In 1968, a woman wrote a romantic story about Kirk and Spock, passed it quietly among friends, and hoped it would never see the light of day. But before vanishing entirely, The Ring of Soshern had become the stuff of legend. The quest to recover it would lead to a community of women who'd been building something remarkable in the shadows for generations. 

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In 1847, James Young Simpson successfully used chloroform for the first time to help in childbirth. But the anesthetic was still controversial and dangerous, which made it all the more risky when Simpson was faced with a royal patient: Queen Victoria.

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James Young Simpson, as a young surgeon, was distraught at the seemingly inescapable pain and fear that patients were suffering. He decided to try to find a better solution.

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When Josphine failed to produce heirs, Napoleon secured a divorce and arranged for another marriage: to the 18-year-old daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Young Marie-Louise arrived in Paris and, to her surprise, found herself enchanted by her new husband.  But Napoleon's Empire was crumbling, and it was Marie-Louise's own father who would help secure its downfall.

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Two families captivated the 20th century: the Kennedy clan in America, and the Windsors, the royal family of the UK. Both faced the tribulations of fame and power, and the challenges of the 21st century media. Dana spoke about the parallel dynasties with Caroline Hallemann, author of the upcoming book The Kennedys and the Windsors.

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In 1826, a young man stumbled into town with limited language and a mysterious past: he revealed that he had spent his life in isolation, in a single room with no human interaction. Was he telling the truth? And if he was... was it possible that he might actually be a missing royal prince?

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Part two of our episode on Émilie du Châtelet, the brilliant female mathematician and physicist who helped to redefine our understanding of how the world works..

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History has often reduced the brilliant mathematician and physicist Émilie du Châtelet to her relationship with a famous man (Voltaire). But she was a fascinating figure in her own right, an 18th century polymath at the forefront of conversations about how the world worked.

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When the future Queen Elizabeth I was just 13 years old, she was living with Catherine Parr, who remarried after the death of Henry VIII. Catherine's new husband was handsome and charming, but he was also someone who would threaten scandal. A scandal that could cost Elizabeth's future.

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For eight months, Roman von Ungern-Sternberg took control of the capital of Mongolia, in a campaign that was less about international politics and more about his own warped sense of purpose.

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In 1921, a Russian officer named Roman von Ungern-Sternberg invaded Mongolia, ostensibly with the goal to liberate it from Chinese forces. But he had his own ulterior motives, and a pattern of cruelty that was only beginning.

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