Losers, Pretenders & Scoundrels

By Andrew Heaton, Andrew YoungComedy History

Losers, Pretenders & Scoundrels episodes

February 08, 2022 The Most Horribly Inbred Monarch, Ever
Carlos II was terribly inbred! Horribly so. The most quantifiably overbred Hapsburg to date, he was *more* inbred than if a brother and sister married.

Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate this sad, sad king, and the greater issue of royal genetic overlap.
37 min
February 03, 2022 The Pirate Rabbi
Samuel Palacci (c. 1550 - 1615) was a diplomat, merchant, pirate, and double agent. He worked in the employ of the Sultan of Morocco, then after obtaining a free trade agreement with the Dutch, began preying on Spanish galleons as a seafaring rabbanical pirate. Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young discuss this colorful character.
41 min
January 25, 2022 Emperor Norton of San Francisco
The eccentric Joshua Abraham Norton wound up proclaiming himself Emperor of the United States, and Protector of Mexico. While few people ever recognized him as a legit sovereign, he did get to become the beloved and unofficial mascot of San Francisco. Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate this colorful pretender.
44 min
January 18, 2022 The Cranky Noseless Emperor
Justinian II of the Byzantine Empire should have been disqualified from the crown after a usurper cut his nose off. But nope! He climbed back to power anyway over a hill of bloody corpses. Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate this dark, disfigured monarch.
54 min
January 11, 2022 Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Torquemada kicked off the Spanish Inquisition, which is regarded by many historians as "not very fun" for the people afflicted by it.
Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate the original "High Sparrow" of religious zealotry.
1 hr 4 min
January 04, 2022 Emperor Claudius Killed a Whale
Claudius (10 BC to AD 54) was the unlikeliest of aspirants to the Roman imperium. He suffered from what was probably Cerebral Palsy, which effected his speech and movements, was reviled by his family, and spent much of his life gambling and womanizing.
Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate the longshot emperor.
52 min
December 28, 2021 Perkin Warbeck, Fake King of England
No one knows what happened to the "Princes in the Tower." Presumably Richard III had them snuffed. Unfortunately for the English monarchy, decades later a charismatic pretender would claim to be the rightful king: Perkin Warbeck. Or, as he maintained, King Richard IV. Comedians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young investigate the colorful pretender.
53 min
December 21, 2021 The Krampus, Saint Nick, and Mushroom Trips
WTF is Krampus? How does a third-century bishop become the Arctic gift-giving character at the mall? What on Earth does he have to do with psychedelic mushrooms?
Unlicensed historians Andrew Young and Andrew Heaton dig deep into Christmas mythology!
1 hr 2 min
December 14, 2021 White Dude, King of the Indians
If William Augustus Bowles' plans had come true, the independent State of Muscogee would have separated Spanish Florida from American advancement, and Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole Indians would have united to form a powerful bloc.
Comedians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young follow this colorful character, and consider how very differently the map of modern North America would look if he had succeeded.
55 min
December 06, 2021 Custer Had a Spiffy Mustache
William Armstrong Custer was a meteoric success. . . until he very much wasn't.
Comedians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young analyze the general's life, accomplishments, and failures.
1 hr 14 min

About Losers, Pretenders & Scoundrels

From the publisher's feed

Unlicensed historians Andrew Heaton and Andrew Young sort out characters from the Earth's history into categories of failures, fakes, and rascals. Funny but technically informative.