From ancient times to the present, cultures worldwide have celebrated the sun’s return following the winter solstice. In this episode, I bring you the story of the midwinter celebrations of ancient Rome, from Saturnalia to Sol Invictus and beyond.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Since ancient times Avernus, an ancient volcanic crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, has been the source of legend. In this special minisode, I bring you the story of Italy’s legendary gateway to the underworld.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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If there is one thing every reader of fairy tales can tell you, it’s that you should never, ever venture into the woods alone. From the whispering willows to the ominous oaks, this episode brings you the stories of the trees that loom large in our collective imagination, exploring their sinister attributes and the cautionary tales they inspire.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In 1584, Reginald Scot, a little-known English gentleman farmer from Kent, published a work that would shake the foundations of religious and legal authority in Europe. At a time when witch trials were sweeping through Europe, Scot’s book was a rare and radical challenge to the powers that be. This episode brings you the story of Reginald Scot and his The Discoverie of Witchcraft.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Subscriber-only episode

The illustrious mistress of King Henry II of France was a woman whose beauty, intellect, and influence left an indelible mark on the French court. However, the very substance that promised her immortality might have been her undoing. This subscriber-exclusive minisode brings you the story of Diane de Poitiers and her potentially deadly pursuit of youth and beauty.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Despite the inscrutability of his writings and the fact that he was only one of a number of court astrologers advising Catherine de' Medici, "Serpent Queen" of France, Nostradamus’s prophecies have found a dedicated audience in the centuries following their publication. How is it that Nostradamus and his writings have such a lasting legacy? This episode brings you the story of Catherine de’ Medici, her occult advisors, and the life and lasting influence of Nostradamus.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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In the last decades of the eighteenth century, Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the American Declaration of Independence, began collecting documents related to the history of the Colony of Virginia. Among them was a volume of early seventeenth-century case records from the Williamsburg Courthouse. During the American Civil War, retreating Confederate forces burned the archives in Virginia’s state capital in 1865. This one volume, maintained in Jefferson’s private library, survived, and with it, the record of America’s earliest documented witch trial, some seventy years before the famous trials at Salem. This episode brings you the story of Goodwife Joan Wright and America’s first known witch trial.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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As Europeans embarked on their colonial ventures in the Americas, they also forged new frontiers closer to their homelands. In Norway's far northern territory of Finnmark, settlers from the south moved into the ancestral home of the Indigenous Sámi people, and by the end of the seventeenth century, nearly five percent of the population had been tried for witchcraft. This episode tells the story of Norway’s Vardø witch trials and their legacy. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.   

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Despite his dedication to science and mathematics—or perhaps because of it—Pope Sylvester II has been historically linked with legends of magic and sorcery, though these stories are more myth than fact. His reputation for being involved in magic largely stems from his profound knowledge and his use of what was then cutting-edge technology. This episode brings you the story of the life and legacy of Gerbert of Aurillac also known as Pope Sylvester II.   

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet. 

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When Spanish colonizers and missionaries came to settle in New Mexico, the resulting cultural, religious, and class tensions between the Spaniards and their Pueblo neighbors would lead to a series of witchcraft trials overseen by the local branch of the Spanish Inquisition. This episode tells the story of colonization, resistance, and witchcraft in colonial New Mexico. 
 
Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with the voice talent of Jack Krause and original music by Purple Planet.

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