History Rage

The Abdication Crisis Demolished

In 1936, King Edward VIII gave up the British throne for the woman he loved—or so the story goes. But was the abdication of Edward VIII really the ultimate modern fairy tale, or a carefully orchestrated establishment takedown?
Journalist and author Sian Evans joins host Paul Bavill on History Rage to shatter the classic fig leaf surrounding Wallis Simpson and the crown. Evans uncovers the political maneuvers, secret service surveillance, and establishment panic behind the year of three kings, exposing Edward VIII not as a romantic hero, but as an unsuitable, petulant playboy king the government desperately needed to replace.

Key Discussion Points

The Romantic Fig Leaf: Why the "greatest love story" myth served both the royal family and the British government to hide a constitutional coup.
Playboy Prince to Reluctant King: Edward’s self-indulgence, low boredom threshold, and early threats to renounce his royal duties.
Enter Wallis Simpson: The dynamic American divorcee, the secret Ipswich divorce trial, and why the establishment saw her as a threat.
The Establishment Takedown: How Stanley Baldwin, Archbishop Cosmo Lang, and court officials leveraged the crisis to install Bertie (King George VI).
Royal Duty vs. Personal Desire: The echoes of 1936 in modern royal departures, from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to royal duty.

Recommended History Rage Episodes

Episode 175: Stop Worshipping the Bloody Mitfords with Guy Walters
Episode 227: Coco Chanel Was Not a Nazi Spy with Anne de Courcy

Guest Information & Book Link

Guest: Sian Evans
Book: 1936: The Year of Three Kings
Buy the Book: Support the guest, independent booksellers, and History Rage by purchasing from the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781399722766

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Vampires, bloodbaths, and historical smear campaigns: why the legends you know are dead wrong.

Think you know the story of Elizabeth Báthory, the "Blood Countess" who bathed in the blood of virgins to stay forever young? Think again. In this episode of History Rage, host Paul Bavill sits down with former professor and author Shelley Puhak to tear down four centuries of myth and reveal the real woman behind the monster.

The canonical legend has cemented Báthory as the world's most prolific female serial killer, a creature walled up in a tower after being caught red-handed. But the reality has nothing to do with horror tropes and everything to do with early modern witch trials, immense wealth, and a cutthroat political turf war against the Habsburg Empire.

Shelley exposes how a powerful, literate, and politically inconvenient widow was systematically dismantled by ambitious, paranoid men who used the era's raging satanic panics to launch a massive land grab. If you love true history, political intrigue, and watching legendary myths get turned to ash, this rage is exactly what you need.

Discover the Real History:
The Fabricated Myth: Why the infamous "bathing in blood" detail wasn't added until a century after her death by a Jesuit priest looking to sell local folklore.
A Political Target: How Báthory’s control of vast strategic fortresses and her family's ties to open rebellion made her a massive threat to the Habsburg crown.
An Investigation Without Bodies: The shocking truth behind the lack of evidence, missing victims, and the hurried torture and execution of her servants.
The Weapon of Misogyny: How powerful women throughout history—from Anne Boleyn to Catherine de' Medici—are consistently transformed into monsters in the historical imagination.

Links and Resources
Buy the Book: Grab your copy of Shelley Puhak's gripping book, The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster, from the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781639732159
Follow the Guest: Connect with author Shelley Puhak and dive deeper into her work on marginalized histories by visiting her website: https://www.shelleypuhak.com

Recommended Episodes
If you enjoyed this episode, dive into these angry deep-dives from our archives:
Episode 254: Rachel McCarthy James rages about the misunderstandings surrounding the Lizzie Borden murders.
Episode 306: Kate Williams sets the record straight on the royal, scandalous myths of Catherine the Great.

Support History Rage!
If you want to help us keep slaying historical myths, please consider supporting the show:
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Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review on Apple Podcasts and Google, and—until next week—stay angry!
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Was King Arthur real? or are we looking at history all wrong?

If you think finding a 6th-century tomb solves the Arthurian legend, think again. Medievalist, artist, and author Dr. Amy Jeffs (author of Arthur: A New Life) joins host Paul Bavill to dismantle the obsession with "smoking gun" popular history. From giant-descended queens to shape-shifting wizards, the true power of King Arthur lies not in a single dead warlord, but in centuries of evolving folklore, political propaganda, and captivating mystery.

In this episode, we explore:

The Gloucester Cathedral Apprentice Bracket Myth: How medieval art history misreads grief vs. miracles.
The Real Roots of Arthur: 9th-century Breton charters, early Welsh poetry, and monster-slaying heroes.
Brute Chronicles & Propaganda: How medieval kings twisted myth to justify foreign conquests.
The Dark Origin of the Round Table: Food fights, brutal executions, and baronial politics.
Forgotten Women of Arthurian Legend: Morgan le Fay, Guinevere's lineage, and Merlin’s sister.
Stop reducing complex legends to simple answers—embrace the magic of historical mystery!

Guest Info & Book Links:

Buy the Book: Order Arthur: A New Life via the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781529431681
Website: https://www.amyjeffshistoria.com/
Instagram: @amyjeffs_author
Live Event: See Dr. Amy Jeffs live at the Gloucester History Festival (12th–20th September). Book tickets now at https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk.

Recommended Episodes:

Episode 322: Emily Hauser rages that there is no canonical version of The Odyssey.
Episode 276: Nick Jubber rages that vampires are not Transylvanian.

Follow & Support History Rage:

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Britain’s terrifying Cold War survival plans were far more serious than imagined.

Was Cold War civil defence genuinely useful — or simply political theatre designed to comfort a frightened population? In this explosive episode of History Rage, emergency planning historian Dr. Nathan Hazlehurst dismantles decades of myths surrounding Britain’s nuclear preparedness.

From Protect and Survive and regional nuclear bunkers to the grim realism of Threads and When the Wind Blows, Nathan reveals the astonishing scale of Britain’s plans for surviving nuclear war. Far from being laughable, civil defence involved thousands of volunteers, detailed “war books” in every council area, emergency food distribution plans, evacuation schemes, and preparations for maintaining government after atomic attack.

Nathan explains how the UK expected local authorities to become wartime rulers, why police would have received sweeping emergency powers, and how Britain planned to preserve society in the aftermath of nuclear devastation. The discussion also explores the cultural legacy of civil defence, including the influence of Yes Minister, Dad’s Army, and the BBC’s banned 1965 nuclear drama The War Game.

You’ll hear why the famous Protect and Survive booklet may actually contain surprisingly sensible resilience advice — much of which Scandinavian countries still issue to citizens today.

This episode explores:
The real purpose behind Britain’s Cold War civil defence network
Why local councils maintained secret nuclear war books
How Threads accurately portrayed nuclear emergency planning
The role of the Civil Defence Corps and Green Goddess fire engines
Britain’s regional seats of government and continuity plans
Why nuclear-free zones clashed with central government
How Cold War resilience planning still shapes emergency response today

Guest Details
Dr. Nathan Hazlehurst is an emergency preparedness practitioner and contemporary historian specialising in British civil defence and Cold War emergency planning. He is currently developing his doctoral research into a forthcoming book exploring the history and legacy of UK civil defence.

Follow Nathan on X/Twitter:
https://x.com/n_rh1992

Recommended Episodes
Episode 43 – Lucy Siebert rages that Protect and Survive isn’t really that bad
Episode 205 – Nathan Hazlehurst rages there’s more to wartime defence than “putting bloody lights out”

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Think we’ve exhausted Tudor history? Think again — what are we missing?

Are the Tudors really overdone, or are we simply telling the same stories over and over again? Dr Joanne Paul joins Paul Bavill for a counter-rage against the idea that historians should stop studying the Tudors.

From the English Reformation and the Break with Rome to poverty, politics, women, immigrants, people of colour and the extraordinary figures operating beyond the royal spotlight, there is far more to sixteenth-century England than Henry VIII, his six wives and Elizabeth I.

Joanne explains why modern Tudor history is busy challenging Victorian misconceptions, uncovering overlooked lives and rethinking how power actually worked. Why did the dissolution of the monasteries fundamentally change the experience of poverty? Were Tudor counsellors sometimes more important than the monarch? Were the seeds of the English Civil War already being planted in sixteenth-century ideas about government?

There is also plenty of discussion about the English Reformation, Lollardy, Renaissance humanism, Edward VI, the Marian regime, Henry VII, the rise of the “new men” and, inevitably, why Edward Seymour sucks.

If you think Tudor history begins and ends with Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, this is your challenge to look again.

Dr Joanne Paul is speaking at the Gloucester History Festival, which runs from 12th–20th September. Joanne will be appearing on Friday 18th September at 4pm, discussing the end of Henry VIII's reign. Find festival information and tickets at: https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk
Find out more about Dr Joanne Paul and follow her work:
Website: https://www.joannepaul.co.uk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJoannePaul
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjoannepaul/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/drjoannepaul
Joanne is the author of Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England and The House of Dudley. Buy The House of Dudley and support History Rage through the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781405937191

Recommended episodes:
Episode 269: Al Murray argues it’s time to shut up about the Tudors.
Episode 266: Dr Joanne Paul rages that it’s not Lady Jane Grey — it’s Queen Jane Dudley.

Listen to more episodes and find History Rage here:
Website: https://www.historyrage.com
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If you enjoy History Rage, please follow, subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen — and tell another history lover to climb aboard the rage train.
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