Episode 135: What's the Deal with Switzerland?

Switzerland! Peaceful, neutral, full of clocks and cheese , or is it? How did Switzerland come to be? Why does it get to be neutral? How did they get so rich? Why did it take until 1990 for women to be allowed to vote? Let's find out! Support the podcast at patreon.com/historyissexy Show notes, merch etc at www.historyissexy.com

Who the hell is Marcus Camillus? Featuring Rome's version of the Trojan War, Rome's greatest humiliation, a truly scandalous number of white horses and one of the coolest lines any Roman ever delivered.

Max and Carlota go to Mexico and it goes...well it goes. Everyone has a horrible time but Max keeps his Habsburg honour, which is apparently the important thing. Enjoy the first episode Janina and Emma have ever recorded in the same room! Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy Ask a question at www.historyissexy.com

Remember that time when France invaded Mexico and tried to install a Hapsburg emperor? No? Let's learn all about it, including Maximilian's no thoughts approach to government and why on EARTH anyone would think this was a good idea! A Correction: A criollo is not a "mixed race" person in the Spanish Empire but a person born of "pure" Spanish parents but in the colonies/outside of Spain and therefore considered to be lesser than a Spanish person born in Spain. Thank you to Fiyenyaa for the correction! Notes etc at www.historyissexy.com Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy

A Janina special! Why do French and Italian sound different? How do Romance languages develop? How do languages live and die? Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy Merch etc at www.historyissexy.com

Does Oliver approve of any archers on film? Why does Emma called Caligula Gaius? What's Janina's favourite myth? So many questions, so many answers.

Big red faces sweating in the sun. No it's not a group of English men in Benidorm, it's Roman generals dressed as gods being paraded through the streets! What the hell is a triumph anyway? Let's find out together. Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy Show Notes etc at www.historyissexy.com

Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar aka the Female Caligula aka the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Was she really as mad, bad and dangerous to know as the British Empire would have us believe? Featuring a "very apparently mathematically challenged" economic historian and a deep dive into pre-Christian religious belief in Madagascar. Support the show at www.patreon.com/historyissexy Show notes etc at www.historyissexy.com

A small announcement and plea for support! https://www.emmasouthon.com/events2026

Stocism. Sto-Bros. In this episode we look at the ancient philosophical school of Stoicism. A surprisingly complex and strange cosmology is expounded, Emma gives up on Logic and Janina wonders if thought experiments are any use at all. Support the Podcast at www.patreon.com/historyissexy Show notes and sources at historyissexy.com/show-notes/episode-127-whats-the-deal-with-stoicism