Dead People Talking

About Dead People Talking

Hi everyone! Welcome to Dead People Talking. I'm Rachel Dyer a historian and lawyer who lives and breathes everything "back then". I love history. But I know a lot of people don't. We have done our history a disservice by teaching it wrong and boiling it down to names and dates. History is the context of...US. History is a story the story of every person who has ever lived, who is living, and who will ever live. Thats millions and billions of stories as rich and juicy and interesting as your own life story. So join me as we dive into some of the best stories from history and bring history back to life.

Publisher

Rachel Dyer

Category

education · history

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

25 May 2026

Latest episode

17 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Catherine the Great Part I: A Stranger in Russia

   Before she was Catherine the Great, she was Sophia Augusta Frederica, a fourteen-year-old princess from a minor German principality traveling through the frozen Russian winter toward a future she could scarcely have imagined. In this episode of Dead People Talking, we follow the young Catherine from her childhood in Prussia to the dazzling and dangerous court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia. We explore her transformation from Sophia to Catherine, her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, her disastrous marriage to the future Peter III, and the years of isolation, study, ambition and survival that began to shape one of the eighteenth century's most extraordinary rulers. From six-hour wedding celebrations and Peter's toy soldiers to Catherine's discovery of Enlightenment philosophy, affairs, miscarriages and the birth of her son Paul, this is the story of Catherine before she became "the Great" — when becoming Empress of Russia still seemed almost impossible. Sources & Further Reading Catherine the Great. The Memoirs of Catherine the Great. Translated by Mark Cruse and Hilde Hoogenboom. Modern Library, 2006. Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend. Oxford University Press, 1989. Bushkovitch, Paul. A Concise History of Russia. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Music Music featured in this episode is licensed through Epidemic Sound. Follow Dead People Talking Instagram: @deadpeopletalkingpodcast TikTok: @deadpeopletalkingpod https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod (https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod) Dead People Talking: A History Podcast

2. 

   9 Aug 2026

   The Aftermath of Dallas and Beyond: Jackie Kennedy Episode 2

   In Episode Two of our series on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, we follow Jackie into the White House and through the years that turned her into an international figure almost overnight. At just thirty-one, she became First Lady, bringing a sense of history, art, and quiet glamour to a role she never really sought. Her restoration of the White House drew widespread attention, her overseas trips made her a diplomatic sensation, and the public became captivated by her style, intelligence, and carefully protected private life. But the image of the perfect First Family never told the full story. Jackie lived through her husband’s well-known infidelities, the strain of difficult pregnancies, the heartbreak of losing their infant son Patrick, and the constant pressure of life at the centre of Cold War America. Then, on November 22, 1963, everything changed. From Dallas and the bloodstained pink suit that would become one of the most haunting images of the twentieth century, to JFK’s funeral, the rise of the Camelot myth, her later marriage to Aristotle Onassis, and the intensely private life she built in its aftermath, this episode traces Jackie through grief, reinvention, motherhood, scandal, and survival. This is Jackie Kennedy after the campaign—the First Lady, the widow, the myth, and, beneath it all, a woman who spent her life deciding how much of herself the world would ever truly get to see. If you are enjoying Dead People Talking please share us, follow us, subscribe, and like NOW ON YOUTUBE https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod (https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod) Youtube Sources: America's Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Sarah Bradford

3. 

   25 Jul 2026

   Before The White House: Jackie Kennedy Episode 1

   In the first episode of this two-part series, we trace Jackie's remarkable journey from her privileged but complicated childhood through her education, early career as a journalist, whirlwind romance with a rising young senator named John F. Kennedy, and the triumphs and heartbreaks of their early marriage. Along the way, we'll explore the woman behind the carefully crafted public image: a gifted writer, fluent linguist, passionate lover of history and art, and someone whose resilience was forged long before the world knew her name. We'll also examine the political world Jackie married into, the challenges of life on the campaign trail, and the pivotal 1960 presidential election that would change not only her life, but the course of American history. This is the story of Jackie before the White House, before the pink suit, before Camelot, before tragedy, and the experiences that transformed Jacqueline Bouvier into Jacqueline Kennedy. https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod (https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod) Instagram - DeadPeopleTalkingPodcast Tik Tok - DeadPeopleTalkingPod Email - deadpeopletalkingpod@deadpeopletalkingpod.com (mailto:deadpeopletalkingpod@deadpeopletalkingpod.com) Sources America's Queen by Sarah Bradford

4. 

   18 Jul 2026

   Spartacus: The Legend That Survived 2,000 Years

   Imagine making decisions in your life which will not only change the course of the lives of everyone around you but will be so impactful, so inspiring, and so formative that people living 2000 years after you will still be telling your story. I think we often think of historical figures as being something almost super human, apart from us somehow, different from us, made of different molecules entirely. However, people have always been just that, people. Motivated by the same emotions and needs and when Spartacus woke in the morning one September day almost 2000 years ago he felt the sleep leave his eyes just like we do, then he felt the flood of emotions we might feel today and he decided to make a change that ripples through history. His actions were so inspiring at the time that more than 100,000 people followed him into open rebellion against the Roman Empire. Today we talk about the incredible story of Spartacus the gladiator who led an army of 100,000 self-freed slaves against Rome. Instagram - DeadPeopleTalkingPod Tik Tok - DeadPeopleTalkingPodcast Email - deadpeopletalkingpod@deadpeopletalkingpod.com (mailto:deadpeopletalkingpod@deadpeopletalkingpod.com) https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod (https://linktr.ee/DeadPeopleTalkingPod) sources https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/spartacus.shtml (https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/spartacus.shtml) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludus_Magnus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludus_Magnus) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.10.010 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.10.010)

5. 

   3 Jul 2026

   The Subtle Science of Striptease: The Bodacious Life of Blaze Starr

   Today we explore the life of Blaze Starr, born Fannie Belle Fleming, the stripper and burlesque dancer who shot to fame in the 1950's. She was arrested for her performance in every state she toured in. She supported women's lib and was an active second wave feminist. She strode between the lines of sex symbol, sex worker, artist, performer, star, wife, and woman writing her own story and conforming to no titles but the ones she gave herself. Married 1.5 times, you'll get the joke when you give the ep. a listen, she was the one true love of Earl Long Governor of Louisiana, forty years her senior. This scandalous affair skyrocketed her fame, which was already on the climb as she graced the pages of Esquire magazine more than once. Blaze is a supernova so come along for this cosmic ride as we explore Blaze Starr's story. Source - Blaze Starr: My Story as told to Huey Perry All music by Epidemic Sound

6. 

   26 Jun 2026

   The Lone Survivor of the Kingmaker's Greed - Anne Neville

   Anne Neville, Queen of England, daughter of the Kingmaker, widow of the forgotten prince, tends to get reduced to a footnote as Richard III’s wife, but her story is far more complicated than that. She was the younger daughter of Richard Neville, the so-called “Kingmaker”, and grew up right in the middle of the chaos of the Wars of the Roses. By the time she was still very young, she had already seen her father switch allegiances, watched fortunes rise and collapse, married the Lancastrian heir, lost him after a brutal battle, and found herself at the centre of a scramble over her inheritance. In this episode of Dead People Talking, we trace Anne’s path from her father’s powerful household to the English throne. Along the way, we’ll look at the shifting alliances of the period, the Wars of the Roses, the circumstances around her marriage to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and what the surviving evidence actually tells us about her life. Women in history are often forced behind a foggy pane of glass in which the sharper details of their lives become blurry and ill defined in the aftermath of male written records. Anne experienced some of the most momentous and tragic events in English history yet she is almost totally forgotten. Lets correct that today. Let’s take a closer look at the records, the rumours, and the gaps in between to get a better sense of who Anne Neville really was. If you enjoyed the episode, feel free to follow Dead People Talking wherever you get your podcast or on Instagram at @deadpeopletalkingpod Tik Tok @deadpeopletalkingpodcast, leave a review, or pass it on to someone else who likes history. It makes a real difference for smaller podcasts and helps more people find these stories. If you have a story idea feel free to email me as deadpeopletalkingpod@deadpeopletalkingpod.com

7. 

   16 Jun 2026

   Why Do You Bother With Him? Poison and Prejudice

   Today we dig into a nuanced and violent case the Angel Makers of Nagyrév. A community of women tired of their violent husbands and lives shadowed by violence, hunger and strife come together for support and find a toxic solution. Join us this week on Dead People Talking, Sources The Women Are Not Fine: The Dark History of a Poisonous Sisterhood by Hope Reese Music by Epidemic Sound

8. 

   8 Jun 2026

   Dumb Decisions Lead to Death in the Australian Outback: Burke and Wills Expedition

   In 1860, a group of determined explorers set out to achieve one of the greatest geographical feats in Australian history: crossing the continent from south to north. What followed was a masterclass in poor planning, questionable leadership, baffling decision-making, and the stubborn refusal to learn from people who actually knew what they were doing. Join me this week as we follow Burke and Wills through the Australian outback. Hopefully, we fair better than they did. Sources https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/political-science/colonization-australia (https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/political-science/colonization-australia) https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/burke-and-wills (https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/burke-and-wills) The Dollop Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/49Db0UEm30dSw08Bo6rVN9?si=ebd3b7dfb48249ee (https://open.spotify.com/show/49Db0UEm30dSw08Bo6rVN9?si=ebd3b7dfb48249ee)

9. 

   1 Jun 2026

   The Walking Wounded: The Incredible Fighting Life of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart

   Todays episode does include descriptions od death and injury during war. Listener discretion advised. Today we are talking about Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart. An absolute machine of a man. I usually don't like military history, I am a people historian. And Adrian is one heck of a person and one heck of a soldier. So I thought his story should be told. Buckle up this story is crazy. Sources Happy Odyssey by Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart with Foreward by Winston Churchill https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme (https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme) https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war/western-front/poison-gas (https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war/western-front/poison-gas) https://www.forcesnews.com/heritage/soldiers-eye-views-somme (https://www.forcesnews.com/heritage/soldiers-eye-views-somme) https://www.iwm.org.uk/podcasts/voices-of-the-first-world-war/ep-33-shell-shock (https://www.iwm.org.uk/podcasts/voices-of-the-first-world-war/ep-33-shell-shock)

10. 

    25 May 2026

    Pilot

    Welcome to Dead People Talking a weird history podcast about the strange and fascinating story of us a.k.a. history. History has been done dirty, you've been lied to if you think history is just names and dates on a whiteboard. History is context of everything we are and everything we have ever done. Everything you have ever done. So it's pretty cool. Join me every week as we combat the idea that history is boring and exploring the interesting, the strange, the unsettling and the fascinating.

11. 

    25 May 2026

    Lady Jane Digby Episode 2

    From English castles to desert tents beneath the Syrian stars, this episode explores the remarkable final act of one of the nineteenth century’s most unconventional women, a woman who refused, again and again, to live the life society demanded of her.

12. 

    25 May 2026

    Lady Jane Digby Episode 1

    In this first episode, we trace Jane’s early life from the rolling countryside of Dorset and Norfolk to the dazzling but deeply restrictive world of Britain’s upper classes. Married off at just seventeen to the much older and politically powerful Edward Law, 2nd Baron Ellenborough, Jane quickly discovers the brutal realities of marriage, reputation, and female dependence in the early nineteenth century. What follows is a whirlwind of affairs, scandal, gossip, and public humiliation that would make Jane one of the most infamous women in Europe. Her romances with diplomats, noblemen, and foreign aristocrats scandalize Victorian society and ultimately destroy her marriage — but they also force her into exile from the only world she has ever known.

13. 

    25 May 2026

    Baby Doe Tabor: The Queen of Colorado's Silver Empire

    In this episode, I tell you the extraordinary and heartbreaking story of Elizabeth McCourt Tabor, better known as Baby Doe Tabor. From poverty to glittering wealth in Colorado’s silver boom, and back again to isolation and tragedy, her life reads like a frontier epic. Alongside her husband, Horace Tabor, she rose to become one of the most famous women of the American West. But when the silver market collapsed, so too did everything they had built. What followed was not just financial ruin, but a decades-long descent into hardship that ended in one of the most haunting deaths in American history.

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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