Beheaded

The notorious case of Dr. Crippen is that of transatlantic proportions. He was a homeopathic American doctor in the early 20th century who moved to London with his lovely (yet unfaithful) wife, Cora. Affairs can go both ways, however… after Cora goes mysteriously missing, Dr. Crippen and his own lover are on the run. Their story makes history as London police tracked down their suspects using a wireless telegraph for the first time. Don't be a creep - listen to Dr. Crippen's notorious tale today.

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We are back with season 4! And what better way to kick off a new season than by re-doing our first episode? Queen Marie Antoinette is easily one of the most famous beheadings in history, so we need to do her justice and get her story right. This time with better audio quality and better education, we start with Marie’s early childhood and discuss her life all the way to her downfall. This time, we even explain why she was executed! So come eat some cake with us (again) as we listen to some of our most cringe-worthy moments together from season 1. 

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Our season 3 finale comes to a close with recounting the final days of Lady Jane Grey and her fellow supporters. In part one of this episode, we discussed Jane's rise to power: Edward VI quickly added a very important annotation to the succession document  changing "Lady Jane's male heirs" to "Lady Jane and her male heirs", making her the next queen of England. At this point, Jane's supporters are few and Mary Tudor is building up an army to take the crown she has fought long and hard for. In part two, we reveal Jane's downfall and gruesome fate. The question still remain: does she deserve the title of being a British monarch if she was only crowned for nine days? Or should she be skipped over in the line of royals? Elizabeth and Megan discuss this and more in this final episode. 

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You may think you know all of the kings and queens of the Tudor Dynasty. We know King Henry VIII had 3 children, all of whom made their way to the throne at one point or another. But we tend to forget about another queen who reigned for a mere 9 days between King Edward VI and Queen Mary I. She was a young teenage girl by the name of Jane Grey. Later in history, she becomes known as the 9-day queen. The course of history was changed forever when the Edward VI added the the words 'and her' into his line of succession, making Jane next in line after his death. Those two words resulted in an epic fight for the crown, ending with battles and bloodshed. In part one of the season finale, Elizabeth and Megan walk through the final days of of the young girl who was used as a pawn in history's greatest chess game. 

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During the final years of King Henry VIII's reign, Catholics were in charge and Protestantism was illegal. Despite this danger, Anne Askew very proudly and publicly shared her Protestant beliefs around London. Up until her imprisonment at the Tower of London, torturing women on the rack was also illegal. Anne refused to reveal the names of her fellow Protestant friends (perhaps including Queen Catherine Parr herself) and her inquisitors felt the need to take extra measures. Shockingly, this could have been the only incident on record where King Henry VIII believed in equal rights for women. Unfortunately for Anne, that meant getting her limbs slowly and painfully pulled apart.  At only 25 years, Anne Askew was the first women to have been both tortured at the Tower of London and burnt at the stake. 

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Florence, Italy during the Renaissance was an era of lavish art, scientific discoveries, and powerful families. The wealth and popularity of the Medici family was not to be questioned. They owned one of Italy's largest banks and if you needed a favor, you needed the Medici's approval. The Pazzi family had plans of their own, though, and decided they wanted to be the top players. What became known as the Pazzi Conspiracy ended in bloodshed and capital punishment. Get ready for the Italian accents, because we're talking about pizza and executions in this episode of Beheaded!

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Tudor monarchs are notorious for executing their lovers, and it didn’t stop with King Henry VIII. In full Tudor fashion, Queen Elizabeth I dappled in romance with the young Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (despite being 34 years his senior). While Elizabeth was enamored with his energy, spirit, and good looks, the rest of the court rolled their eyes at Robert’s arrogance. No doubt, they were excited to see his inevitable and bloody downfall after one too many slip-ups. In his own final words, he is the “most wretched of all”.

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Voodoo (also known as Vodou or Vundun) is an ancient practice that has gone back over 6,000 years with origins from West Africa. While perhaps a very misunderstood religion, people of all cultures have been fascinated and intrigued by its mysterious virtues. Despite Catholicism being claimed as the primary religion of Haiti in the 1860's, without a doubt, Vodou was the popular religion amongst citizens. But is it evil? Those on the jury during the Affaire de Bizoton may argue so. In 1864, eight Vodou practitioners were put on trial and sentenced to death for sacrificing and eating a 12-year-old girl during a Vodou ceremony.  In this episode, we talk about the grotesque and disturbing (as usual) that ends with severe and pitiful capital punishment.  

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Brunhilda of Austrasia was Queen Consort  of the Merovingian age from 575 - 613 AD. She was a fierce and brave leader of the Frankish dynasty, despite having to rule through her sons and grandsons. Her story, though not widely popular, is a tale of confusing names and violence, making it sound like something out of a fable. It includes assassinations, murder, suicide, family rivalry, and brutal wars. Her execution was no different as she paid the price for decades of a savage lifestyle. 

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