Beheaded

Season two is finally here! Some may say she's basic (not us, of course!), but love her or hate her, Catherine Howard was next up to the chopping block as King Henry VIII's fifth wife. She played with love and after being called a "sweet little fool", her actions finally caught up with her. Season two of Behedead gets kicked off with one of our favorite queens in British history: the young (and headless) Catherine Howard. 

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In our season finale, Megan and Elizabeth finish the terrifying story of Mary Queen of Scots. Queen Mary wasn't one to have good luck, and the events that unfolded during her execution proved just that. Her death has been memorialized as one of the most disturbing and unfair botched executions in Tudor history, and perhaps even in the history of mankind. 

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Mary Queen of Scots was known to attract enemies since she was a young girl. From her upbringing in France to becoming Queen of Scotland, her life was not easy. In this two-part season finale, Megan and Elizabeth dissect this doomed queen's life from one unfortunate event to the next to try and understand why it had to end with such a miserable execution. 

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Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum was an unfortunate soul who robbed trains in the wild, wild west. Eventually, the law caught up with him and he was hanged in front of a public crowd. Too bad the executioners didn't know what they were doing! In this episode, Dr. John (a real-life doctor!) joins the show to give a medical perspective on what happens to a body during a botched hanging like this. Yee haw! 

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The Nun of Kent. The Holy Maid of Kent. And eventually...The Mad Maid of Kent. These were all nicknames for Elizabeth Barton, the young and spunky nun who supposedly was receiving prophetic messages from Gods and angels (all of whom had very big opinions about King Henry VIII and his bride-to-be Anne Boleyn). King Henry VIII wasn’t having this and needed to put an end to these treasonous prophecies about his downfall. To this day, the question still remains: Was Elizabeth the pious and prophetic nun she was made to be? Or was she a mischievous charlatan eager for attention? 

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Megan and Elizabeth here ready to talk about two of our favorite subjects: torture and execution. Who says history can't be fun, especially when we're chatting about the drop of the axe and swoosh of the noose. Listen, subscribe and follow along on our Instagram (@beheaded.podcast) to hear about the fascinating and dark stories of your favorite, controversial characters in history. Don't lose your head. 

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World War II was a dark time in Italy's history as they were under the grips of fascist leader and dictator Benito Mussolini. On April 28th, 1945 - just two days before Hitler commits suicide - Mussolini and his mistress, Claretta Pettaci, were executed by machine guns. Despite this being a more modern execution story, key questions still remain a mystery: who ordered the execution? Who was the executioner? Was there a legal trial? Elizabeth and Megan take us back to WWII to discuss the downfall of this infamous Italian dictator. 

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Socrates: Greek hero, world-renowned philosopher, scholar, and apparently a very bad influence. So much so, in fact, he was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth of Athens and refusing to celebrate multiple gods.  Naturally, the punishment for these heinous crimes should be poisoning yourself! Prepare your minds as Elizabeth and Megan get deep and philosophical in this episode of Beheaded. 

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We know the story. We've seen the movie. But it's time to talk about the disturbing and gory details of William Wallace's execution: death by being drawn and quartered. Freedom had a hefty price tag in 13th century Scotland, and Wallace paid in full. Beware, disembowelment is not for the faint hearted.   

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"For traitors on the block should die; I am no traitor, no, not I!"
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, held onto her innocence until the very end. Not only was she one of the oldest women beheaded at the Tower of London, but she was also one of the most pious. Unfortunately, her piety did not save her from King Henry VIII's wrath... or from a "blundering youth" of an executioner who quite literally hacked her to pieces.

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