Podcast · 79 episodes
Noble Blood
by iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild · English
Author Dana Schwartz explores the stories of some of history’s most fascinating royals: the tyrants and the tragic, the murderers and the murdered, and everyone in between. Because when you’re wearing a crown, mistakes often mean blood.
Latest episodes
The Last PlantagenetsThe “Exeter Conspiracy” (1538–1539), a Tudor-era treason case targeting Geoffrey Pole and other Yorkist-linked aristocrats after Henry VIII’s succession fears and religious crackdown.29 Sep 2026 · 33 min
The Woman of Canossa CastleThe episode “The Woman of Canossa Castle” explains the 1077 Canossa episode during the Investiture Controversy: Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV, and Henry crossed the Alps to seek absolution.22 Sep 2026 · 30 min
Amelia and Eleanor's Excellent Adventure [from Very Special Episodes]The “night flight” joyride of April 20, 1933, when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and aviator Amelia Earhart flew over Washington at night—framed as both a glamorous adventure and a calculated PR/media…19 Sep 2026 · 44 min
All episodes
The Last PlantagenetsThe “Exeter Conspiracy” (1538–1539), a Tudor-era treason case targeting Geoffrey Pole and other Yorkist-linked aristocrats after Henry VIII’s succession fears and religious crackdown.29 Sep 2026 · 33 min · 9 chapters
The Woman of Canossa CastleThe episode “The Woman of Canossa Castle” explains the 1077 Canossa episode during the Investiture Controversy: Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV, and Henry crossed the Alps to seek absolution.22 Sep 2026 · 30 min · 13 chapters
Amelia and Eleanor's Excellent Adventure [from Very Special Episodes]The “night flight” joyride of April 20, 1933, when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and aviator Amelia Earhart flew over Washington at night—framed as both a glamorous adventure and a calculated PR/media…19 Sep 2026 · 44 min · 13 chapters
Anne and Religion AskewThe life and execution of Anne Askew, a high-born English woman who became a Protestant preacher, refused to recant during interrogation and torture, and was burned at the stake in 1546; the episode…15 Sep 2026 · 30 min · 12 chapters
A Ploughman's 'Uprising' (with Dan Jones)Dan Jones discusses Paul Greengrass’s film The Uprising (fictionalized Peasant Revolt of 1381) and explains the revolt’s causes and events: post-Black Death labor changes, reimposed hereditary…8 Sep 2026 · 29 min · 15 chapters
"The Apple is Ripe; Pick It Now Or It Will Rot"Empress Maria Leopoldina’s role in Brazilian independence (1822), framed around her decision to defy a Portuguese decree ordering Dom Pedro I’s return, plus debate over her 1826 death.1 Sep 2026 · 35 min · 10 chapters
Lord Kitchener Wants You!How Britain’s World War I recruitment poster featuring Lord Kitchener—sternly pointing “Your Country Needs You / Lord Kitchener Wants You”—became an iconic propaganda image, how it was designed and…25 Aug 2026 · 23 min · 9 chapters
Frances Duff's Jamaican InheritanceThe episode traces Frances Duff (born Frances Dalzell) and how her mother Susanna Aguir petitioned Jamaica’s House of Assembly in 1738 to secure legal “whiteness” for herself and her daughters,…18 Aug 2026 · 28 min · 17 chapters
Children of the Moon [from Very Special Episodes]Very Special Episodes “Children of the Moon” centers on xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and related photosensitivity disorders, explaining how even seconds of UV exposure can cause permanent DNA damage,…16 Aug 2026 · 43 min · 24 chapters
The Surreal Life of Elsa SchiaparelliThe rise, surreal designs, and near-fall of fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, including her “Lobster Dress,” her wartime controversies, and her postwar decline and legacy.11 Aug 2026 · 47 min · 20 chapters
The Tudor VillainessThe episode “The Tudor Villainess” (Noble Blood) argues that Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, was long branded a Tudor villain, but the evidence for her “betrayal” of Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn is thin…4 Aug 2026 · 36 min · 12 chapters
The House of Boleyn (with Tracy Borman)Tracy Borman discusses her novel The House of Boleyn, a Hever Castle-centered retelling of the rise of the Boleyn family and Anne Boleyn’s path to Henry VIII, challenging common myths about the…28 Jul 2026 · 34 min · 14 chapters
How a Dog Talks: The Surprising Redemption of Comic Sans [from Very Special Episodes]The “redemption” of Comic Sans—how a font designed for Microsoft Bob’s talking-dog speech bubbles became a cultural punchline, a “ban” target, and later a surprisingly useful option for accessibility…26 Jul 2026 · 37 min · 12 chapters
The King for a DayThe “King for a Day” legend—how Saul Katznellenbogen (also Saul Wall/Val) was supposedly chosen as a one-day temporary Jewish king of Poland in 1587, and how historians debunk most of it.21 Jul 2026 · 32 min · 13 chapters
Wyatt and Elizabeth in RevoltThe Wyatt Rebellion (1553–1554) against Queen Mary I, driven largely by opposition to her planned marriage to Philip of Spain, and the resulting imprisonment/interrogation of Mary’s half-sister…14 Jul 2026 · 29 min · 8 chapters
How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 2)Part 2 of “How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch” (Noble Blood) explains how Māori leaders formed the Kingitanga movement and crowned Te Fuero Fuero as the first Māori king, leading to the First…7 Jul 2026 · 36 min · 12 chapters
Chaotic Philanthropy: Saint Joan of the Golden Arches [from Very Special Episodes]The “chaotic philanthropy” of Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald’s co-founder Ray Kroc, and how her McDonald’s fortune funded rapid, unconventional giving—especially the $93M Kroc Center and major…5 Jul 2026 · 47 min · 16 chapters
How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 1)Part 1 of Noble Blood’s story about Māori leader Te Fuero Fuero and how he rises toward becoming the first Māori king of New Zealand, amid the Musket Wars and his rivalry with Te Rapparaha (Te…30 Jun 2026 · 25 min · 7 chapters
Countess of the DemimondeThe episode tells the life story behind a 19th-century queer autobiography, Secret Confessions of a Parisian, attributed to “the Countess” (Pauline/Arthur W.), and how it was framed by French…23 Jun 2026 · 38 min · 8 chapters
The Forbidden Star Trek Fanfiction [from Very Special Episodes]The “forbidden” Star Trek slash fanfiction Ring of Soshern (Kirk/Spock) and how it moved from 1960s “drawer fic” to an online, searchable PDF—plus the ethics of archiving work the author may not have…20 Jun 2026 · 51 min · 29 chapters
The Chloroform Baronet (Part 2)Part 2 of “The Chloroform Baronet” follows James Young Simpson’s rapid promotion of chloroform as an anesthetic, the backlash over pain and women’s “duty” to suffer, and the safety debate that…16 Jun 2026 · 36 min · 14 chapters
The Chloroform Baronet (Part 1)Part 1 of “The Chloroform Baronet” (Noble Blood) follows James Young Simpson’s quest to make surgery and childbirth less painful, moving from the horrors of early surgery under James Liston to the…9 Jun 2026 · 23 min · 10 chapters
Napoleon's Forgotten WifeThe episode follows Marie-Louise of Austria—Napoleon Bonaparte’s “forgotten wife”—from their politically forced marriage in 1810, through Napoleon’s Russian campaign and the fall of Paris, to her…2 Jun 2026 · 36 min · 10 chapters
The Other James Bond [from Very Special Episodes]The real-life inspiration behind James Bond’s name, arguing that Ian Fleming stole “James Bond” from ornithologist James Bond—and exploring whether the real James Bond may also have had intelligence…30 May 2026 · 50 min · 21 chapters