The Medici Podcast

The celebrity natural philosopher and writer Galileo rises out of a life of near-poverty to become a favorite at the Medici court. But when controversy rears its head, will the Medici actually protect the quarrelsome Galileo?

After his brother's hands-off approach to ruling, Grand Duke Ferdinando I instead tends to the economic health of his state and his people.

Marie de' Medici believes she finally triumphed over her protege turned archenemy Richelieu and has secured her place as Louis XIII's benevolent advisor. As the proverb goes, though, pride goeth before a fall...

Marie de' Medici goes to war against her own son. On a less violent front, she also oversees her most important legacy, a prime example of Baroque art. http://medicipodcast.com

Marie de' Medici's hope of staying in power by keeping her son in line indefinitely falls apart thanks to a love affair, and her friends pay a heavy price. Still, the Medici aren't known for accepting even the most devastating of defeats, and Marie is no exception.

Even amidst challenges to her rule, the new queen regent Marie de' Medici is sure that she has her son, King Louis XIII, firmly in line, at least for now.

Marie de' Medici finds herself in a turbulent domestic life with an adulterous husband and a troubled son. And history is going to repeat, propelling her toward a more dramatic role.

We wrap up with the shoddy and bloody reign of Grand Duke Francesco and meet his daughter Maria, the lonely girl destined become the other Medici queen of France.

The reign of Grand Duke Francesco was inflicted with multiple scandals, but none were worse than the fates of the Grand Duke's own sister and sister-in-law.

Cosimo's legacy was to give Florence stability and prosperity it had not known in about half a century, but there is a much darker side to that legacy too.

Besides being a political reformer, Cosimo was also a master at using art and literature to glorify not only himself, but his ancestors.

Although kept on a leash by the Emperor Charles V, Cosimo I completes Florence's consolidation of the rest of Tuscany...except for one hold-out.

Now secure in his reign, Cosimo sets about building something like a modern state. But was he a reformer, a tyrant, or something in-between?

In the wake of Alessandro de' Medici's assassination, the Medici family's country cousin Cosimo becomes the new duke. Right away, he has to fight for his throne and prove that he is no pawn.

The Wars of Religion reaches its crescendo with a three-way struggle, and Catherine watches as her most beloved child makes a horrific and bloody mistake that would prove too much for her to bear. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon. You can also drop some change in the tip jar and see my other work here.

Henri tries to get comfortable as king surrounded by his minions and scholars while Catherine's problem son, François d'Alençon, helps cause the Wars of Religion to break out again.

With an atrocity between them, Catherine de' Medici's relationship with her son King Charles IX falls apart. She can take pride in her favorite son Henri's election as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, although unfortunately her beloved child decides he hates his new job.

Catherine de' Medici and King Charles IX lash out against perceived enemies only to release a horror beyond their control, one that will stain Catherine's image forever.

Catherine seems to have finally ended the religious civil war, a lasting peace that would be sealed with the marriage of her glamorous daughter Margot and the Protestant great hope Henri de Bourbon. But no one saw the storm that was coming... Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

The war between Catholics and Protestants in France finally erupts in earnest. Catherine travels across France with Charles IX to try to calm the volcano, but her own patience with the increasingly desperate Protestants is wearing thin...

Catherine de' Medici takes the reins under the novel title of Governess of France. Just as she assumes power, a crisis that will overshadow the rest of her life begins to take shape. 

Catherine de' Medici's chronically ill son is now King François II of France. Rather than getting to enjoy the perks of being a king's mother, she finds herself caught having to deal with not only the growing tensions between Catholic and Huguenot, but the feud between two powerful families, the Guises and the Bourbons. (Note that I'm going on hiatus until late January. Also, apologies for the sound issue where there's an occasional noise outside my voice. I think I identified the cause and I should have it resolved by the time I return from my January hiatus!). Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

Now queen of France, Catherine de' Medici is forced to form a somewhat unorthodox household with her husband Henri Diane de Poitiers. Meanwhile religious persecution and violence have been growing, and Henri prepares to once again face his and his father's nemesis, Emperor Charles V.  Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

Far from a fairly tale life, to secure her future Catherine de' Medici must overcome snobbery at the royal court, anti-Italian racism, escalating religious and political tensions, her husband's bizarre love for his own surrogate mother Diane de Poitiers, and even her own body's seeming inability to get pregnant with an heir to the French throne.  Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

Catherine de' Medici has just married into the monarchy of France, arguably the oldest surviving Catholic Christian monarchy in Europe. So it's a good time to ask the question that would shape Catherine's life: how was it that a monarchy that barred women and their children from the crown also had a long history of powerful women guiding it?  Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

From the start of her life, the orphaned Catherine's life was marred by politics. First, she was destined to be a figurehead for her great-uncle's territorial ambitions. Then she was a hostage blamed for the crimes of her family, and next a pawn on the royal marriage market. No one could have guessed that the future had grander things in store for her than just a marriage to some prince... Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon.

Duke Alessandro de' Medici enters a deadly contest with his cousin, Cardinal Ippolito. The real threat, however, may be closer to home.

For our 50th episode, I give an overview of how the Medici went from being just one of several powerful banking families to joining the ranks of European royalty and high nobility. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon 

Just a brief update on the latest way the Worst Summer Of My Life has messed with me and what that means for the podcast along with what's in store with future episodes.

We leave the Medici papacy behind and look at the life and times of Alessandro de' Medici, the first Medici de facto ruler of Florence and (possibly) a black head of state in Renaissance Europe. The theme music is "La Disperata", composed by Vincenzo Ruffo (ca. 1510-1587) and performed by Jon Sayles. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support the podcast on Patreon and check out my blog/newsletter here.

Pope Clement VII sells his soul to Emperor Charles V to get back Florence. Part of the bargain includes Clement essentially signing off on the death warrant of the Republic of Florence.

Lorenzo the Magnificent's granddaughter Clarice triggers a coup in Florence just by berating the man in charge. Meanwhile Pope Clement is driven to hide in a derelict palace in the mountains and receives an unwelcome visitor all the way from England. The theme music is "La Disperata", composed by Vincenzo Ruffo (ca. 1510-1587) and performed by Jon Sayles. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support us at Patreon.

Pope Clement tries once more to loosen Emperor Charles V's grip on Italy, another revolution in Florence is narrowly avoided through one man's incompetence, and the stage is set for one of modern history's most notorious war-time atrocities.

Clement VII brings back the artistic glories of Renaissance Rome, but disaster for himself, his family, and for Rome looms overhead.  The theme music is "La Disperata", composed by Vincenzo Ruffo (ca. 1510-1587) and performed by Jon Sayles. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at http://www.medicipodcast.com. Support us at Patreon.

After Leo X's sudden death, the Medici are briefly out of power in the papacy. In the meantime, Emperor Charles V changes the landscape of European politics by getting elected as Holy Roman Emperor, and the fate of the Medici family is put in the hands of an orphaned, illegitimate son. Check out images, maps, genealogies, and more at medicipodcast.com. Support me on Patreon

While Pope Leo works with the artist Raphael toward the preservation of Roman antiquities and tries to steer Italy between the deadly rocks of France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, a little problem crops up to demand his attention. And that little problem had a name: Martin Luther. The theme music is "La Disperata", composed by Vincenzo Ruffo (ca. 1510-1587) and performed by Jon Sayles. Check out pictures, bibliographies, and more at the Medici Podcast website. Support us at Patreon.

A new Medici is born amidst tragedy, Pope Leo struggles with the threats posed by France, Spain, and the Holy Roman and Ottoman empires and a deadly conspiracy close to home, and an obscure monk and university lecturer in Germany starts to inspire a bit of controversy.

Pope Leo X goes through his own "annus mirabilis." Meanwhile the next generation of Medici men come into their own: the wannabe aristocrat, Lorenzo "the Younger", and the juvenile delinquent turned freelance mercenary, Giovanni of the Black Bands.

We look at Pope Leo X's reign, from how he got an edition of a pivotal Jewish text dedicated to him to the elaborate practical joke he engineered involving his pet elephant and an old-fashioned Roman triumph. But Leo also has to face the fact that the fate of Europe, especially Italy, now lays in the hands of three young, ambitious, and powerful monarchs.

The unlikely partnership between the bookish, affable Giovanni de' Medici and the rough-and-tumble Pope Julius II will finally bring the Medici back to power and set the stage for Giovanni's turn as Pope Leo X, which would prove to be one of the most consequential papal reigns in history for reasons no one could have predicted. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

The Catholic Church was once the most important, omnipresent institution in Europe. Before we meet the Medici Popes, we'll delve into what exactly the Church did for the people, from providing early nursing homes to giving people one of the few shots at social mobility, and how powerful the Popes really were. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast Prof. Alec Ryrie on atheism in the Middle Ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb5mYqnKFlI

Still in exile, Piero de' Medici throws himself on the mercy of the new king of France and Cesare Borgia. But will they prove to be reliable friends? Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

This time, we check in on the sons of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, the brothers Popolano, Lorenzo and Giovanni. While Lorenzo tried to play a small, non-partisan role in Florence's new government, Giovanni fell in love with one of the most famous and daring women of the Renaissance. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

We conclude Savonarola's story by looking at why one of his most fervent followers decided to try to shut up the growing criticism of Savonarola by resorting to an obsolete medieval ritual and how that decision backfired catastrophically. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

Savonarola may be enjoying the peak of his influence over Florence, but he's made a relentles enemy who just so happens to be a pope and, worse, a Borgia. Meanwhile, Piero and his supporters spin plots for a Medici restoration. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

Charles VIII marches on Naples not knowing a brand-new plague is waiting for him, the Medici adapt to the existence of the new republic in different ways, and Savonarola and his allies in government tighten their grip over Florence, even while Rodrigo Borgia closes in on Florence's popular preacher. Check out the website for extra materials and one-time donations: medicipodcast.com Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/medicipodcast

Piero de' Medici is gone, and a new rising star is a hotshot preacher named Girolamo Savonarola. Once an itinerant preacher and lecturer, Savonarola now finds himself hobnobbing with King Charles VIII of France and even having a say in Florence's newly rebuilt, Medici-free republic.

Piero doesn't get to enjoy being the de facto lord of Florence for long before he has to deal with an impending French invasion of Italy. He decides to imitate his father's boldest move, which would surely work...won't it?

The fourth Medici to come to power as "unofficial lord" of Florence is Lorenzo the Magnificent's son, Piero. Although a strapping, handsome, and popular young man, forces within the regime are already working against him. But the real threat is starting to stir many miles outside of Florence...

An update explaining the brief hiatus and what the planned schedule for the show will be going forward.

We step back from the Medici to look at Europe as a whole circa 1492. The balance of power is shifting and that means, for Medici and Italy as a whole, the flood is coming.