That Shakespeare Life
banner
thatshakespeare.bsky.social
That Shakespeare Life
@thatshakespeare.bsky.social
Cassidy Cash, historical map illustrator | Podcast about turn of the 17th century the way Shakespeare would have lived it | New episodes every Monday | Shakespeare history club on Patreon http://www.patreon.com/thatshakespearelife
Edward Winslow is the only person who wrote down an eye witness account of the 1621 feast, citing "that we might after a more special manner rejoice together " & "for three days we entertained and feasted." (Full account inside That Shakespeare Society). www.cassidycash.com/ep397
November 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Join me and my guests from Plimoth Patuxet Museums @plimothpatuxet —Malissa Costa & Richard Pickering—as we explore Wampanoag clothing, diplomacy, deerskin traditions, and how Wampanoag agricultural knowledge shaped the Pilgrims’ survival in the 1620s. 🎧 Listen now: www.cassidycash.com/ep397
November 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
If you want to connect with other enthusiastic Shakespeareans in a world full of primary documents, museum artifacts, and historical gold nuggets, then join us inside That Shakespeare Society where we share all the extra content we couldn't cram into the podcast. www.patreon.com/thatshakespe...
November 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Our guest this week, @greenleejw offers a treasure trove of eel pictures and historical accounts on his X.com feed. I highly encourage you to go there, follow him, and learn incredibly interesting facts about eels. Here's just one incredible feed to check out: x.com/greenleejw/s...
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
"The ships were...kind of a floating aquarium. The Dutch used them to transport live eels to London from c.1475 - 1938. There were small holes in the sides of the ship to allow for water flow. Here's a diagram of one, with the water compartment highlight." @greenleejw x.com/greenleejw/s...
November 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
NEW EPISODE: Have you ever wondered what kind of eels Shakespeare was talking about in Love's Labour's Lost? Find out the history of eels, the merchants that traded in them, and exactly how much they were worth, with our guest The Surprised Eel Historian, @greenleejw www.cassidycash.comep396
November 17, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The potato has a complicated history for 17thC England. As new foods arrived from across the Atlantic, new words were invented, and sometimes--like "potato"--words were used to describe very different foods. Let's find out more as we ask "Did Shakespeare eat sweet potatoes?" youtu.be/NnOLINw37cQ
November 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Before sequins, there were "oes" (Sometimes also called 'Spangles") which were made from gold or copper metal and sewn onto fabrics, like hats, to make them shiny, more luxurious, or more fancy. Here, a dress is fashioned by Inigo Jones using "oes." www.cassidycash.com/ep395
November 14, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Want to SEE the feathers we’re talking about in this week's show?
Members can explore:
• Feathered hat portraits (Dudley, Rudolf II)
• Featherwork of Aztec artisans
• Ostrich feather illustrations
...and more!
Step into the Research Vault → www.patreon.com/posts/142755...
November 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Most Englishmen in the 16thC had never seen an ostrich, but they loved ostrich feathers. Conrad Gessner described ostriches with colored feathers bc he only saw dyed feathers — never the bird. “That with the plume: ’tis a most gallant fellow.” — All’s Well That Ends Well www.cassidycash.com/ep395
November 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🎙 NEW EPISODE: “What plume of feathers is he?” — Love’s Labour’s Lost
Feathers signaled wealth, rank, romance, and sometimes ridiculous vanity. This week, Professor Ulinka Rublack @CamHistory explains about plumed hats and the bold identities they created.
🎧 Listen here → cassidycash.com/ep395
November 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Sweet oranges didn’t become common in England until after Shakespeare died… so what citrus was he talking about in the plays? We went back to 16th-century botanical illustrations to find out. 🍊 Watch now ➜ youtu.be/H2D0Hm0nynQ
November 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM
The snippets on social are just samples of the insider history available for members of That Shakespeare Society. Come inside for an in depth look at this week's show (& 400+ episodes) with museum artifacts, primary documents, woodcuts, illustrations, and more. www.patreon.com/posts/santor...
November 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Santorio’s thermoscope didn’t use mercury—it used air. As heat expanded the air, it pushed colored water down the tube—one of the first steps toward the modern thermometer. See how this early 17th-C invention changed the way we understand heat and health.
🎧 Listen to Ep. 394 → cassidycash.com/ep394
November 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Long before Fahrenheit, Santorio Santori added a scale to Galileo’s thermoscope—turning a simple curiosity into the first thermometer in history. His 1612 invention helped physicians read the body’s balance through numbers—not guesswork. 🎧 Learn more → cassidycash.com/ep394
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
NEW EPISODE: Our guest, Fabrizio Bigotti, shares how in 1612—just 1 year after Shakespeare wrote The Tempest—Venetian physician Santorio transformed Galileo’s thermoscope into the first thermometer, quantifying heat into numbers for the very first time. 🎧 Listen now → cassidycash.com/ep394
November 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
DId Shakespeare play Red Light Green Light? A listener prompted question launches an investigation into Tudor playground games. Here's what I found out: youtu.be/GDgSDAQwJSc
November 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Today, @glamiscastlescotland still celebrates its connection to Macbeth. Visitors can walk the Macbeth Sculpture Trail and see open-air Shakespeare performances in the castle gardens—continuing a 400-year tradition of storytelling. Listen now: www.cassidycash.com/ep393
October 31, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Legend says a nobleman at Glamis once played cards with the devil himself—and his room remains bricked up to this day. King James’s Daemonologie (1597) made such tales of witchcraft and the supernatural all the more spooky for Shakespeare’s audience. www.cassidycash.com/ep393
October 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The word "Churl" comes up in Shakespeare's play, Comedy of Errors and the related pharse "Churlish" comes up in As You LIke It. What do these words mean, and what is Shakespeare talking about when he uses them? Find out right now on Weird Word Wednesday. youtu.be/umFnhzZ1ovc
October 29, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Want to see what Glamis Castle looked like in Shakespeare’s lifetime? Our patrons get exclusive access to detailed show notes featuring the castle’s Renaissance design, exclusive insider photographs, and more on the real history that inspired Macbeth. www.patreon.com/posts/140442...
October 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Did you know?The title Thane of Glamis is real. It dates back to 1372 when King Robert II granted the Thanage to Sir John Lyon, whose descendants became powerful advisors to Scottish kings—including James VI/I, Shakespeare’s royal patron.
Hear more in this week’s episode: www.cassidycash.com/ep393
October 28, 2025 at 2:05 PM
NEW EPISODE: Discover the real history behind Shakespeare’s Thane of Glamis” Archivist Ingrid Thomson joins us from Glamis Castle to explore its royal connections, ghostly legends, and Renaissance transformations that shaped Shakespeare’s Macbeth. www.cassidycash.com/ep393
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Did you know that in 1573, when Shakespeare was just 9 years old, Gilles Garnier was convicted of being a werewolf? Yes, a real one. Learn about his case with our guest, Dr. Kay Edwards. youtu.be/na_Pr01Eh74
October 25, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Shoes hidden in chimneys + horseshoes over doors were believed to ward off witches. 👞🐎
Folklore was woven into the home.
🎧 cassidycash.com/ep392
October 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM