Love is Dead: Historical Heartbreaks and Hot Takes

This week in an unedited special episode Hazel and Rachel explore how to show love in a long distance relationship. Hazel digs into the often one-sided love affair of Emperor Napoleon and his wife Josephine. Rachel explores the softer side of General and President Ulysses S. Grant. Long distance can be hard but if you put in the effort sometimes the other person will be into it?

Do you believe in love at first sight? Today Hazel and Rachel answer the oldest question in the book (if that book happens to be The Bible or the Argonautica) and discuss whether we should believe in 'love at first sight'. Rachel gets biblical with the story of Jacob and his wife Rachel . . . and Leah . . . and all their handmaidens. Would you work for seven years just to marry the one you love? Then Hazel looks at the story of Medea and Jason, in which we learn of the 'sweet anguish' caused by the arrows of Eros, and wonder if the Argonauts count as the first 'lads on tour'.

CW: death, non-consensual sexual activity (Although as usual we are a light-hearted podcast please note this week's episode may contain some upsetting themes) We're back baby! And answering one of your dating queries: are grand gestures the epitome of romance, or just a little too much? Hazel guides Rachel through the ‘Undo Your Door', a late medieval Romance simply stuffed with all manner of twists and turns, leading them to wonder: is embalming a practical skill? Then Rachel discusses one of history's most famous romantic gestures: the abdication of King Edward VIII, a sacrifice made in the name of love for an - *gasp* - American! It gets icky, it gets weird, it's history!

This week Rachel and Hazel take on the first of their listener questions: how long should I wait before having sex with someone? Do I have to follow the ‘three date' rule? (Short answer: no!) Rachel's prayers have been answered as she finally gets to talk about her historical hero Anne Boleyn, famed for holding out a huge seven years before enjoying conjugal relations with the most famous of Tudor Kings, Henry VIII. Hazel searches for a pair who didn't wait so long, and discusses the similarities, differences and overall melodramatics between Literature's number one couple, Romeo and Juliet, and a real-life scandal which rocked the Elizabethan court.

This week Hazel and Rachel help you find the right place to meet someone offline. Let's face it, most of us are meeting our partners online; both of us did. But in a busy, technologically overwhelming world, maybe you're looking to meet someone out and about. Well, why don't you let Ovid, a Roman poet in the Augustan Era, and Elizabeth Woodville, a true dragon queen of Late Medieval England, tell you where to find a hot date. If you are a skipper and want to get past the into chit chat the history bits begin at 8:45. ;) And as always, if you have any dating conundrums you would like history to help you out with, please let us know at: Insta - @loveisdeadpodcast Twitter - @LoveisDeadPod or e-mail us at loveisdeadpodcast@gmail.com We would LOVE to hear from you.

This week Rachel and Hazel take on THE most googled question of 2020: what is ghosting? We move from the Napoleonic era to the mythology of Ancient Greece in order to gain a better understanding of the term, and discover just how long humans have been ghosting one another. Elizabeth ‘Betsy' Bonaparte (née Patterson) and Ariadne of Crete provide us with inspiration for how to bounce back from a ghosting, and make us realise just how much historical-heartbreak seems to involve boats!

Today Hazel and Rachel talk sexting. Sexting can be a true art form so let the poets and painters of the past help you get you to spice up your digi dates. Hazel explores Sappho, the Greek lyrical poet from the island of Lesbos. Then we get a little dirty with Catullus, a Latin poet from the Roman Republic who really liked kissing. Finally, Rachel regales you with Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera's tale, which ends with some poetic erotica. Join us this week on Love is Dead. Do you have a dating query you'd like history to answer? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram or send us an e-mail at loveisdeadpodcast@gmail.com. Twitter: @LoveisDeadPod Instagram @loveisdeadpodcast And if you like our pod art, reach out to - @afools_designs on Instagram.

This week Rachel and Hazel talk about online dating, Portuguese heroines, and Egyptian powerhouses. So how do you write a catchy online dating bio? Think history is too stuck in the past to help? Think again. Sit back, relax, and let history teach you how to make an impression to bag a right swipe.

This week on Love is Dead, Hazel and Rachel talk about dating with parental interference. Have your parents ever been a little too involved in your love life? Let Julia, daughter of Imperator Caesar Augustus, and Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich, son of Ivan the Terrible, help you out. This week we turn back to ancient Rome and the Julio-Claudian Emperor Augustus and his marriage laws. Then we head to Early Modern Russia to the court of Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of Russia whose temper inadvertently founded the Romanov dynasty. Do you have any dating queries you'd like history to answer? Let us know! Remember, if you enjoy our podcast, like and subscribe! Follow us on Instagram @loveisdeadpodcast Follow us on Twitter @LoveisDeadPod Please e-mail us at loveisdeadpodcast@gmail.com p.s. this week's episode has some audio echo as we are still figuring out our recording area. Don't worry; we are dedicated to improving and making these episodes as high quality and informative as they can be. If you like our episode art, check out @afools_designs on Instagram. -Hazel and Rachel