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Making Myth Podcast

Making Myth Podcast

Written by: Olivia Doman & Amanda Jordan
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About this listen

We’ve all heard the phrase “reality is stranger than fiction” but does the same thing apply when we look at the past? The Making Myth podcast hopes to untangle fact from history, myth, legend and speak to how we assign meaning to our lives.

Join us on the journey as we transcend through the past and emerge with new understandings.

© 2026 Making Myth Podcast
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Episodes
  • Episode 12: Katherine of Aragon - Reclaiming the True Queen, Part II
    Jan 16 2026

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    Long before the annulment of their marriage, Katherine of Aragon's status as queen was actively buried by Henry VIII. Her strategy of patience against his attempts to belittle her won out; she did not bend. Katherine remained close to her friends, focused on needlework, and poured herself into her daughter Mary's education in the remaining years of her life.

    After she died on January 7, 1536, she was given a princess' funeral procession — not a queen's — and buried in a modest tomb at Peterborough Cathedral. While Henry VIII tried to erase her, today we remember her as the true Queen.

    Come along with us as we explore Katherine's strategic queenship, motherhood, and legacy through history and astrology in Amanda's birthday episode!

    Sources

    Articles:

    • "Catherine of Aragon: Spain's Virgin queen?" by Giles Tremlett (https://tinyurl.com/42e9m6pe)
    • "The Death of Arthur Tudor" by Claire Ridgeway (https://tinyurl.com/26my79zr)
    • “Did Blood Cause Henry VIII’s Madness and Reproductive Woes?” by Jennie Cohen (https://tinyurl.com/3k5p54fb)
    • "Did Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor consummate their marriage?" by Claire Ridgeway (https://tinyurl.com/8eve7hm2)
    • “The head that wears the crown: Henry VIII and traumatic brain injury” by Muhammad Qaiser Ikram, Fazle Hakim Sajjad, and Arash Salardini. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, February 5, 2016. (https://tinyurl.com/3ztpnua7)
    • “Katherine of Aragon: England’s First Feminist Queen?” by Daniella Novakovic (https://tinyurl.com/3z7eebyh)
    • “The Pregnancies of Katherine of Aragon” by Sarah Bryson (https://tinyurl.com/fpn6mbxx)
    • Tudor Life: Katherine of Aragon, September 2017 edition (https://tinyurl.com/3rmawtvt)
    • “Tudor Royal Pregnancy - Catherine of Aragon” by Charlotte Daynton, July 7, 2019. (https://tinyurl.com/5n998b9v)
    • “Tudor Royal Pregnancy - Elizabeth of York ” by Charlotte Daynton, June 30, 2019. (https://tinyurl.com/mr3xtekh)

    Books:

    • Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's Spanish Queen by Giles Tremlett
    • Catherine of Aragon: Infanta of Spain, Queen of England by Theresa Earenfight
    • How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman
    • Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir

    Digital Media:

    • The Six Tudor Queens — Katherine of Aragon with Elizabeth Norton, Historical Royal Palaces Podcast (https://tinyurl.com/45u349cp)

    Primary Sources:

    • Letter from Cardinal Wolsey to Henry VIII, July 5, 1527 (https://tinyurl.com/ycx8yd86)
    • Letter from Eustace Chapuys to Charles V, January 9, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/2nu3d686)
    • Letter from Eustace Chapuys to Charles V, January 21, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/2nu3d686)
    • Letter from Katherine of Aragon to Henry VIII, January 7, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/mvsd2wnv)

    Websites:

    • History of Kimbolton Castle (https://tinyurl.com/2ewk8y3u)
    • Katherine of Aragon (https://tinyurl.com/yc287suz)

    Support Us!
    Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcast
    Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 41 mins
  • Episode 11: Katherine of Aragon - Reclaiming the True Queen, Part I
    Jan 2 2026

    Love what you hear? Send us fan mail!

    Before Katherine of Aragon became Henry VIII's first queen, she was Catalina of Aragon, daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Raised in culturally diverse medieval Spain, she embodied sovereignty and wisdom in all she did. Her move to England in 1501 and marriage to Arthur Tudor set into motion the events that would make her one of England's most misunderstood queens.

    Come along with us as we explore Katherine's early life, first marriage, and adjustment to English life through history and astrology in Amanda's birthday episode!

    Sources

    Articles:

    • "Catherine of Aragon: Spain's Virgin queen?" by Giles Tremlett (https://tinyurl.com/42e9m6pe)
    • "The Death of Arthur Tudor" by Claire Ridgeway (https://tinyurl.com/26my79zr)
    • “Did Blood Cause Henry VIII’s Madness and Reproductive Woes?” by Jennie Cohen (https://tinyurl.com/3k5p54fb)
    • "Did Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor consummate their marriage?" by Claire Ridgeway (https://tinyurl.com/8eve7hm2)
    • “The head that wears the crown: Henry VIII and traumatic brain injury” by Muhammad Qaiser Ikram, Fazle Hakim Sajjad, and Arash Salardini. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, February 5, 2016. (https://tinyurl.com/3ztpnua7)
    • “Katherine of Aragon: England’s First Feminist Queen?” by Daniella Novakovic (https://tinyurl.com/3z7eebyh)
    • “The Pregnancies of Katherine of Aragon” by Sarah Bryson (https://tinyurl.com/fpn6mbxx)
    • Tudor Life: Katherine of Aragon, September 2017 edition (https://tinyurl.com/3rmawtvt)
    • “Tudor Royal Pregnancy - Catherine of Aragon” by Charlotte Daynton, July 7, 2019. (https://tinyurl.com/5n998b9v)
    • “Tudor Royal Pregnancy - Elizabeth of York ” by Charlotte Daynton, June 30, 2019. (https://tinyurl.com/mr3xtekh)

    Books:

    • Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's Spanish Queen by Giles Tremlett
    • Catherine of Aragon: Infanta of Spain, Queen of England by Theresa Earenfight
    • How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman
    • Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir

    Digital Media:

    • The Six Tudor Queens — Katherine of Aragon with Elizabeth Norton, Historical Royal Palaces Podcast (https://tinyurl.com/45u349cp)

    Primary Sources:

    • Letter from Cardinal Wolsey to Henry VIII, July 5, 1527 (https://tinyurl.com/ycx8yd86)
    • Letter from Eustace Chapuys to Charles V, January 9, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/2nu3d686)
    • Letter from Eustace Chapuys to Charles V, January 21, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/2nu3d686)
    • Letter from Katherine of Aragon to Henry VIII, January 7, 1536 (https://tinyurl.com/mvsd2wnv)

    Websites:

    • History of Kimbolton Castle (https://tinyurl.com/2ewk8y3u)
    • Katherine of Aragon (https://tinyurl.com/yc287suz)

    Support Us!
    Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcast
    Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 47 mins
  • Episode 10: Listener's Choice - Khutulun: Mongolia's Wrestler Princess
    Dec 19 2025

    Love what you hear? Send us fan mail!

    It's here! Our first Listener's Choice Episode, just in time for the holidays!

    Mongolian Princess Khutulun amassed 10,000 horses from wrestling matches in the Mongol Empire. A great great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, she was known for her ferocity and shrewd decisions on the battlefield. She accompanied her father in warfare, gaining the attention of contemporary explorers and chroniclers such as Marco Polo.

    Come along with us as we explore Khutulun's authority and women's roles in the Mongol Empire through history and astrology.

    Sources

    Articles:

    • “Chagatai Khanate” by Mark Cartwright, November 8, 2019 (https://www.worldhistory.org/Chagatai_Khanate/)
    • “The Khananate of Chagatai” by Brian Parkinson (https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Mizzou_Academy/World_History_A_B/08%3A_Central_Asia/8.08%3A_The_Khanate_of_Chagatai)
    • “Khutulun” by Tia Shah, Girl Museum, August 9, 2018 (https://www.girlmuseum.org/trailblazers-the-age-of-girls-khutulun/)
    • “The Wrestler Princess” by Jack Weatherford, September 27, 2010 (https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/wrestler-princess)

    Book:

    • Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
    • The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued his Empire by Jack Weatherford
    • Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335 by Bruno De Nicola

    Digital Media:

    • “The Tragic Fate of Khutulun: the Mongol Wrestler Princess/Mongolian Princess Documentary” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DZ3kdOO4iU&t=331s)

    Primary Sources:

    • Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh: (Compendium of Chronicles): A History of the Mongols by Rashīd al-Dīn, translated by W.M. Thackston, second edition
    • Tārīḵ-e Olǰāytū (History of Öljeitü) by al-Qashani, translated by Derya Örs
    • The Travels of Marco Polo recorded by Rustichello da Pisa

    Websites:

    • AstroPro (https://www.astropro.com/)
    • AstroSeek (https://www.astro-seek.com/)

    Support Us!
    Patreon: patreon.com/MakingMythPodcast
    Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/makingmythpodcast

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 20 mins
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