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Unimaginable secrets. Unyielding power. Devastating rifts and shocking allegiances. With surprising new interviews as well as historic sound, Vanity Fair’s DYNASTY examines the ties that bind the one of the most influential families in the world today, taking you inside their lives for a glimpse at the inner workings of privilege. DYNASTY goes deep on the modern Windsors with Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl and staff writer Erin Vanderhoof, who reexamine the complex, sometime ...
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The Squirrel’s Heartbeat

Fiona Banner AKA The Vanity Press

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Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press is a visual artist whose work centres on the problems and possibilities of language, both written and metaphorical. For much of 2020 she has been artist in residence at Phytology, a cultural institute based at Bethnal Green Nature Reserve in East London. During her time there she has been making work with the non-human residents, and also talking to some pretty fab humans, in an open sided potting shed, ruminating on the environment, art and activism. Suppor ...
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Behind every Christmas tradition is a story, often a forgotten one. Every year as we put up a tree and pour the eggnog, we’re continuing generations-old narratives, while being mostly unaware of their starting chapters. Join Brian Earl to explore the fascinating stories behind the most wonderful time of the year. It's equal parts nerdy deep dive and warmhearted celebration. Think: NPR meets Clement Clarke Moore! Christmas Past is one of the longest running Christmas podcasts, soon entering i ...
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This spring, Catherine, Princess of Wales, ended a long silence and rampant public speculation with a solemn video announcing her cancer diagnosis. In the final episode of DYNASTY: The Windsors’ Most Difficult Year, hosts Claire Howorth, Katie Nicholl, and Erin Vanderhoof explain why the message that accompanied her diagnosis was the most important…
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It’s been four years since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walked away from their royal roles, sparking an endless stream of media attention and second-guessing in the UK. This year, the biggest headlines—from historic health challenges for Kate Middleton and King Charles III to royal banquets and honor ceremonies—have been coming from Windsor Castl…
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When King Charles III announced his cancer diagnosis in February, there was an outpouring of emotion in the UK, along with some concern about what it would look like if the monarch not wasn’t able to greet his public on a daily basis. From the beginning, the king balanced his treatments with his duties, and privately he told his medical team that a…
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After a year in which the British Royal Family has been forced to foreground its humanity and vulnerability, DYNASTY is returning for a special four-episode series to examine the events and share behind-the-scenes details. On this inaugural episode, hosts Claire Howorth, Katie Nicholl, and Erin Vanderhoof discuss Prince William’s role as the royal …
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The wives and daughters of Dubai’s ruler live in unbelievable luxury. So why do the women in Sheikh Mohammed’s family keep trying to run away? The New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake joins In the Dark’s Madeleine Baran to tell the story of the royal women who risked everything to flee the brutality of one of the world’s most powerful men. In four e…
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It's our eighth consecutive Christmas together. As we close out the 2023 season, we're taking a look back at the news and trends that made this Christmas what it was. Thank you all for another wonderful Christmas season together. Merry Christmas! And until we meet again, may your days be merry and bright. Music in this Episode "Deck the Halls A" — …
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Here in America, the day after Christmas is simply that: the day after. The party's over. But in England, it's an official holiday. December 26 — Boxing Day — is the Christmas afterparty you've been missing out on. What's the story? And what does it have to do with boxing? Paul Kerensa joins Christmas Past to...unpack the box. Mentioned in this Epi…
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Christmas Day is less than a week from now. In this final stretch of the 2023 season, let's have another gathering of the Christmas Past family. Yes, it’s time once again for an episode dedicated just to you and your Christmas memories. Cozy up by the fire with us for a little Christmas reminiscing. Music in this Episode "A Very Brady Special" — Ke…
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For many families, the Christmas Eve feast is a so-called "meatless meal." It's a tradition of European Christian roots that has gone on to take many forms. Mentioned in this episode Plating Grace Music in this Episode "Italian Trip" — wildsound159, via Pixabay "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "First Snow" —…
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Old Fezziwig sure knew how to throw an office Christmas party. Dickens's description of Christmas Eve in Fezziwig's counting house included vigorous fiddling and elaborate dancing. That style of dance may belong to a bygone time, but it lives on in the annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair. In this special episode, Cathleen Myers joins Christmas Past…
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In the late nineteenth century modern postal systems were still coming into their own. Around the turn of the century, many countries, including England, began issuing Christmas themed postage stamps. You might think that America would have been among them, but boy would you be wrong. In fact, America was one of the last countries to get on board. …
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The Brady Bunch is an iconic American sitcom that ran for five seasons. But it produced only one Christmas episode during its original run. "The Voice of Christmas" from season 1 finds Carol with laryngitis days before she's scheduled to sing a solo for her church's Christmas service. The one and only Christopher Knight joins Brian to break this ep…
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For a bread that’s short, its history is long. Exactly how long, and the particulars of how it all came about, though, are unclear. But one this is clear: shortbread is an essential — and delicious — part of the festive season. Mentioned in this Episode Tasting History Youtube Channel Tasting History, book by Max Miller Music in this Episode "Hush …
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One of my favorite parts of creating Christmas Past is sharing your Christmas memories. I love the warm connections I’ve had with so many of you over the years, and the glimpses you provide into your Christmases Past. So, today, I’m excited to take a break from the normal action and bring to you an episode dedicated just to you and your Christmas m…
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Colorful, glossy, enticing. For generations of children, the annual department store Christmas catalog was a field guide, a treasure map, and the fuel for hearts desires and letters to Santa. And then, one day, they were gone. Mentioned in this Episode Wish Book Web Music in this Episode "Jingle Bells Relax Piano" — Oleg Kirilkov, via Pixabay "Merr…
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Stollen is a Christmas staple in German homes. This cake/bread hybrid is packed with flavor and shaped to resemble a swaddled baby. Food writer Luisa Weiss joins Christmas Past to explain stollen's special connection to German Christmas and German baking culture. Mentioned in this Episode Luisa Weiss Classic German Baking, by Luisa Weiss Music in t…
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The mostly warm, fuzzy, cozy, sanitized Christmas is mainly a product of 19th and 20th century American influence. In earlier times, Christmas had a spooky side — one example of which is the Welsh tradition of the ghostly gray mare: the Mari Lwyd. Mentioned in this Episode Jeff Belanger The Fright Before Christmas by Jeff Belanger Music in this Epi…
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By the turn of the 20th century, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in America by far. In 1907, when a tuberculosis treatment clinic was in financial straits, Emily Bissell created Christmas Seals as a fundraiser. It was as novel as it was effective. More than a century later, Christmas Seals are still one of the prominent sights of the se…
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These days, the Christmas season is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Way back when, it was the period beginning on Christmas Day, and included 12 days of merrymaking and mischief. The Twelve Days of Christmas aren't really part of our modern Christmas celebration — except for the song lyrics and the odd reference here and there. W…
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The earliest myths involving elves portrayed them as mischievous or even malicious creatures that posed dangers to humans and animals. So, how do we get from there to jolly little Christmas elves? It’s a story that takes us from ancient Ancient Europe to the current day — one that involves mythology, modern American influence, the power of poetry a…
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Decorative nutcrackers — most often resembling a toy soldier, but available in countless other characters — are synonymous with the Christmas season. Why? It’s a story whose origins predate Christmas itself. And whose history involves a mining town, Napoleon, dance theater, and World War two. So...let’s get crackin’! Mentioned in this Episode http:…
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Mary E. Wilkins Freeman was a prolific author in the 19th century. Her Christmas stories showed up every year in newspapers and magazines. Professor Thomas Ruys Smith recently published a new collection of Freeman's Christmas stories. Professor Smith joins me today to discuss Freeman, and then Brian narrates "Harriet Anne's Christmas" from the coll…
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As we ease our way into another Christmas season, we're practicing thta somewhat forgotten tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas time! In 1883, Temple Bar magazine published a story by a writer and physician named Arthur Conan Doyle. Nowadays, we refer to him as sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and we know him best as the creator of that most famo…
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After taking a few days to savor Prince Harry’s eye-opening memoir Spare, cohosts Katie Nicholl and Erin Vanderhoof sit down to explain the book’s revelations and debate whether Harry will come to regret his disclosures. Can the Firm weather more controversy? And will the royals ever make up with Harry and Meghan?…
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Join Christmas Past one last time in the 2022 season. It's our annual look back at the sights, sounds, news, and trends that made Christmas of 2022 what it was. Merry Christmas to all, and many thanks for being part of the 2022 season of Christmas Past. Music in This Episode "This Christmas" — Hot Music, via Pixabay "Deck the Halls A" — Kevin MacLe…
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