It's been over 300 years since she first appeared on stage, and she's still controversial. Margaret of Anjou appears in not one, not two, but four of Shakespeare's plays—Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3 as well as Richard III—aging from a young bride-to-be to a vengeful widow. She also speaks the most lines of any of Shakespeare's female characters.

Although her historical counterpart never saw battle, Shakespeare's Margaret leads armies. And while the real Margaret was permanently exiled to France, the Shakespearean version returns to England to confront her old foes.

Charles O'Malley and Scott W. Stern, co-authors of Shakespeare's Margaret: The Dramatic Life of a Warrior Queen, share how Margaret exists as an avatar for anxieties about women in power throughout the ages. Shakespeare's depiction may have been influenced by Elizabeth I, but Margaret has been portrayed on stage as a witch, a seductress, an anti-fascist resistance fighter, and even an analogue for Margaret Thatcher.

In this episode, O'Malley and Stern shine the spotlight on Shakespeare's most deliciously complex anti-heroine.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published July 14, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Pat Mesiti-Miller in Oakland and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Megan Fraedrich. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Shakespeare famously never attended university. But not only has his work inspired generations of scholarship, his plays, too, are filled with scholarly characters. Shakespeare, it seems, took an interest in learning.

Perhaps that's why so many people come to Shakespeare for wisdom that they can apply to their own lives. While leading the University of California, Santa Cruz's Shakespeare Workshop, professor and dramaturg Sean Keilen noticed that people look to Shakespeare and the humanities to answer questions like "Who am I? Why am I here? And how should I live?"

Keilen's book, Shakespeare's Scholars: Three Lessons from the Liberal Arts, illustrates how learned characters from Hamlet, Love's Labor's Lost, and The Tempest more can guide us to those answers —some through their wisdom, and others through their own flawed judgment.

In this episode, Keilen shares vital lessons from Shakespeare's fictional scholars in humility, self-knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, forging connection with others.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published June 30, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Sarah Lai Stirland in Santa Cruz and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Megan Fraedrich. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

"Elizabeth was king, now James is queen." So went the joke circulating around London in the 17th century. While Elizabeth I became an icon for transgressing traditional gender roles, her successor is all too often overlooked or even mocked for the same reasons. Yet James I was a multifaceted ruler who led a fascinating life—and his personal relationships only add to that complexity.

For generations, historians avoided labeling the intimate relationships between James and his "favorites" as romantic. But after combing through James's personal correspondence, historian and author Gareth Russell has uncovered compelling evidence of five significant love affairs with men. His award-winning book, The Six Loves of James I, reveals how these relationships—and his marriage to Queen Anne of Denmark—guided the course of his life and reign.

James I's story is a turbulent one, filled with assassination attempts, kidnapping, and witch hunts. It's also a story of a man who loved "indiscreetly and obstinately," for better or for worse.

In this episode, Gareth Russell explores the untold history of a complicated king through the lens of the great loves of his life.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published June 16, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Pavel Barter in Belfast and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Megan Fraedrich. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.