Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

In early 1540, Thomas Cromwell was still powerful, but he knew something had shifted.Today we look at the final year before Cromwell’s fall, not as a sudden collapse, but as a slow recognition that his influence was draining away. As the court reoriented itself, allies fell silent, old enemies returned, and the systems Cromwell built no longer protected him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if Catherine of Aragon had agreed to an annulment in 1527?Today we explore a Tudor what-if with enormous consequences. If Catherine had stepped aside quietly, Henry VIII might never have broken with Rome, Anne Boleyn might have had time to secure her position, Mary Tudor’s future could have been settled early, and England might have remained a far quieter place.A meditation on how one refusal, rooted in conscience, reshaped a kingdom.Check out the Vday collection: https://tudorfair.com/collections/valentines-day-2026 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this minicast, we spend twenty-four hours with a yeoman farmer and his family, the solid middle of Tudor society. From waking before dawn to fieldwork, food, spinning, neighborly chatter, and falling asleep by firelight, this is an ordinary working day in rural England. No court, no kings, just the daily rhythm that fed the country and kept Tudor England running. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This talk was recorded live at Tudorcon 2025.In this lecture, Mallory Jackson explores the work of Hans Holbein the Younger, the artist whose portraits defined how we visualize the Tudor court. Focusing on key paintings from Holbein’s years in England, she looks at how symbolism, material culture, and political change shaped portraits of figures such as Henry VIII, Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell.This is a detailed, art-driven discussion of Holbein’s most famous works, including The Ambassadors, and what they reveal about power, belief, and uncertainty in Tudor England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Juana of Castile is remembered by history as “Juana the Mad,” but that label explains far less than it hides. In this episode, we step away from biography and diagnosis to look instead at power: who held it, who wanted it, and who benefited when Juana was declared unfit to rule. Drawing on recent scholarship and the comparison with her sister Catherine of Aragon, this is a closer look at how a reigning queen was sidelined, confined, and ultimately erased without ever being formally deposed. Juana’s story isn’t just tragic. It’s a case study in how authority can be neutralized not by force, but by containment.Read the book Sister Queens - available on Amazon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.