Our vile temptress? (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The subject of Monday’s podcast is a handful: Lucrezia Borgia, the femme fatale of legend. The question Sarah and I posed was this: Was she a victim or a cunning woman in her own right? An incestuous poisoner or a pawn?

Lucrezia was the daughter of a pope and his mistress. Yes, a pope. And his mistress. Clearly, there was some laxity about that whole celibacy thing. Machiavelli’s “The Prince” was modeled after her brother Cesare, so Lucrezia came from formidable stock. The Borgias were attractive, intelligent, strong-willed and as ambitious as all get out. Not to mention, perhaps not very morally sound. The pope was said to have thrown orgies at the Vatican.

Lucrezia was married thrice. The first husband was forced to grant her a divorce on the grounds of noncosummation because he was impotent, a dubious claim. Really, he’d just become a political liability. Enraged, he accused Lucrezia of incest with her father and brother.

Her second husband was murdered most foul – by her brother. And a toddler, the Roman Infant, appears. He’s said to be the son of the pope … or Cesare … or perhaps the product of an affair she had with a messenger.

Her third marriage actually works out, minus all her affairs, miscarriages, and her husband’s roving eye and syphilis. But what’s the story behind Lucrezia Borgia? Where did the idea of her as a monster come from, and is it a fair judgment? Listen to the podcast and find out.

Wednesday’s podcast was a listener suggestion: the Mad Trapper of Rat River! As far as nicknames go, that one’s hard to beat.

The Mad Trapper was the subject of a huge manhunt in the middle of a Yukon Winter. He’d survived a 15-hour siege in his house by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that included dynamite, sneaking away in a blizzard.

Aboriginal people, Mounties and trappers all set out after him, along with airplanes and dog teams. He’s on foot with no food for more than a month. After 48 days and 150 miles, they took him down. But who is the Mad Trapper? And what did he do? And why does this blog post have a dead bird in the title? Listen to the podcast on iTunes.

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