Just in time for the 92nd Academy Awards, here is a look at unlikely best friends Josephine Baker and Grace Kelly! The two women met when Grace Kelly stood up for Josephine who was being denied service at a New York club. They would remain friends for the rest of Josephine’s life, after which she would be buried in Monaco, near her friend.

New episodes on Mondays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or Stitcher. Follow on Instagram or Facebook @storicalpodcast

You know about the banana skirt, but Josephine Baker contained multitudes. In celebration of Black History Month, we’re taking a look at the life and loves of Josephine Baker. She went from living in a cardboard box on the streets of St. Louis to commanding the stage in Paris before spying for the French Resistance in World War II and integrating night clubs across America. Black girls are magic and Josephine Baker was truly enchanting.

New episodes on Mondays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or Stitcher. Follow on Instagram or Facebook @storicalpodcast

Non-fiction

Josephine Baker: The Hungry Heart by Jean-Claude Baker - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/742773.Josephine_Baker

Josephine Baker by The Dead Ladies Show Podcast - https://deadladiesshow.com/2019/04/18/podcast-22-josephine-baker/

Fiction

Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38532099

Film

The Josephine Baker Story (1990) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN8TBm4IOTI

Bonus Materials

Josephine dancing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmw5eGh888Y

Josephine singing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lLly_oHvSo

Josephine interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTG2zrvgkZ0

Why Won’t Society Let Black Girls Be Children? - https://parenting.nytimes.com/preschooler/adultification-black-girls

Lena Horne: Hollywood’s First Black Glamour Girl - https://www.immortalperfumes.com/storical/2019/5/4/lena-horne-hollywoods-first-african-american-glamour-girl

When you’re a person in power, a lot of people want you dead. Would-be assassins tried eight times to kill Queen Victoria, but luck was on her side. Far creepier were her obsessive stalkers. Today we’re looking at the men who tried to kill the Queen and the strange case of the Boy Jones who broke into the palace repeatedly…and stole her underwear.

Further Reading

https://www.history.com/news/eight-times-queen-victoria-survived-attempted-assassinations

https://timeline.com/queen-victoria-boy-jones-stalker-88c12011bc64

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/how-stuff-works/stuff-you-missed-in-history-class/e/the-boy-jones-queen-victorias-persistent-intruder-46038127

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042757/

Limited Edition Victoria Perfume - https://www.immortalperfumes.com/imported-products/limited-edition-hrm-victoria

New episodes on Mondays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or Stitcher. Follow on Instagram or Facebook @storicalpodcast

Queen Victoria had 9 kids and 42 grandchildren! It was hoped that by marrying off her descendants to the different houses of Europe that there would be a lasting peace….that’s not quite what happened. Tune in for a look at Victoria’s children and the role her two most famous grandchildren played in World War I.

Further reading:

Who Were Queen Victoria’s Children? - https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/queen-victoria-prince-albert-children-who-names-sons-daughters-facts-motherhood-parents/

The Marriages of Queen Victoria’s Grandchildren - https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/queen-victoria-grandmother-how-many-grandchildren-descendants-marriages-prince-albert-vision/

How Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking Helped Cause World War I - https://www.history.com/news/queen-victoria-grandchildren-matchmaking-wwi

Biographer Explores the Joys and Pains of Victoria of Germany - https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/nyregion/biographer-explores-the-joys-and-pains-of-victoria-of-germany.html

New episodes on Mondays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or Stitcher. Follow on Instagram or Facebook @storicalpodcast

Queen Victoria had a lonely childhood thanks to the oppressive Kensington System her mother and Sir John Conroy set up to keep her dependent. All that changed when a cute little Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Dash came into her life. On this week’s episode, find out what happened to Victoria’s beloved dog, Dash.

Further reading:

https://royalcentral.co.uk/features/queen-victorias-king-charles-spaniel-dash-107550/

https://www.rct.uk/collection/980016-em

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/clips/victoria-s2-tribute-to-dash/#

New episodes on Mondays. You can listen on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or Stitcher. Follow on Instagram or Facebook @storicalpodcast