Hot Mess History Podcast

In Part 2 of Anna of Cleves, part of our Women Who Had to Put Up with Henry VIII’s BS series, we follow Anna on her journey to England, the painfully awkward first meeting with Henry VIII, the rushed marriage, and the annulment that followed. Sarah and Alora unpack how Anna managed to survive Henry’s chaos and walk away with her dignity and status intact.

In Part 1 of our Anna of Cleves series, we kick off Anna’s story with her early life, why we call her "Anna" instead of "Anne", and the political maneuvering behind her match with Henry VIII. We unpack the portraits, expectations, and how Anna ended up in Henry’s chaotic dating era. Join us for the chaotic context, intrigue, and first impressions as we dive into one of Henry’s most misunderstood marriages.

On this episode of The Hot Mess History Podcast, we take a break from our series “women who had to put up with Henry VIII’s BS” to switch things up. Alora takes over storytelling duties and walks Sarah through the chilling case of Peter Stumpp, the infamous werewolf of Bedburg, and the chaos that followed.In sixteenth century Germany, fear spread as livestock were slaughtered, children disappeared, and rumors of a supernatural killer gripped the countryside. Under torture, Peter Stumpp confessed to murdering up to sixteen people, along with other horrifying crimes. But was he truly a monster, or a convenient scapegoat in an era obsessed with witch hunts and public executions?Join Sarah and Alora as they unpack the history, hysteria, and harsh realities behind one of Europe’s most infamous werewolf legends and ask the real question: who was the biggest monster in this story?

In this mini episode, we focus on the final chapter of Jane Seymour’s life and the legacy that followed. We talk about the letters Jane wrote to Henry VIII while she was recovering from childbirth, offering one of the few moments where we hear directly from her and see how carefully she navigated her role as queen. We also examine the circumstances surrounding her death after the birth of Edward VI, and how that loss reshaped the way she was remembered.Finally, we unpack how Jane Seymour came to be known as Henry’s “good” wife and why history chose to remember her not for who she was, but for what she gave the crown.

In this episode, we take a closer look at Jane Seymour and dismantle the myth of the “good wife.” From her early life at court to her rise during the collapse of Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, Jane learned quickly how dangerous survival near power could be. We explore her carefully managed role as queen, the one moment she dared to challenge Henry during the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the immense pressure placed on her to produce a male heir.Part 1 ends with Jane giving birth to Henry’s long-awaited son....a moment of triumph that comes with an unspoken cost.

In the final Anne Boleyn episode of our Women Who Had to Put Up With Henry VIII’s BS series, Sarah and Alora step back from the chronology to untangle the myths that have followed Anne for centuries. We explore where some of the most enduring legends about her came from, why they were so easily believed, and what they reveal about how Anne has been remembered rather than who she actually was.From the persistent claim that Anne Boleyn inspired the song Greensleeves, to the rumor that she had a sixth finger used to brand her as unnatural, to the many ghost stories said to haunt England in her name, this episode separates historical evidence from propaganda, superstition, and sensationalism. By the end, Anne’s story comes full circle, not as a villain or a legend, but as a woman whose memory was shaped by fear, politics, and misogyny long after her death.