The ideas of a revolutionary German monk cause some ripple effects even as far away as Sweden. Gustav Vasa sees an opportunity to take advantage of these new ways of thinking about Christianity and moves to limit the power of the Swedish bishops and starts a process of Reformation throughout the Kingdom. Protestantism is here!  ..read more

Gustav Vasa is now embarking on his journey as King of Sweden. First up is making the country complete again by sending troops to Gotland, where there are also some fancy looking rocks! Back on the mainland, far from everyone is happy with the new King and a series of revolts break out. How will Gustav deal with them?  Åsa also wants a disclaimer put in here to say that she had nothing to do with the blooper at the end of the episode... And check out some Raukar here ..read more

Becoming King after a couple of decades of civil war, you can forgive Gustav Vasa for maybe needing a bit of a recap about what kind of country he had just become the King of and what state it was in. So, in this episode, we step into the eyes of Gustav Vasa as he takes a look around to see what Sweden looked like in 1523, and what problems he has to deal with first!  ..read more

In our 100th regular episode, Gustav Vasa and his merry band of Swedish rebels take on King Kristian and the Danes in a war that will see shifting allegiances, the nobility and peasants fighting side by side once more, and eventually even the birth of the Swedish Navy. King Kristian on the other hand, faces troubles on all fronts and eventually Gustav will take the throne. Is this what spells the end of the Kalmar Union once and for all?  To celebrate the 100th episode, there's a particularly funny blooper left in at the end ..read more

The dust has settled on the Stockholm Bloodbath and King Kristian continues his early reign with more bloodshed. He thinks he has Sweden under his thumb but he has hasn't counted on the return of one young nobleman. After escaping custody thanks to a sneaky ruse, Gustav Vasa tries to gather support for a rebellion by visiting his old uni friends and even has to escape through a toilet at one point to avoid the King's men. But will the peasants of Sweden unite behind this ambitious, snowshoe-wearing rebel leader?  Here is the painting we mention in the episode. And here is the museum we me ..read more

After King Kristian II takes over Sweden, he goes a bit cray-cray... That means we have reached one of the most famous events of Swedish history; A vengeful King and an angry Archbishop combine to put the Swedish nobility to the sword. But why, and how?  ..read more

We ended last episode with King Kristian II of Denmark sailing away with some Swedish hostages. This time he returns to Sweden to do more battle, during a cold winter, and he even brings some Scottish mercenaries along for the ride. Sten Sture and his wife lead the fight for the Swedes, with a bit of help from the Devil's Mother ..read more

One of the biggest political showdowns in Swedish history begins this week, and it is all to do with the Archbishop! The King of Denmark, the Regent of Sweden and the Archbishop himself all clash over the powers and property of the office. It's going to be dramatic...  ..read more

Sweden seems to be stuck in a loop in the early 1500s: there's internal conflict, and there's conflict with Denmark. After their villages have been ravaged by Danish troops, a group of peasants writes to the regent saying "such fire and plunder was not useful", which is the understatement of the age. We also see someone get a new job, but not for long...  Meanwhile, we also address the confusion around Sweden and Switzerland - here's a link to the video we mention in the episode! And for those of you who want to check out the wreck of the Gribshunden ship that we mention in the episode, y ..read more

We're squeezing in a final episode of 2023! We look at a major siege and battle over on the Russian border in Finland before turning back to look at political developments in Sweden. King Hans is on the move and Swedish Regent Sten Sture has his work cut out for him as even his own archbishop starts getting a bit agitated!  Please let us know your suggestions for what we should cover as a special 100th episode topic!!   ..read more