Heretic History

This month we're (I'm) doing something a little different. Due to my graduate studies, I've been somewhat limited on time to dedicate to historical research. So instead, I'm sharing a bit of my own, personal history. I want to talk about that time I got an IUD.

In this episode, I'll be sharing my journey of getting an intrauterine device. From the research and conversations I had with my friends and doctor, to the physical experien...

In 1878 archeologists were conducting expansive excavations on the island of Björkö in Sweden. A millennia before, this quiet spot had been a bustling port of international trade and one of the last bastions of Norse paganism in Viking culture. As they worked, the researchers soon uncovered a massive tomb, filled with weaponry. It was the final resting place of a great warrior and military leader, whose bones (greatly degraded) wer...

The Tudors may be one of Western history's most well-known families. Their real-life traumas, dramas, and intrigues still inspire plot lines in popular media today. One of the often overlooked members of this family is Mary Tudor, the youngest daughter of Henry VII.

Although her story has been the inspiration for many a romance novel (she famously married for love rather than power) these fanciful tales fail to capture the characte...

Another release from the Patreon vault!

At its height, the Roman Empire stretched across the regions of what today makes up most of Western Europe, portions of Eastern Europe and West Asia, down into the Middle East, and across northern Africa. And at the farthest western reach of that great Empire was the island of Britannia.

But in 60/61 CE, the unquestionable might of Rome was nearly upended by a band of rebellious tribes at the...

Something a little different for you this month... I'm releasing what was originally my first Patreon-exclusive episode, Rosa Parks P3. If you need a refresher on Parts 1 and 2, just scroll back to 2022 and give those episodes a listen. Otherwise, let's dive into the conclusion of this incredible story:

The name Rosa Parks will be forever linked to the early years of the American Civil Rights Movement, particularly in the Deep Sout...

Part 2 and conclusion of my Nur Jahan series. We pick up right where we left off:

The year is 1608 and 31-year-old Mihr-un-Nissa has arrived in the capital of Agra. Recently widowed, she and her daughter will join the royal harem of Emperor Jahangir. But her place here is far from certain. Her late husband died a suspected traitor, her brother was also executed for treason, and her father has been imprisoned under suspicion of bein...

In the winter of 1577 a great comet lit up the skies across the globe. Scholars of the age from every kingdom, pondered what omen this celestial body might portend. Meanwhile, in a caravan camp along the road outside of Kandahar, a young refugee couple would welcome their fourth child. A daughter, whom they named Mihr-un-Nisa, meaning Sun of Women.

The family was making their way to the Mughal-ruled empire of Hindustan (India). Des...

In 1931 Hattie McDaniel arrived in Los Angeles with only a few dollars in her pocket. After over a decade of singing in jazz clubs and touring the vaudeville circuit, she was ready to try her hand in the booming film industry.

Already familiar with the prejudices and limitations placed on black entertainers, McDaniel was well-equipped to navigate the expectations of white Hollywood, and quickly found herself booking featured parts....

Before MGM, the Oscars, and fame, Hattie McDaniel was a struggling stage actress and singer. 

The daughter of a Union soldier, her family endeavored to find a better way of life in the aftermath of the Civil War. But injustice, poverty, and discrimination hindered them at every turn. Amid the strife and uncertainty of their youth, the McDaniel children would find salvation through performance.

As a black woman, strict societal stan...

Since its founding, the city of Alexandria had been the pinnacle of wisdom in the ancient world. A beacon of knowledge and research, it boasted the largest library the world had ever seen and attracted the greatest scholars of every generation.

But in the spring of 415 CE, a brutal slaying would irrevocably shatter this pristine image, when the city's leading philosopher was dragged through the streets and murdered by a mob of enra...

The third and final chapter of my Caterina Sforza series! We follow our heroine through the final trials and tribulations of her life: 

After nearly losing herself to vengeance in the aftermath of her second husband's murder, she will find redemption through acts of service. Eventually, she will learn to love and learn to grieve all over again. With unflinching nerve, she will withstand continued plots against her family, another f...

We pick up right where we left off... Caterina, after holding the Vatican hostage, is forced to relinquish her post and follow her hapless husband north to Florì. Although now far removed from the intrigues of the Roman court, political plots and vendettas follow them, threatening retribution at every turn.

As the next ten years unfold, the Countess will face horrors and triumphs: wars, shifting alliances, forbidden love and unimag...

Italy in the 1400's was a land of contradictions. The cradle of the Renaissance was encapsulated with bloody warfare and nefarious plots; beautiful and deadly. Only a backdrop such as this could produce a woman like Caterina Sfroza.

Born the illegitimate daughter to one of the wealthiest men in Romagna, her upbringing was on par with any prince of Europe. She was trained to observe, calculate, hunt and fight. But most of all, she w...