It is here! Our first Q&A episode has arrived and we have some excellent things to talk about. We'll discuss the avocado of Sweden in 1500s, how the Reformation changed attitudes towards sexuality and meet the medieval version of Huey, Dewey, and Louie!

Thank you to everyone for sending in the great questions! 

Last time in our two-part look at the life and achievements of Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, we covered his life and contributions to science and business. This time we are looking at the prizes named after him.

Why does Norway award the Nobel Peace Prize, why was the Swedish king angry about this, who has won the most Nobel Prizes and why has Åsa interviewed a prize winner? All this and more in this episode!

We mention Norwegian writer and Nobel Literature Prize winner Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in this episode. Here he is!

In a very special episode, we interview the Speaker (Talman) of the Swedish Parliament, Andreas Norlén. The Speaker reflects on the history behind his historic office, the period in history he would have most liked to have been Speaker and how he sees the reign of current king Carl Gustaf XVI. Bonus content includes Swedish poetry, tomatoes, a historical clock and how heavy the parliamentary gavel is!

Links to some of the topics covered

The poet Karin Boye

Speaker Olof Håkonsson from the 1700s

The Speaker's instagram account

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I ett mycket speciellt avsnitt intervjuar vi Riksdagens talman, Andreas Norlén, på engelska. Talmanen reflekterar över historien bakom sitt historiska ämbete, den historiska perioden han helst skulle ha varit talman och hur han ser på regeringstiden för nuvarande kung Carl Gustaf XVI. Med bonusinnehåll såsom talmannes favoriter i svensk poesi, tomater, en historisk klocka och hur mycket rikdagens klubba väger! 

The first in a two-part special about famous Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. We look at the life of the man who opened more factories than anyone could count! This biography looks into his exploits, inventions and explosions, from his childhood to last days spent in Italy. Next time we'll dive deep into the history of the famous prizes created by him by his will. 

Uppsala Cathedral is a place that has appeared multiple times in the podcast; hosting rebellions, funerals and coronations. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the history of the cathedral and its construction, including the lengthy building process and even the original French contractors! 

Some images to help you along:

The final floor plan

A timeline floorplan:Dark red: 1270s, Red: 1287-1331, Blue: 1360s-1380s, Light Blue: c.1400, Light Green: 1430s, Dark Green: 1440s or later

After much back and forth, it is time for King Sigismund to face his uncle Duke Karl in battle for the throne of the Sweden. Karl is using every trick and tactic in the book, but Sigismund has a load of cannons and even a dragon! But how will it end and who will end up in charge of the Swedish kingdom? 

The end of the 1500s is fast approaching, but there's still time for some classic Swedish history events! This time we see a peasant revolt, religious turmoil as the Archbishop goes on a tour of the country and of course some more family feuding in the top dynasty of the country. We also visit a place that will become much more famous in the 20th century! 

For the first time since his father Johan III died, Sigismund is back in Sweden and looking forward to his coronation as ruler of Sweden. But before that happens, he needs to agree on some rules with the Swedish regency council and deal with the fallout of a big religious meeting in Uppsala. Will Sigismund become a slave to the Swedish nobility and why is his child being held hostage by the Polish council? We also take the time to finish off "The Long Wrath" or even the "Nordiska tjugofemårskriget" in Swedish! 

We're nearing the end of King Johan's reign, but there's still time for him to try and sort out the issues surrounding his son Sigismund, and the Polish succession. After years of strife and arguing over religious reform, added to the trials of war abroad, Johan isn't sitting on a large pile of political capital, and so has to struggle with the Swedish nobility. Plus, someone has the bright idea to actually count how much money is left in the treasury!

We're shifting our focus across the Baltic Sea to Estonia, Finland and Russia, to see what happens when war once against inevitably breaks out between Sweden and Russia. This time, it's personal! Tsar Ivan the Terrible and king Johan of Sweden really don't get along and their differences spill over into a drawn-out conflict. One particularly dramatic event involves a dispute between Johan's German and Scottish mercenaries!