Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

The Gruesome Symmetry of the Six Martyrs: Henry VIII's Religious Turmoil

  • 46 minutes 30 seconds
    Grace O'Malley, Ireland's Pirate Queen

    She cut off her hair to sail the seas. She divorced her husband by locking him out of his own castle. And when her son was killed by the occupying English, she sailed straight up the Thames to plead for help from Elizabeth I. Or did she?

    Gráinne Ní Mháille, or Grace O'Malley, the legendary "Pirate Queen" of Ireland, was the head of a seafaring dynasty, while the Tudors tightened their grip, she commanded fleets, forged alliances, waged war, survived imprisonment, and outwitted some of the most ruthless men of her age.

    Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Gillian Kenny to debunk some of the myths about one of the most remarkable women of the Elizabethan age.


    MORE

    Women Pirates of the Caribbean

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Ireland's Witchcraft Trials

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    9 April 2026, 2:00 am
  • 50 minutes 4 seconds
    Elizabethan Boy Actresses

    Why were Shakespeare’s greatest heroines played by teenage boys? How did they learn their craft? On the Elizabethan stage, highly trained young men progressed from minor parts to play some of the Bard's most famous heroines, including Juliet and Cleopatra.

    Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Roberta Barker to uncover how these cross-dressing apprentices brought some of the Renaissance theatre's most memorable characters to life.


    MORE

    Shakespeare's First Playhouse

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Girls on Stage and Page in the Elizabethan Age

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    6 April 2026, 2:00 am
  • 50 minutes 24 seconds
    When the Spanish Armada Reached Ireland

    What happens when a fleeing armada meets an unforgiving coast? Shipwreck, slaughter and survival collide as Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Michael B. Barry uncover the untold Irish chapter of the Spanish Armada. From shattered galleons and mass executions to lost princes and lingering myths on wild Atlantic shores, this is a storm‑lashed saga where the real battle begins after the guns fall silent.


    MORE:

    The Spanish Armada

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Mary Rose and the Battle of The Solent

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    2 April 2026, 2:00 am
  • 52 minutes 35 seconds
    Henry Wotton: Outlaw and Royal Spy

    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 & I

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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

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

    30 March 2026, 2:00 am
  • 43 minutes 50 seconds
    The Rise and Fall of Pirate Captain Kidd

    Was Captain William Kidd a ruthless pirate or a pawn in a royal gamble gone wrong? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Debbie Kilroy trace his meteoric rise from privateer to pariah, backed by a secret syndicate of powerful men, including the king. Mutiny, murder, and betrayal follow as power and politics turn Kidd’s royal commission into one of history’s most dramatic downfalls.


    MORE:

    Women Pirates of the Caribbean

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Pirates of the Pacific & the Spanish Empire

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    26 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 58 minutes 37 seconds
    Plantagenet vs. Tudor: Who was the Rightful King?

    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?


    MORE


    Henry VII: Reign of Jeopardy

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Princes in the Tower: The Tudor Pretenders?

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Presented 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 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

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

    23 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 36 minutes 15 seconds
    Tudor True Crime: The First Female Serial Killer?

    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 Rome

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Murderous Women

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    19 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 41 minutes 56 seconds
    Plots against Elizabeth I

    Who wanted Elizabeth I dead, and how close did they come to removing her? Who were the conspirators and rebels who plotted to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne?

    Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Jonathan McGovern to unravel the Northern Rebellion, the Ridolfi and Throckmorton conspiracies, the chilling Babington Plot, and the shadowy intrigues of spies, traitors, and foreign powers who tried to topple the Tudor queen.


    MORE:

    Tudor True Crime: Who Murdered Lord Darnley?

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Tudor True Crime: The Murder of Rizzio

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Presented 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 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

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

    16 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 37 minutes 15 seconds
    Colonial Women of the Americas

    Warning: This episode contains references to sexual abuse


    What became of the women whose worlds collapsed when the Spanish arrived in Mesoamerica? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Mexican author Sofia Robleda to uncover the lives of the women who navigated conquest, faith, and colonial law with resilience and strategy.


    MORE:

    The Caribbean, Colonisers & Christianity

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Cortés and the Aztecs

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Tim Arstall 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. 

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

    12 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 48 minutes 18 seconds
    Regime Change: From Stuart to Hanover

    Who would rule Britain after the childless Queen Anne died in 1714? Why was a distant German Protestant dynasty chosen over closer claimants to the throne?

    In the final part of our series on the Restoration monarchs, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Brent Sirota, to explore what the Hanoverian succession settled and what it left unresolved, defining modern Britain beyond just the crown.


    MORE:

    Queen Mary II & the Glorious Revolution

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    James II: The Restoration's Last Catholic KIng

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 


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

    9 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    Henry VII: Reign of Jeopardy

    Was Henry Tudor a tyrant obsessed with control, or a visionary who created peace and prosperity? How did a penniless exile with a tenuous claim to the crown found a dynasty that reshaped the nation? How did he fight off pretenders to the throne?

    Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Sean Cunningham to explore how Henry VII, from unlikely beginnings, stabilized a kingdom torn apart by decades of civil war and laid the foundations of the Tudor age.


    MORE:

    The Last Plantagenets in Tudor England

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    Princes in the Tower

    Listen on Apple

    Listen on Spotify


    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. 

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

    5 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App