{"podcast":{"title":"Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things","slug":"queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838","podcast_index_feed_id":6677838,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6846a16db5ac093b0ca993ec","website_url":"https://dailymail.lnk.to/qkdt","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6846a16db5ac093b0ca993ec/1759237102013-c5ec1829-6398-47a5-a0e7-6288742d5348.jpeg","author":"Daily Mail","episode_count":107,"summary":"Expert history with a wicked twist: Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things is the podcast that goes behind palace doors and beyond the balcony smiles, to uncover the stories that the history books have politely skipped. Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things reveals the schemers, lovers, plotters and even the pets who’ve made the British monarchy the world’s longest-running reality show. Hosts, Royal biographers Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams trace how power, passion and paranoia have shaped every crown. There are queens who ruled better than their husbands, and princes who partied harder than their people. We meet saints, sinners and those hovering somewhere in between – from the man formerly known as Prince Andrew to the less-vilified Richard III. Sometimes we get reflective: how monarchy survives scandal, how image-making began long before Instagram, and why royal women have always been the best crisis managers in the room. Other times we’re just here for the gossip: who wore what, who slept where, and who accidentally started a war over breakfast. Think of it as history with its crown slightly askew. If you like your royal stories with equal parts grandeur and chaos, step in…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-12T08:18:17.582091+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838"},"episode":{"title":"The Real Citizen Kane: Inside America's Most Scandalous Castle","slug":"the-real-citizen-kane-inside-america-s-most-scandalous-castle","published_at":"2026-07-05T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838/the-real-citizen-kane-inside-america-s-most-scandalous-castle","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838","url":"https://shows.acast.com/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things/episodes/the-real-citizen-kane-inside-americas-most-scandalous-castle","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6846a16db5ac093b0ca993ec/e/6a48f9440069388b7a951796/media.mp3","summary":"America's newspaper magnate who built himself a palace worthy of a king! In this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the extraordinary world of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper titan whose vast fortune, political ambition and spectacular California castle earned him a reputation as America's uncrowned monarch. At the heart of the story is Hearst's lifelong relationship with actress Marion Davies. Was she simply the glamorous mistress history remembers, or a gifted Hollywood star unfairly overshadowed by the man who loved her? Together they created a glittering world of movie stars, priceless art, lavish parties and one of the most astonishing private homes ever built. Discover how Hearst Castle became a playground for the rich and famous, why Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin were among its guests, how Citizen Kane transformed Hearst into one of cinema's greatest villains, and why the real Marion Davies deserves a far kinder verdict than history has often given her. A story of immense wealth, irresistible ambition, Hollywood glamour and heartbreaking loyalty. Hosts: Robert Hardman and Kate Williams Series Producer: Ben Devlin Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Bella Soames Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams Series Producer: Ben Devlin Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini  Content Editor: Joseph Palmer Executive Producer: Bella Soames A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.   …","meta_description":"America's newspaper magnate who built himself a palace worthy of a king! In this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Profess…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1985,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838/episodes/the-real-citizen-kane-inside-america-s-most-scandalous-castle/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/queens-kings-and-dastardly-things-6677838/the-real-citizen-kane-inside-america-s-most-scandalous-castle.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}