Not Just the Tudors

What would you feel if the religion and rituals you'd followed all your life suddenly became illegal? How did people from all strata of society adapt when their sacred spaces were destroyed?

Tudor England saw decades of religious upheaval, forcing people to navigate shifting doctrines, royal decrees and dangerous questions of conscience.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Peter Marshall to explore faith and survival in an age when yesterday’s beliefs became tomorrow’s crime.

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Dissolution of the Monasteries

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How Kateryn Parr Championed the Reformation

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

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How did a celebrated maritime hero end up betrayed, mutinied against, and dead at sea?

As the second Englishman to sail around the world, backed by powerful figures like Sir Walter Raleigh, Cavendish's exploits defined the high-stakes world of Elizabethan privateers. Yet his second voyage spiralled into disaster and a lonely demise.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Iain Gately to chart the meteoric ascent and tragic collapse of Thomas Cavendish.

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Grace O'Malley, Ireland's Pirate Queen

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The Rise and Fall of Pirate Captain Kidd

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Aliza Dams and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**Contains descriptions of torture**

The Gunpowder Plot is one of the hinge events of British history - an act of terror the roots of which stretch back to the Tudor period and Henry VIII's break with Rome. It's a story of Holy War, divided loyalties and religious hatred. And it has never been more timely.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks gunpowder, treason and plot with author and historian Jessie Childs.

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Plots against Elizabeth I

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What if Guy Fawkes had succeeded?

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was the shocking assassination of King Henri IV of France in 1610 the act of a lone fanatic, or a sinister conspiracy within the royal court?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Vincent Pitts to unpack the French Wars of Religion, the fragile peace between Catholics and Huguenots, and that fateful afternoon in Paris when an assassin struck down the king.

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True Crime: Medici Murder at the Louvre

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The Massacre of the Huguenots

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a remote corner of Essex witnessed the most brutally devastating witch-hunt in English history. A dangerous maverick Matthew Hopkins - the 'Witchfinder General' - hunted down vulnerable people across East Anglia, exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times. Between 1645 and 1647, more than 300 suspects were interrogated and tortured; a third of them were hanged.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Hopkins and his accomplice John Stearne from Professor Malcolm Gaskill.

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The Witch

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How to Kill a Scottish Witch

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could an ancient Persian drama have stopped Mary, Queen of Scots from being executed?

When Queen Elizabeth I faced an agonising dilemma over her captive cousin, a performance about Cyrus the Great offered her a provocative lesson: executing an anointed monarch risked shattering divine protection, while mercy signalled ultimate power.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Ebrahim Joseph whose groundbreaking research shows how early modern England turned to Persian history to navigate existential political threats, foreign policy, and the dangerous limits of crown authority.

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When Europe met Islam

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The Elizabethans and Islam

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Thomas Cromwell's rise under Henry VIII to Oliver Cromwell’s rule as Lord Protector, how did the faith, ambition, and power of one family shape the course of British history?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Miranda Malins to unravel the extraordinary saga and legacy of the Cromwells.

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Oliver Cromwell’s Women

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Why Cromwell’s Republic Failed.

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Gulliver’s Travels just a whimsical children’s adventure story, or is it a scathing satire designed to expose political hypocrisy?

From suppressed Irish resistance allegories to biting parodies of Whig corruption, Enlightenment science, and moral decay, Gulliver's author Jonathan Swift transformed personal exile into a profound critique of human nature.

To mark the 300th anniversary of Gulliver’s Travels, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor David Womersley to unmask the "savage indignation," political turmoil, and risk of censorship that drove Swift’s writing.

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C.S. Lewis & Narnia: Renaissance Origins

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Creator of Don Quixote: Cervantes

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the fairy tales you grew up with were never meant for children at all?

Long before these stories were transformed into family-friendly animated films, they were forged in the gritty reality of Renaissance Italy and later weaponized by rebellious Parisian aristocrats to challenge systemic oppression.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Jack Zipes to unearth the dark, strange, and deeply political origins hidden behind our favourite folklore.

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The Man who Wrote Robinson Crusoe

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Practical Magic: Spells, Prayers & Cunning Folk

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, edited by Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did one man survive serving Henry VIII as principal secretary when others lost their heads? Why is the mastermind behind the King’s final, most turbulent decade so often forgotten?

Rising through sheer intellect and royal favour, William Paget navigated bitter religious conflict, spiralling crown finances, and looming foreign threats to become Henry VIII’s most indispensable advisor.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Andrew Johnston to unpack the astonishing career of this forgotten Tudor mastermind who shaped the monarch’s final years.

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The Rotten End of Henry VIII

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Cardinal Wolsey: His Rise and Fall

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Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus ad-free podcasts, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.