Not Just the Tudors

Assassination plots, Venetian stand‑offs and a diplomat in disguise: how did one maverick change the course of history?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Carol Chillington Rutter uncovers the spy‑thriller life of Henry Wotton, the “honest man sent to lie abroad” for his country. From foiling an attempt on King James VI’s life to pulling Europe back from the brink of war during a showdown between Venice and the papacy, they discover how this scoundrel‑ambassador helped invent modern diplomacy.MORE:Private Life of King James VI & IListen on AppleListen on SpotifyHow Indigenous Americans Discovered EuropeListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debbie Kilroy, author and historian who researches parliamentary rogues and scandalous figures, explores Captain William Kidd’s dizzying climb from privateer to pariah. She unpacks his ties to a secret syndicate and royal commission. Politics, mutiny, betrayal and a controversial prize shape his downfall. The story becomes a lens on shifting power, money and reputation in the age.

Who had a stronger claim to the English throne than Henry VII? When Henry Tudor took the crown on the battlefield at Bosworth, his hereditary claim was fragile. Eighteen Plantagenet descendants had a more legitimate right to rule, while pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck kept the Tudor court under constant threat. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Gone Medieval host Matt Lewis to unravel one of the great mysteries of history: if not Henry VII, then who was the rightful king of England?MOREHenry VII: Reign of JeopardyListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPrinces in the Tower: The Tudor Pretenders?Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Hannah Feodorov and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was there really a 17th century Italian woman who helped hundreds of wives murder their husbands, or is her story a myth born of fear and gossip?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the legend of Giulia Tofana, the so-called criminal mastermind behind a secret poison network. With historical novelist Cathryn Kemp, she uncovers the blurred line between truth and terror, reveals how the Pope hunted down a group of women who were not only independent businesswomen but who were striking back at abusive husbands across Italy.More:Tudor True Crime: Murder in Renaissance RomeListen on AppleListen on SpotifyMurderous WomenListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Jonathan McGovern, historian and Tudor specialist and author, walks through plots to topple Elizabeth I. He traces Mary Queen of Scots’ arrival, the Northern Rebellion, Ridolfi and Throckmorton conspiracies, Walsingham’s spy network, and the Babington Plot. Short, sharp storytelling about spies, intercepted letters, trials, and the high-stakes politics of 16th-century England.

Sofia Robleda, Mexican author of The Other Moctezuma Girls who blends scholarship and storytelling. She explores daily life, work, and ritual roles of pre-conquest women. She discusses Malinche’s contested legacy, Isabel Moctezuma’s survival and legal agency, and how colonial violence, Christianization, and archival gaps shape the recovered histories of Indigenous noblewomen.

Dr. Brent Sirota, historian of late Stuart and early Hanoverian Britain and NC State academic, explores the 1714 succession crisis. He traces links to the Glorious Revolution. He outlines how Parliament engineered the Protestant settlement and its limits. He examines religion, Scottish pressure, and the Hanoverians’ European ties.

Dr Sean Cunningham, historian and head of medieval records at the National Archives and author of a Penguin biography of Henry VII, joins to explore late medieval politics. He traces Henry’s rise from exile to king. They discuss Bosworth’s gamble. They examine tools of control like bonds, the threats of Simnel and Warbeck, and how aging shaped a sterner reign.

Lady Anne Somerset, historian and biographer of Queen Anne, offers a corrective take on the last Stuart monarch. She probes Anne’s poor health and public image, the tragic pattern of her pregnancies, the political maneuvering behind the 1707 Union, and the fraught relationship with Sarah Churchill. The conversation reevaluates Anne’s political activity, faith, and why her reputation has been misunderstood.

Rachel Morris, historian and author who studies early modern magic, religion and emerging science. She unpacks Robert Kirk’s belief that fairies were a hidden, law‑bound people. Short takes cover second sight, Kirk’s parish fieldwork, Scotland’s uncanny landscape, continuities between elite and popular magical thought, and the strange afterlife of Kirk’s manuscript.