Catherine de' Medici, Italian Orphan

Viola Roseboro’ isn’t well-known today, but she played a big behind-the-scenes role in the careers of a lot of American writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shaping what’s thought of as the American literary canon. Research: “4 New Features.” Washington D.C. Evening ...  Show more

This 2016 episode covers the May 30, 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport, Oregon. What really makes the story more than a historical footnote is how it ties into the racial makeup of both Portland and Oregon at the time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Catherine the Great, Russia's most famous Empress, wasn't born in Russia—she was a minor German princess engaged to the future Emperor. But less than a year after her husband ascended to the Russian throne, Catherine overthrew him in a coup with the help of her lover in one of ...

Catherine de' Medici from the powerful Italian family married the future King Henry II of France at 13. When he was impaled through the eye during a joust Catherine ruled France as regent for three of her sons during civil and religious wars. She was also a patron and devotee of ...  Show more

Catherine de Medici was Queen of France for nearly 30 years, during a time that was so volatile it makes the French Revolution feel like a street fair. In part one of this three-part series, Catherine is an Italian orphan who marries into French royalty. But keeping her new cu ...

A cunning puppetmaster, Catherine de Medici is most vividly remembered as a one-time queen of France who dispatched beautiful women in her court to manipulate the men of France. Except… that’s not really the case. But hidden in the spectacular legends lie kernels of truth about C ...  Show more