Join The Gilded Gentleman and Michael Morganthal, a veteran journalist and professional tour guide, for this journey through the news process in late 19th-century New York.   

Michael shares how the Gilded Age gave rise to a nearly 24-hour news cycle and how news was reported and transmitted. 

In addition, he discusses the rise of sensational "yellow journalism" and the intense competition among titans such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst as the Gilded Age set the stage for the modern news machine we know today. 

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In 1894, Madeline Pollard was the most famous woman in America. Her name was splashed across newspaper headlines, and the public hung on every word she said and waited to see and discuss every article of clothing she wore.  

Pollard was suing a well-known Kentucky Congressman, William Breckenridge, for breach of promise. He had promised to marry her upon his wife's death - but chose another woman instead.  The courtroom drama unfolded like the best page-turning novel. 

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, an unassuming young woman from Maine, Jane Tucker, was working furtively under an assumed identity - Agnes Parker - to discover the truth of Madeline's background.   

In her recent book, "Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy," author and scholar Elizabeth DeWolfe spins a true tale that centers on how Gilded Age women found power and used it to ensure their agency, strength, and equality.  Part courtroom drama, part tale of espionage, part old-fashioned mystery, we now have the full story of Madeline Pollard and Jane Tucker for the very first time. 

This podcast was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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An isolated house, creaky staircases, hidden passages and often a dead body in the Library. These are the elements of the classic British murder mystery, particularly those written by the queen of all mysteries, Agatha Christie.  

Returning guest and English country house expert Curt DiCamillo joins the Gilded Gentleman table to discuss the origin of the British fascination with murder, some of the very first popular mysteries, and how the golden age of the murder mystery novel in the 1920s and 1930s came to be. 

In addition, Curt discusses several English country houses, ranging from those that actually inspired Christie herself to a selection of those used as filming locations for many of the beloved television and film adaptations of her novels.  As an added bit of intrigue, Curt shares the details of a real-life murder that took place in the early 19th century in an actual English country house.

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Louis Comfort Tiffany truly gave the Gilded Age a new way to see the world, showing a talent for innovation, extraordinary artistic vision and the empowerment of those with whom he collaborated and hired.  He was also known for employing and developing opportunities for women as not only creators but also as skilled managers. 

This episode focuses on the work of the women of Tiffany, highlighting two of the most famous: Agnes Northrop, known for her stunning landscape windows, and Clara Driscoll, known for her innovation in lamp design, including the "dragonfly," one of Tiffany's most emblematic designs.   

Joining the Gilded Gentleman table are two undisputed experts in the work of Louis C. Tiffany - Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lindsy Parrott, Executive Director of The Neustadt Collection.

Produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

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As Netflix launches a new adaptation of the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder series "Little House on the Prairie" this summer, fans new and old cannot help be enchanted by the iconic 1970s television adaptation as well—written, directed, and produced by Michael Landon, who played the role of "Pa".  

Joining The Gilded Gentleman table for a look back at the series is original cast member Alison Arngrim, who played the role of Nellie Oleson, the bratty, selfish daughter of mercantile owners Nels and Harriet Oleson, and became a character we all just loved to hate. 

Alison discusses what it was like behind-the-scenes on the show as well as her life now.  She currently tours internationally with her one-woman show "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch," playing to sell-out audiences, and is a New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and actor.   

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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It's easy to conjure images of the high Gilded Age when seeing the great mansions of Newport or elsewhere, but the origins of that grand, flamboyant style began elsewhere.  

The idea of a modern French-inspired mansion with Renaissance influences was new when LeGrand Lockwood commissioned his estate in Norwalk, Connecticut, in the mid-1860s. For a time, it was the grandest home in America, exceeding even the opulence and elegance of the White House. Architects and designers who would later put their stamp on the palaces of the Gilded Age, such as the Herter Brothers, Leon Marcotte, and George Platt, all contributed to the creation of Lockwood's own vision. 

Passing to the Mathew family upon Lockwood's untimely death, it remained a private home until the 1930s. Today, it has been painstakingly restored as a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark. Astonishingly, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion contains much of its original furniture and details, so visitors today can really imagine a lifestyle and style that truly launched the Gilded Age. 

Join The Gilded Gentleman for this very special on-location episode recorded at the Mansion with a walkthrough by decorative arts historian Ulysses Dietz and a talk with Executive Director Dr. Susan Gilgore.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

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As grand mansions and country houses were built during America's Gilded Age, an integral part of any estate design was an equally grand and impressive garden. Drawing on European traditions, great Gilded Age gardens ranged from the very formal to a more natural style that incorporated the surrounding countryside. 

The most successful garden designer of the late 19th century was the extraordinary Beatrix Farrand. Establishing herself as a designer with exceptional talent and a unique point of view, she competed in a profession largely dominated by men. 

Her designs, a few of which can still be seen today, including the gardens at Washington, DC's Dumbarton Oaks, revolutionized American garden design and showed her talent not only as a landscape architect but as a true artist. 

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Historian and academic Nancy Unger joins The Gilded Gentleman to delve into the social politics of divorce in the Gilded Age.  She discusses several high-profile cases of the 19th century; even the Astors and Vanderbilts were not immune. 

Throughout history, marriage has functioned as a prerequisite for one's role in an accepted society and have also served as business deals, empire-building, and, in some cases, actual love matches. Thus -- they were often very difficult to end.

Throughout much of the 19th century, the idea of dissolving a marriage through divorce was nearly unthinkable for many and certainly caused the wife to be excluded from society as a pariah. Yet, some women fought against the constraints of an unacceptable marriage and the judgments of an unforgiving society. 

NOTE: This show has one reference to self-harm. 

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon

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Have you ever wondered how many of the famous Gilded Age families kept cats as pets? The answer may surprise you. Cats were a constant presence in the lives of New Yorkers of the era and often served very specific, even professional roles.

Author and “cat historian” Peggy Gavan joins the Gilded Gentleman for a delightful exploration of some of the Gilded Age’s most notable felines — from Nicodemus, the scrappy star of New York’s first cat show in 1895, to Buzzer, America’s most photographed cat, and several others.

She also traces the emergence of crucial institutions dedicated to feline welfare, including the ASPCA, other humane societies, and the development of widespread veterinary care to protect our feline friends.

Peggy Gavan is the creator of the website The Hatching Cat of Gotham and also leads historical cat-themed tours of New York City. 

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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Founded in Milan in 1913 by the Italian brothers Mario and Martino Prada, the original business focused on producing and selling luxury leather goods to an aristocratic and royal elite.  

With the advent of ready-to-wear and the expansion of fashion retail in the 1970s, Prada entered the global market under the direction of the founder's granddaughter, Miuccia Prada. The now iconic black nylon backpack featuring the silver Prada logo became one of the most sought-after fashion accessories as the brand expanded into women's and men's wear lines.   

Fashion historian Natalie Nudell joins the Gilded Gentleman table to discuss the evolution of the brand and how the influences of Fashion Week, retail boutique expansion and the launch of sub-brand Miu Miu all contributed to a modern fashion brand projecting style, power, and authority. 

Natalie Nudell is the author of "In American Fashion: Ruth Finley's Fashion Calendar."

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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