3.06 Tamar of Georgia (1): King of Kings, Queen of Queens
/In twelfth century Georgia, a woman comes to the throne. Her people had never had a queen before, and the nation was surrounded by enemies. Tamar would have her work cut out to survive.
3.05 Hua Mulan: As useful as a son
/China has a cultural history rich in myth and legend - and none has shone quite so brightly both within and outside China than Mulan.
3.04 Trung Truc: Here come the drums
/Across the Red River Delta came the pounding of drums. The clans of Ancient Vietnam were being called to war - and the clamour came from two sisters, the eldest of which would fight a great empire in the cause of Vietnamese freedom.
3.03 Boudica (2) A woman of many faces
/Boudica, after seeing her kingdom annexed and her daughters violated fights her final battle against the Romans. She may have lost it, but her enduring legacy has seen her attain the rank of folk heroinehood in England.
3.02 Boudica (1) Warrior Woman of the Iceni
/A former ally of Rome, Boudica led one of the fiercest challenges against Roman rule of the early Empire. Since her death she has been lauded as a British hero; but who was she, and why did she rebel?
3.01 Folk Heroines: The Women who Built Nations
/Welcome to this third season of the Other Half! In this episode I set out what a folk heroine is, and why they are important.
Big news! We’re a member of Lyceum, a new app that makes it easy to discover great educational podcasts and chat with other passionate listeners. Download the app by visiting lyceum.fm, and come find me in discussion room.
2.41 Ena of Battenberg (3) A Final Triumph
/In this final episode of the second season of the Other Half, we see a political crisis in Spain force Ena and her family into exile. Stick around to the end to hear about what the next season will be about.
2.40 Ena of Battenberg (2) Oh what a life for the Queen of Spain
/After such an inauspicious start to her time as Queen of Spain, Ena had a lot of work to make her mark on her new home.
2.39 Ena of Battenberg (1) Naming the King's Yacht
/No one expected Victoria Eugiene of Battenburg to become Queen of Spain - but when King Alfonso turns on his charm - it's hard to resist.
2.38 Missy of Edinburgh (6) Living in memory of the past
/We’re back with Missy, with the final chapter of her story. We see her live through some of the most tumultuous times in the Kingdom of Romania’s short history.
CHAT: Ellen Alpsten on Tsarina
/I chat with Ellen Alpstein about her amazing new book Tsarina, the story of how a peasant girl from the Baltic became the first female ruler of Russia.
How to get Tsarina
UK
Get your hardback here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/tsarina/ellen-alpsten/9781526606419
ebook here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tsarina-Ellen-Alpsten-ebook/dp/B0844W5YWJ/
USA
Get your hardback here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214430
2.37 Missy of Edinburgh (5) Mother-in-law of the Balkans
/Missy finally crowned as queen and begins to marry her children off across Europe - but her eldest son would continue to be a thorn in her side.
2.36 Missy of Edinburgh (4) The only man in Romania
/After pushing Romania into World War I, Missy discovers that taking on the Central Powers was somewhat harder than she had imagined.
2.35 Missy of Edinburgh (3) Queen at last
/With war on the horizon, King Carol will prepare Romania for the succession, identifying Missy as one of the future leaders of this proud new nation-state.
2.34 Missy of Edinburgh (2) Isolation and Scandal
/Missy struggles to adapt to her new life with a husband she barely knew and in a country she didn’t much understand.
2.33 Missy of Edinburgh (1) Quitting the Old Harbour
/Missy is one of the most badass modern queens that you have never heard of. A woman who dominated a kingdom - a controversial figure whose life and legacy shaped the history of Balkans in the first half of the twentieth century.
MOVIE NIGHT: Nicholas and Alexandra
/A three hour epic in this movie night as we review the 1971 film 'Nicholas and Alexandra', as well as discussing our recent trip to see SIX.
Music credits:
2.32 Alix of Hesse (7) The House of Special Purpose
/After the February Revolution toppled the Romanov dynasty, Alix found herself under house arrest with the rest of her family ultimately ending up meeting her end in Yekaterinburg.
2.31 Alix of Hesse (6) The Shadow of Rasputin
/Alix, a woman who hated elite society, was put in charge of Russia's capital city in a time of war. What could possibly go wrong?
2.30 Alix of Hesse (5) Sister Alexandra
/As the Romanovs prepare to celebrate the 300th anniversary of their dynasty, the storm clouds of revolution and war lie just over the horizon.