Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Discussion of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 continues. It begins with potpourri then covers tools, Neanderthals, edibles and potables, art, shipwrecks, medical finds, and repatriations. Research: Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island stat ...  Show more

The show's coverage of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 begins with updates, books and letters, animals, and just one exhumation. Research: Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island statues were created without centralized management.” PLOS. Via ...  Show more

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, had an image problem: she was seen as frivolous, silly, and out-of-touch. In order to combat her poor press, the royal court commissioned a series of portraits of the queen to make her more relatable and sympathetic. Such images act as excellent ...  Show more

In 1793, the infamous Marie Antoinette was moved to the Conciergerie in Temple Prison. A woman who became synonymous with indulgence spent her final months with almost no personal possessions, separated from her children, awaiting her imminent death.

Sarah Bernhardt began her life in France as the unwanted child of a heartless courtesan. She found her first true home in the theater; and through hard work, sheer luck, shocking eccentricity and her indomitable spirit, she transformed herself into the first A-list international ...  Show more

Josephine went from the daughter of a Caribbean plantation owner to the wife of a prominent French aristocrat. After her husband was guillotined during the revolution, she caught the eye of an up and coming soldier named Napoleon. He wrote her romantic letters while conquering mu ...  Show more