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Established in 2018, Talking Tudors is one of the longest-running and most popular independent interview podcasts about the Tudor era. It boasts an international listenership and has been downloaded in excess of 4 million times. In each episode, creator and host Natalie Grueninger speaks with esteemed historians and other experts about a wide range of subjects associated with Tudor England. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Podbean app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episodes
49 minutes ago
49 minutes ago
42 min
Host Natalie Grueninger interviews historian Ebrahim Joseph about the surprising influence of ancient Persia, especially Cyrus the Great, on Elizabethan England. They explore classical and biblical sources, princely education, political advice, court drama (including The Wars of Cyrus), the Mary, Queen of Scots debate, and early contacts with Safavid Persia, showing how Persian models of charismatic and ruthless kingship shaped Tudor political culture.
LEARN MORE ABOUT EBRAHIM JOSEPH https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/ebrahim-hanifehpour-0
Read ‘Honour and Deceit in The Warres of Cyrus, Classical Persia, and Elizabethan Politics’ by Ebrahim Joseph
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X26101745
Learn more about today's sponsor - Simply Tudor Tours!
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Aug 10, 2026
Aug 10, 2026
52 min
Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Lauren Working about her book 'A Golden World' and how voyages to the Americas reshaped 16th‑century England. The episode traces Atlantic influences on London life, art, fashion and trade through objects and people brought back from the New World.
Examples include the flood of pearls and emeralds, the rise of tobacco and new fashions, live exotic animals and the crucial Indigenous knowledge behind many colonial practices. The conversation emphasises that Tudor England, even without a formal empire, was transformed by ongoing Atlantic encounters.
Learn more about Dr Working
https://www.york.ac.uk/english/people/laurenworking/
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Aug 3, 2026
Aug 3, 2026
48 min
Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr David Grummitt about the December 1460 events commonly called the Battle of Wakefield. Dr Grummitt argues the episode was a small ambush and murder of Richard, Duke of York and his son rather than a large pitched battle, and explains the primary evidence behind this interpretation.
The episode also covers the immediate Lancastrian response, the march to the Palm Sunday battles of 1461, and how later Tudor chroniclers and historians transformed these events into a more dramatic mythology.
READ DR GRUMMITT & PAUL DAWSON'S ARTICLE
https://oro.open.ac.uk/105170/
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Jul 28, 2026
Jul 28, 2026
43 min
Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Catherine Williams to the podcast to discuss Tudor poetry.
Follow Catherine Williams on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/catherinevwill/
TAKEAWAY
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SPONSOR, SIMPLY TUDOR TOURS
https://simplytudortours.com/booking-anne-elizabeth-mother-daughter-traitors-queens/
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Jul 19, 2026
Jul 19, 2026
1hr 7 min
Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Dr Ashley Douglas to discuss her new book, 'With My Own Hand: The Secret Life of Marie Maitland, Scotland's Sixteenth-Century Sappho'. They discuss the life and poems of Marie Maitland, a 16th-century Scottish scribe whose Maitland Quarto contains early sapphic verse.
The episode explores Marie's family and court connections, her role as her blind father's secretary, the manuscript's anonymous female poems, and the wider significance for women's and LGBT+ history in Reformation Scotland.
VISIT DR DOUGLAS' OFFICIAL WEBSITE
TAKEAWAY
JOIN 365 DAYS IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND
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Jul 5, 2026
Jul 5, 2026
51 min
Host Natalie Grueninger and Dr Owen Emmerson examine Thomas Boleyn’s November–December 1526 financial accounts, revealing the family’s substantial landholdings, household expenses, and wide social networks just before Anne Boleyn’s rise.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THR QUEEN ANNE BOLEYN MEMORIAL
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Jun 27, 2026
Jun 27, 2026
34 min
In this episode Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Valerie Schutte about her upcoming cultural biography of Anne of Cleves. They re-examine long-standing myths about Anne's appearance, birthdate, and role in Tudor politics, by returning to contemporary sources and continental perspectives.
The conversation also covers Anne's portrayal in art (including Holbein’s portraits), surviving books and dedications, the politics surrounding her divorce from Henry VIII, and how her reputation has evolved across centuries. Schutte's book is published July 3, 2026.
Visit Dr Schutte's official website
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Jun 18, 2026
Jun 18, 2026
52 min
Natalie Grueninger interviews Cait Murphy-Hurrell about Edmund Spenser's 'The Faerie Queene', exploring the poem's rich allegory, its portrayal of villainous women and otherness, and how Spenser reflects Elizabethan politics, religion, and his experiences in Ireland.
Check out Cait's Substack!
https://caitmurphyhurrell.substack.com/
Visit 'The Renaissance Academy'
https://therenaissanceacademic.com/group-events
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Jun 13, 2026
Jun 13, 2026
46 min
Host Natalie Grueninger interviews historian Amy McElroy about Desiderius Erasmus, exploring his mysterious early life, education, travels across Europe, and key works such as 'Praise of Folly' and his Greek-Latin New Testament.
The conversation covers Erasmus’s influence on Tudor education and humanism, his relationships with Thomas More and Martin Luther, and his complex legacy as a Catholic reformer and leading Renaissance scholar.
This episode of Talking Tudors was made possible by 'Simply Tudor Tours'. Check out their new Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I Tour!
https://simplytudortours.com/anne-boleyn-and-elizabeth-i-tour
Visit Amy's Substack!
https://amymcelroy.substack.com/
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Jun 7, 2026
Jun 7, 2026
30 min
Professor Nandini Das explores how Tudor and Stuart England were shaped by movement, exchange, and diverse individuals—artists, scholars, missionaries, and sailors—whose lives challenge the idea of a sealed island nation.
Through four vivid case studies (the court miniaturist Levina Teerlinc from Bruges, the roaming thinker Giordano Bruno, the missionary Thomas Stevens in Goa, and William Adams in Japan), the episode reveals how identity, belonging, and nationhood were negotiated across borders in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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May 31, 2026
May 31, 2026
46 min
Host Natalie Grueninger talks with historian Jessica Carey-Bunning about her book 'The Wives of Henry VIII', presenting fresh archival research and new perspectives on each queen.
They discuss Catherine of Aragon’s finances after annulment, Anne Boleyn’s use of dress and image, Jane Seymour’s complex reputation and faith, Anne of Cleves’ later life, Catherine Howard’s queenship, and the contested danger faced by Catherine Parr.
Carey-Bunning urges listeners to question traditional narratives and to return to primary sources to better understand the messy realities of Tudor court life.
Visit Jessica's official website
Learn more about 'Simply Tudor Tours'
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May 24, 2026
May 24, 2026
53 min
Natalie Grueninger interviews Martha Tatarnic about her new book on Anne Boleyn, exploring how Anne shaped the English Reformation, championed the English Bible, and influenced church leadership through key appointments.
The conversation also examines how Anne's reputation has been distorted over time, why the stories we tell about historical women matter today, and how recovering silenced voices reshapes our understanding of the past and present.
Visit Martha Tatarnic's website
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May 17, 2026
May 17, 2026
1hr 31 min
Natalie Grueninger is in conversation with Dr Owen Emmerson about five surviving letters written by William Kingston during Anne Boleyn’s imprisonment in May 1536. They examine Kingston’s eyewitness details—Anne’s moods, her conversations with attendants, mentions of Henry Norris, Mark Smeaton and George Boleyn—and the damaged Cotton manuscripts used alongside later transcriptions.
The episode traces Anne’s shifting emotions, her religious faith, the role of her attendants as informants, the hurried preparations for execution, and why Thomas Cromwell may have avoided visiting the prisoners.
VISIT DR EMMERSON'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://drowenemmerson.com/
EXPLORE COTTON MS OTHO C X https://searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/040-001102888
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May 11, 2026
May 11, 2026
33 min
Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Wyn Derbyshire about the remarkable life of Bess of Hardwick — her uncertain origins, four marriages, sharp business sense, and rise to becoming the second-richest woman in England. The episode explores her building projects (Hardwick and Chatsworth), estate management, and relationships with Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
Learn more about Dr Derbyshire
https://spiramus.com/wyn-derbyshire
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May 4, 2026
May 4, 2026
49 min
In this episode host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Sara Charles about the production of medieval manuscripts, her hands-on experiments with parchment, inks and pigments, and her book 'The Medieval Scriptorium'.
They explore the evidence for where manuscripts were made, the people and long supply chains behind their materials, the evolution of scripts and decoration, and the everyday details that bring medieval scribes to life.
Learn more about Dr Charles
https://www.teachingmanuscripts.com/about
Takeaway
'The Craftman's Handbook' by Cennino d'Andrea Cennin
Find out about 'Medieval Castles in Germany' by Kurt Fuchs
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Apr 26, 2026
Apr 26, 2026
33 min
Host Natalie Grueninger talks with historian and novelist Professor Tracy Borman about her new novel, 'The House of Boleyn', the rise and fall of the Boleyn family, and Hever Castle as the book’s intimate setting. They explore lesser-known figures like Margaret Butler and Jane Boleyn, plus the servants and daily life that shaped the family.
The conversation also covers Borman’s research process, historical details that informed the novel and publication and tour dates (UK release 23 April; US release 4 September).
Learn more about Dr Tracy Borman
https://www.tracyborman.co.uk/
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Apr 12, 2026
Apr 12, 2026
1hr 15 min
Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Sean Cunningham about Henry VII’s unlikely path from exile to king, the political alliances and myths he used to secure power, and the major challenges of his reign, including rebellions and pretenders.
They explore Henry’s strategies for legitimacy, his marriage to Elizabeth of York, the role of Margaret Beaufort, and how Tudor symbolism and governance shaped the dynasty’s future.
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Apr 5, 2026
Apr 5, 2026
33 min
Author Jo Harkin joins Talking Tudors to discuss her novel 'The Pretender', which imagines the life of Lambert Simnel — a farm boy thrust into Yorkist plots, crowned in Dublin, and swept through courts from Oxford to Burgundy and Ireland.
Jo explains her five-year research process, the vivid locations and powerful women who inspired her, and her approach to balancing historical fact with imaginative storytelling.
She also shares reading and viewing recommendations, a glimpse of her next project set in Spain, and practical insights into writing historical fiction.
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Mar 29, 2026
Mar 29, 2026
43 min
In this episode of Talking Tudors, host Natalie Grueninger speaks with historian Dr Natalie Donnell about the life and career of Margaret of Austria. Born in Burgundy and raised at several European courts, Margaret was the long-serving regent of the Netherlands.
The conversation covers Margaret’s education under powerful women, her role raising and supporting Charles V, her diplomatic success in the 1529 'Ladies' Peace', her patronage of the arts, and her legacy as a capable and influential female ruler until her death in 1530.
VISIT DR DONNELL'S WEBSITE
https://www.nataliedonnell.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO FEMINIST HISTORIES https://feministhistories.substack.com/
TAKEAWAY
'The Theatre of the World' by Abraham Ortelius
Find out more about your host at
https://www.nataliegrueninger.com
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Mar 22, 2026
Mar 22, 2026
44 min
Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Mexican author Sofia Robleda about her new novel, The Other Moctezuma Girls. They explore the life and legacy of Isabel Moctezuma, the identity of her daughters, and the complex world of 16th‑century Mexica society before and after Spanish contact.
The conversation covers conquest, cultural exchange, women’s roles, Robleda’s research and personal connection to the history.
Visit Sofia's official website
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