The new Elizabethan Gardens in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle. English Heritage has reconstructed the pleasure gardens created by Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, which he built to impress and court Queen Elizabeth I more than 400 years ago. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Monday’s podcast brought us another installment in the life of Elizabeth I. In this episode, we discussed the Virgin Queen’s great love, Robert Dudley.

Sarah and I could talk about the romantic life of Elizabeth I for weeks. (We won’t, but we could.) She was pursued by every eligible man in Europe (and some ineligible ones), and her response was almost always the same: encourage, then deflect. She’s just not that into you, everyone.

Except, that is, for Robert Dudley, a man she’d known since she was 8 years old, the person who claimed to know her better than anyone else.

They were the talk of the kingdom. Would she marry him? Did they have a sexual relationship? Did they have a bunch of secret, illegitimate children together? The gossips got their major payday when Amy Dudley, Robert’s wife, died mysteriously. Most people thought he killed her, and many thought Elizabeth probably had a hand in it.

Elizabeth and Robert’s love lasted a lifetime. When she died, the last letter he ever wrote her was found in her box of personal belongings by her bed.

For the full story, listen to the podcast (for free!) on iTunes.

On Wednesday, Sarah and I podcasted about a man we’ve been interested in since the Newsboy Strike episode: William Randolph Hearst.

Hearst doesn’t have the best reputation. You hear his name and think of yellow journalism and a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer, or perhaps the depiction of him in “Citizen Kane,” where he’s a corrupted man. But that isn’t the whole story, and I’m willing to put forth that Hearst has gotten short shrift.

Sarah and I delved into the business side of Hearst’s life, from his hand in the Spanish-American War to just how good he was at managing a paper. We also talked about some of the more scandalous incidents in his life: his long-time affair with Hollywood actress Marion Davies and the mysterious death of Thomas Ince on his yacht.

But that wasn’t quite enough to cover the Hearst name, so we’ve decided on two more podcasts: Hearst Castle and Patty Hearst. Sarah also wrote an interesting blog post a while back on William Randolph Hearst’s involvement with hemp.

As always, listen to the podcast on iTunes and leave your suggestions in the comments!

The trailer for “Citizen Kane” — pretty nice ballyhoo:

Top 10 Most Expensive Houses in the World
9 Strange Last Wills and Testaments
How Tabloids Work