It is possible to be addicted to many things; sugar, gambling, cigarettes are just a few. But Duke Karl is addicted to something else and that is a good old fashioned bloodbath. Needing to consolidate his power now King Sigismund has left the country, Karl turns his attention to castle commanders, members of the council and even admin assistants in his quest to secure the loyalty of everyone left in Sweden. It's extreme, but will it work?

You can see the painting of Sten Banér that we mention late in the episode via the link here. 

You can find out more information about the podcast on our website, send us an email and follow us on social media here:

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P.S. If you like A Flatpack History of Sweden, how about you check out Kingdom: Swedish Rulers? We're ranking all the Swedish kings, queens and regents, wherever you find your podcasts!

Flatpack is back!

After our break we thought it would be good to jump back into the timeline with a recap of one our current main characters, Duke Karl. We look at how his upbringing as a son of Gustav Vasa prepared him for rule. Also, how did watching two of his brothers mess up being king prepare Karl for fighting his nephew for the throne. Let's get ready for the 1600s!

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Bluesky

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P.S. If you like A Flatpack History of Sweden, how about you check out Kingdom: Swedish Rulers? We're ranking all the Swedish kings, queens and regents, wherever you find your podcasts!

We're jumping into the feed to let you know that we are appearing at the Intelligent Speech podcasting conference in February 2026!

We'd love to see you there, where we look forward to delivering an interesting talk about the infighting within the Bjälbo dynasty!

The conference

Intelligent Speech Online is happening on the 28th of February 2026.

Hello from Colombia! 

We pop back on the feed to thank you for all your kind messages and to let you know about a special guest appearance we did recently on the Presidencies of the United States Podcast.

We talked to host Jerry over three episodes about the incredibly eventful life of John Quincy Adams. Do give it a listen, just search for Presidencies wherever you find your podcasts!

Flatpack is going on a break!

See you in 2026!

As promised at the end of our Q&A episode, we're diving into the fate of the crew of the three Polish submarines that managed to escape to Sweden during the Second World War. What was life like in their internment camps, what was the attitude of the Swedish authorities and how did the crews get on with the locals in the small town of Mariefred? 

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.