Hello everyone!
The current episode of Door Key is pretty heavy, so I’m going to try to make this whole post light, so consider it a bit of a pallet-cleanser.
My husband and I went for a walk the other day - not only was it absolutely beautiful outside, but we saw some really amazing flowers and plants that I took pictures of. Full disclaimer: I have no idea what any of these plants are called, I just thought they were pretty so took pictures.
This is exciting!
I’ve mentioned that the amazing Stephanie Fuccio of Coffeelike Media has been editing Door Key. She’s also been helping me with marketing. Well, she’s having a contest where’s she’s offering one free podcast mini-audit each week in July!
I’m telling you about this because what she does works! You can see it for yourself in the improvements in episodes of Door Key, as well as on social media! So if you have a podcast you’d like some help with, or know someone who has a podcast, fill out this form here to enter the contest for a mini-audit! Also: use the code ‘door key’ when filling out the form - this isn’t an affiliate code, this is just a way for Stephanie to keep track of things.
One more thing about the opening credits on House of the Dragon:
I’ve mentioned in this blog before that I’m completely fascinated by the tapestry being made in the opening credits of the show House of the Dragon. Well, here’s something else I noticed about it that I had to point out: they change each episode’s intro to add what happened in the previous episode to the tapestry! I absolutely live for details like this, and really love and appreciate it when showrunners do things like this!
Let’s amplify disabled voices this Disability Pride Month!
July is Disability Pride Month!
I think it’s important to raise awareness for disabilities, and I wanted to share two podcasts that I listen to that discuss disability in a very real way.
The first one is called MeSsy. It’s hosted by actresses Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Both of these women have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and discuss what life with this illness is like in a very matter-of-fact way .
You can find their wonderful, touching podcast here:
The other podcast I wanted to let you know about is called The Lady’s Illness Library. The host Rachel has guests on her show and they discuss different chronic illnesses of all sorts in a way that really explains what it’s like to live with a debilitating illness. Rachel also has an amazing Substack that I highly recommend: Inner Workings.
You can find Rachel’s amazing podcast here:
Before I go
The first entry to The Door Key Podcast Substack Burn Book has gone out! The Burn Book is where I talk about people who I consider the ‘villains’ in history. The first entry was about Thomas Seymour, a man who lived during the Tudor Era. There will be a new entry the first of every month. Please let me know if you think of anyone that should be included in The Burn Book!
Another paid subscriber feature that’s about to start is we’re going to be talking about some historical content! I’ve sent a poll out to paid subscribers to chose what they want to discuss: Hamilton the movie, The Tudors, or The Crown. I’m also going to be making up BINGO cards for what option gets chosen, and there will be a small prize for whomever wins! (Voting is still open as I’m writing this, and The Tudors is in the lead!)
This is going to be so much fun!
xoxo, April
The Romanovs and Anastasia
The current episode continues the story that I started with Rasputin, and talks about what happened after Rasputin’s death.
Spoiler alert: what happened next would not be good - Russia’s Prime Minister would step down, Tsar Nicholas II would be forced to abdicate his throne, and a Provisional Government would be formed.
Ultimately, the Romanovs would end up under house arrest at a home that would come to be called ‘The House of Special Purpose’ … this episode gets into all of that, and then discusses the mystery of what happened to the youngest Romanov daughter Anastasia.
You can listen to the episode here:
Just for fun:
In the episode, I mention that Nicholas II of Russia and George V of England were cousins through Queen Victoria, and that they looked a lot alike. So that you can appreciate just how alike they looked, here’s a photo of the two that was taken in 1913. Nikolai is on the left, George is on the right.
This episode is the second part of a story I’m telling about this period of Russian history. It all started with me writing an episode about Rasputin … I ended up going down a rabbit hole of Russian history that led to two other episodes: this one, and the next episode that’s coming out later in July. I find this period of history fascinating, and I hope you do to!
ICYMI, here’s a link to the episode of Door Key about Rasputin:
Extra credit:
If you find this topic as interesting as I do, I very highly recommend the podcast Revolutions by Mike Duncan. It’s a fantastic podcast that talks about different Revolutions throughout history, and there’s an entire Season that’s dedicated to the Russian Revolution!
Here’s a link to the podcast’s website:
This episode of Door Key was edited by Stephanie Fuccio of Coffeelike Media. Steph also helps with the marketing of this podcast.