Crowned & Cancelled

Jesus is the reason for the season...right? Eh, not really. I'll break down the Roman festivals, Pagan rituals, and Victorian branding that turned sex-drenched slave parties, serial killers and a vengeful saint into the Christmas we know today—from Christmas trees to Santa Claus.
Plus, why exactly Jesus' message made such an impression on the blood-loving Romans!

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Special thank you to our researcher for this episode, Barbara, who you can find at https://docenshistoria.com/ definitely look her up if you're heading to Rome! And another major thank you to our editor/producer/composer, drop her a line at mahatopd@gmail.com if you need anything audio/video production!

Step into Tudor England at its bloodiest and most unhinged, where monarchs changed religions on a whim and the price of disagreeing with the crown was burning alive—just ask the Oxford Martrys.

In this episode, we unravel the real story behind Mary I—“Bloody Mary”—and the Oxford Martyrs whose deaths became political theater.

But to understand why Protestants and Catholics were so violently at odds, we go back even further: the Medici, Martin Luther, a warrior pope and a rant that changed the world.

This is a story of fire, faith, and rebellion, so you love messy history, morally gray heroes, and the way centuries-old scandals still shape modern identity and politics, this episode is your new obsession.

Liked this podcast? Then you’ll love my 5-star international trips full of history, glamour, and sisterhood! 🥂
And join me in our secret society, The 4% Club, a top-rated Substack community for women who are done playing small! ⚜️
⁠⁠Shallonlester.Com⁠⁠

Forget the Hallmark version — the first Thanksgiving wasn’t cute, cozy, or even particularly grateful.
In this episode, we break down the real story behind the 1621 feast: the Pilgrims who knew nothing and learned even less, the Jamestown colonists who literally ate each other, and the kidnapped survivor — Squanto, who held an entire colony together.
Enjoy this tale of useless assholes, entitlement and why empathy can be a deadly mistake.
Pull up a chair — it’s about to get historically unhinged.

Liked this podcast? Then you’ll love my 5-star international trips full of history, glamour, and sisterhood! 🥂
And join me in our secret society, The 4% Club, a top-rated Substack community for women who are done playing small! ⚜️
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In this week's episode, we dive into how a Corsican outsider rose to dominate not just France after the French Revolution, but an entire continent—all while dealing with a hellish mother, scheming brother, and cheating, black-toothed woman he could never let go of.
This episode unpacks Napoleon Bonparte's volatile reign, his toxic dynamic with the Bonaparte clan, and the way Joséphine refined him...and ruined him. And most of all, how the same ego that built an empire led him straight into catastrophe.

Liked this podcast? Then you’ll love my 5-star international trips full of history, glamour, and sisterhood! 🥂
And join me in our secret society, The 4% Club, a top-rated Substack community for women who are done playing small! ⚜️
⁠⁠⁠⁠Shallonlester.Com⁠⁠⁠⁠

In Part 2 of our French Revolution trilogy, Robespierre’s flower-crown cult implodes and a petty, brilliant general named Napoleon steps in with pure Trump energy—loud, polarizing, unstoppable.
It’s chaos, charisma, and control issues baked into one croissant-flaky empire.
This episode of Crowned & Cancelled dives into the psychology of power, propaganda, and why the people who scream for freedom always end up crawling back to Daddy...

Liked this podcast? Then you’ll love my 5-star international trips full of history, glamour, and sisterhood! 🥂
And join me in our secret society, The 4% Club, a top-rated Substack community for women who are done playing small! ⚜️
⁠⁠⁠⁠Shallonlester.Com⁠⁠⁠⁠