Turning Modern

From the year 1500 to the fall of Napoleon, each episode of "Turning Modern" highlights a different event, person, or creative work in the early modern West. Join me as I look at the people, forces, and art that helped shape the world we live in, for better and for worse.

Turning Modern is a history podcast hosted by Chad D., with 16 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Chad D. hosts Turning Modern, a history show with 16 episodes published.

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  Episode #14

  The Secret Love of Copernicus

  Oct 2, 202618 minS1

  The scientific revolutionary Copernicus lived the simple life of a low-ranking priest and a bishop's personal physician in a northern Polish city. However, his correspondence does suggest he had one scandalous secret: he was likely living with his lover. Sources Freely, John. Celestial Revolutionary: Copernicus, The Man, and His Universe (London: I.B. Tauris, 2014). Repcheck, Jack. Copernicus’ Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Turning Modern is a one-person production, so support is always welcome. You can contribute through Patreon or Ko-Fi.

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  Episode #12

  The Abducted Children Sent To An Island

  Sep 18, 202616 minS1

  Hundreds of children were taken from their families and sent to a distant, previously uninhabited island. The reasons why this happened are a toxic mixture of deeply rooted intolerance and simple greed. Sources ha-Cohen, Joseph. The Vale of Tears (Emek Habacha) , trans. Harry S. May (Martinus Nihoff, 1971). Soyer, François. “King João II of Portugal ‘O Príncipe Perfeito’ and the Jews (1481-1495) Sefarad 69.1 (2009): 75-99. _________. The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal : King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496-7) (Brill, 2007). Usque, Samuel. Samuel Usque’s Consolation for the Tribes of Israel , ed. andtrans. Martin Cohen (Varda Books, 2002). For transcripts and ways to support the show, check out turningmodern.com.

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  Episode #11

  The Forgotten Woman Who Helped Shape The Protestant Reformation

  Aug 11, 202614 minS1

  Someone sticks up for a university student accused of heresy. This starts the public career of one of the most assertive, formidable voices of the early Protestant Reformation, a voice that would probably be better remembered if not for the fact that they were a woman. Sources MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation: A History (Viking, 2003). Mark, Joshua J. "Argula von Grumbach's To the University of Ingolstadt." World History Encyclopedia. 23 March 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1971/argula-von-grumbachs-to-the-university-of-ingolsta/ Stjerna, Kirsi. Women and the Reformation (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). For transcripts and ways to support the show, go to turningmodern.com.

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  Episode #10

  The Queen Who Became a Professional Writer

  Jul 13, 202627 minS1

  Marguerite de Navarre is the sister and wife of kings. While coping with being an agent of her brother and navigating the religious turmoil , she still found the time to become a bestselling author and perhaps the "first modern woman." Sources: Cholakian, Patricia F. and Rouben C. Marguerite de Navarre: Mother of the Renaissance (Columbia University Press, 2006). Gristwood, Sarah. “I Wrote a Book About Renaissance Queens. Today’s Stories of Sex Assault Sound Like Something Out of the 16th Century.” History News Network. 3 December 2017. ⁠https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/i-wrote-a-book-about-renaissance-queens-todays-sto⁠ .Last Accessed: 7/9/2026. Knecht, Robert J. Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I (Cambridge University Press, 1994). For more information, transcripts, and ways to support the show, go to ⁠ turningmodern.com.

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  Episode #8

  The Actual First Bible Translated Into English (And The Man Who Died For It)

  Jun 20, 202627 minS1

  An Oxford grad and private tutor has a dream of making the first English Bible translated directly from Hebrew and Greek. Unfortunately, his ambition becomes a matter of life and death once his scholarly endeavors become just another front in the war to decide Europe's religious future. Sources Daniell, David. The Bible in English: Its History and Influence (Yale University Press, 2003). Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs: Selected Narratives , ed. John N. King (Oxford University Press, 2009). ___________. William Tyndale: A Biography (Yale University Press, 1994). Moynahan, Brian. William Tyndale: If God Spare My Life (Abacus, 2002).For more information, transcripts, and ways to support the show, go to turningmodern.com.

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