In this special episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb fields questions about the Tudors and their time that have all been suggested by you.  From the hundreds of ideas for episodes and queries received from listeners all over the world, Suzannah has chosen a wide array of subjects - from Henry VIII’s illegitimate son to knitting, from atheism to codpieces! Helping her to answer them are Professor Alec Ryrie and Professor Maria Hayward.

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Fig Leaves & A Grumpy Jesus: Renaissance to Baroque Art

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Origins of Pantomime

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign 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. 

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450 years ago, Venice found itself facing a plague outbreak that would kill more than 50,000 people - a third of its population. But to manage the epidemic, the city developed pioneering measures. These included the creation of of special islands called 'lazzaretti', Europe's first quarantine institutions, which isolated people and goods suspected of carrying the plague. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Jane Stevens Crawshaw to discover how Venice balanced commerce, compassion, and survival in the face of deadly disease.

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Surviving Plague in Florence

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How to Survive the Plague

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the most powerful woman in Anne Boleyn’s story never spoke on the record? Elizabeth Boleyn steps out of the shadows in this revelatory Tudor deep-dive. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Sophie Bacchus-Waterman to piece together the elusive life of Anne Boleyn’s mother, from Howard girlhood to court matriarch, exploring power, silence and survival amid the dangerous glitter of Henry VIII’s court.

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Jane Boleyn with Philippa Gregory

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Six Wives: Anne Boleyn

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**Contains descriptions of war atrocities, including rape and infanticide**

In 1544, Henry VIII led the largest army ever raised by an English monarch to capture the French port of Boulogne. It was said that the conquest would be Henry’s “perpetual monument.” Yet history has largely forgotten it.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks with Professor Neil Murphy to uncover the little-known story of Henry VIII at war. Together they explore the campaign to seize Boulogne, which reshapes our view of Tudor power, imperial ambition, and Henry’s legacy as a conqueror.

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Mary Rose & the Battle of the Solent

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Montaigne: Philosopher of the French Renaissance

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Presented 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 podcast.

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throughout history, the words of poets have often ignited change or unsettled those in power. In England particularly, poetry has both celebrated and criticised the country's greatest triumphs and darkest hours. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Catherine Clarke dive into the radical heart of poetry, where language has given rise to courage and resistance. 

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John Donne: England’s Greatest Love Poet

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Bloody Massacres and the Puritan Poet

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**Contains story of a young male suicide**

Out of the devastation of the English Civil Wars, a radical new religious movement was born. The early Quakers, led by fiery and charismatic preachers, believed they had been chosen by God to save souls and purify a corrupt world. But the origins of Quakerism were far darker and more complex than the peaceful faith we know today. Convinced of divine purpose, Quakers performed failed miracles, disrupted services, defied the law, and faced imprisonment, all in pursuit of what they saw as God’s truth.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Erica Canela to uncover how religious zeal, fear, and desperation drove ordinary men and women to extraordinary, and sometimes terrifying, acts.

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Voices of Thunder: Radical Women of the 17th Century

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Heretic or Martyr? Tudor Poet Anne Askew

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step into the turbulent heart of the Wars of the Roses and meet one of history’s most formidable survivors: Lady Margaret Beaufort.

A child bride, a teenage mother, and ultimately the mastermind behind the rise of the Tudor dynasty, Margaret navigated betrayal, bloodshed, and political chaos with nerves of steel.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb sits down with leading biographers Lauren Johnson and Dr. Nicola Tallis to uncover the real woman behind the legend: her extraordinary resilience, razor-sharp political instincts and the unyielding drive that helped place her son on the throne as Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch.

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Henry VII

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Henry VIII's Sister, Margaret, Queen of Scots

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free speech is today more contested than ever before. In many places, differing views about politics, sex, and religion are suppressed and punished. In the West, debates rage over its limits and meaning. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Fara Dabhoiwala to trace the roots of this conflict back to the 18th century, when America embraced the First Amendment, while most of the world adopted a different principle: rights balanced by responsibilities. Together Suzannah and Fara explore the surprising and often troubling origins of free speech, from medieval punishments for slander and Henry VIII’s treason laws to the American Revolution’s selective embrace of liberty.

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17th and 18th Century Sexual Revolution

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Singing the News in Tudor England

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke?

In the 1580s Sir Walter Raleigh set about establishing a permanent English colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina. But within a few years the settlement and its colonists had mysteriously vanished. Ever since, historians and archaeologists have tried to piece together what really happened to the colonists.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by archaeologist Professor Mark Horton to explore one of history's great unsolved puzzles.

For more information on the terms used in this episode:

https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/impact-words-tips

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Walter Raleigh’s Quest for El Dorado

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The Dark Side of Sir Francis Drake

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**Contains accounts of murder and sexual violence**

After an explosion rocked Edinburgh in February 1567, Lord Darnley - husband to Mary, Queen of Scots - was found strangled, alongside a servant. Who killed them? Was it Darnley's rival, and Mary's next husband, the Earl of Bothwell? Could Mary herself have been involved?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by acclaimed crime writer Denise Mina to try to solve Darnley’s murder.

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Tudor True Crime: The Murder of Rizzio

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Mary Queen of Scots on Film: The Historians' Verdict

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Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry VIII’s commanding gaze, Thomas More’s intellect, Anne of Cleves’ cautious poise; Hans Holbein’s portraits didn’t just depict the Tudors, they defined them. His astonishing realism gave us not just faces but personalities. But how do we truly know the artist behind the art?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb welcomes back Dr. Elizabeth Goldring, whose groundbreaking research using cutting-edge technology and scientific analysis has uncovered the secrets beneath Holbein’s paint layers, revealing hidden colours, lost details, and radical working methods.

Shakespeare's Male Muse: A Mystery Solved?

A Tudor Mystery: The Girl Who Could Be Queen

Presented 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 podcast

Sign 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. 

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.