Enzo's Theatre Of The World

It's the last episode of the season! Ethan and I discuss our plans for next season and then get into our main topic: George Psalmanazar. Blonde, blue-eyed, and unmistakably white, how was Psalmanazar able to convince the 18th-century British public that he was a native of Taiwan? By inventing a complex language, exotic customs, and an entire imaginary world, of course! Find out more about this fascinating character in the last episode of this season!

TW: discussions/descriptions of grooming/child molestation. Catherine Parr is often remembered as a nursemaid to Henry, the one who survived. This is a crude stereotype of the real woman, however. Already twice widowed when she met the King, Catherine was an intellectually-minded, passionate, and deeply religious woman who nearly met the same fate as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, saved only by her quick wit. But her marriage for love after Henry's death would lead to pain and heartbreak...

TW: mentions/semi-descriptions of SA and grooming. In this episode, Ethan and I examine the life of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife and the second one to get beheaded. Used and abused by men throughout her short life, Catherine was far more than the "empty-handed wanton" of popular imagination. Just a teenager when she married the aged and tyrannical king, the vivacious and kind-hearted Catherine had a promising future as Queen despite her dark past. But a series of mistakes would ultimately lead to her tragic and spectacular downfall...

This week, Ethan and I examine the mythical medieval Christian king Prester John. Ruling somewhere in Asia or Africa, Prester John was fabulously wealthy, immensely powerful, and completely imaginary. But why did so many Europeans believe in him until the 1700? And how do dragons, Ethiopia, Marco Polo, and the Dalai Lama all play a part? Find out in this episode.

When you think of archaeology, you probably think of Indiana Jones and lost cities. But what about pseudoarchaeology? In this episode, Ethan and I tackle the most famous pseudoarchaeological claims, from the laughable (the Dendera lightbulb), to the popular (the different theories for Atlantis' location) to the flat-out racist (alternative theories about the Mound Builders). Join us as we find out that pseudoarchaeology, far from being a harmless oddity, can be extremely racist and damaging towards our collective critical thinking.

This week, we're talking about Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's third and fourth wives. While we don't have a lot of information on either woman, it's clear that Jane was a lot stronger than she's popularly imagined, and that Anne wasn't nearly as happy after the divorce as Six the Musical claims she was. Finally, for the next three weeks we'll be taking a break from the Tudors, but I promise we will finish up this series on the six wives of Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wive, is his most famous and arguably most divisive wife. Catholic apologists maligned her as a seductive adulteress who provoked the schism with Rome, while Protestants extolled her as the martyred mother of the glorious Queen Elizabeth I. But Anne was far more complex than these stereotypes. She was passionate, intelligent, incredibly courageous, and at times, vengeful and hot-tempered. But we can all agree she deserved better than her tragic fate, courtesy of her worthless husband. Sidenote: I realized I didn't describe Anne's appearance in the episode like I did last time with Catherine of Aragon so here's a quick description. Anne was 5'3, with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes, her most attractive feature. She was not conventionally attractive, but she was incredibly charming and charismatic, and her quick wit drew Henry's interest.

Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of Henry VIII, but she's far more than simply the sad, dowdy divorcee of popular imagination. In this episode, Ethan and I explore the life of this principled and iron-willed woman, the first in a five-part series on the six wives of Henry VIII.

Travel back in time with Ethan and I as we tell the story of life on earth through the lens of bizarre and obscure animals! Marvel at Opabinia, the five-eyed arthropod marvel, shriek at Meganeura, the eagle-sized dragonfly, and cower in fear at Quetzalcoatlus, the giant pterosaur of doom! Plus, listen to Ethan's blind reactions to these terrifying-looking beasts.

The trolley problem: an infamous philosophical dilemma. Would you flip the switch to save the five people and kill one, or would you do nothing and let five die? But there's a lot more to this conundrum. Find out how philosophers and writers have critiqued this problem, along with Ethan's wacky variant scenarios (with me working through them!)