with Emperor Charles V consolidating his power over Italy after the Battle of Pavia (1525), where the French king Francis I was captured. The uneasy Italian states, includi...
7 Okt 202518min
194 - The Italian Wars 11 - Medici pope to Medici pope - Battle of Pavia and Cognac
After three episodes exploring the life of Leonardo da Vinci, we return to the turbulent stage of the Italian Wars. In this episode, we pick up in the early 1520s, a period shaped by papal politics, d...
16 Sep 202516min
Summer update
Just to let you know I haven’t disappeared!
16 Aug 20251min
193 - Leonardo Da Vinci part 3 - twilight and legacy
We explore the fascinating intersection between one of the world’s most famous relics and one of its most brilliant minds: Leonardo Da Vinci and the Shroud of Turin. Was Da Vinci somehow connected to ...
29 Jul 202520min
