Episodes

  • The Painting That Started a War (No, Really)

    The Painting That Started a War (No, Really)
    Jun 20 2026
    In 1863, the French art establishment didn't just reject Édouard Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' — they convulsed. But the scandal wasn't really about a naked woman in a park; it was about who gets to decide what counts as art, and what happens when one painting exposes that the gatekeepers have no actual clothes on. This is the story of the Salon des Refusés, the emperor who accidentally ignited modernism, and why the most important art show in history was one that almost didn't happen. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • The Forger Who Made the Experts Beg Him to Keep Going

    The Forger Who Made the Experts Beg Him to Keep Going
    Jun 19 2026
    Han van Meegeren sold a fake Vermeer to a Nazi war criminal, got arrested for collaboration after the war, and then had to paint another forgery in prison just to prove he was a liar — and the art world has never quite recovered from the embarrassment. This episode is about what happens when a con exposes not just one man's greed, but the entire system of connoisseurship as a performance of confidence over competence. It's also, uncomfortably, a story about how much we need the forgery to be real. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • The Painting That Started a War and the Man Who Lied About Painting It

    The Painting That Started a War and the Man Who Lied About Painting It
    Jun 18 2026
    In 1937, a small Basque town was bombed into rubble, and Picasso responded with what became the most politically weaponized canvas of the 20th century — but Guernica's story is messier, stranger, and more morally complicated than any art history class will tell you. We're talking about how a Communist who never visited the bombing site, working from secondhand newspaper photos, accidentally created the definitive anti-war statement — and then spent decades controlling it like a political hostage. Turns out the myth of the tortured genius responding to history in real time is mostly exactly that: a myth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • The Forger Who Humiliated Every Expert in Europe

    The Forger Who Humiliated Every Expert in Europe
    Jun 17 2026
    In the 1930s, Han van Meegeren sold a fake Vermeer to a Nazi war criminal—and when he confessed, the art world's biggest authorities had to admit they'd been fooled for years. But here's the uncomfortable part: the forgeries weren't just good, they were occasionally *better* than the originals, which raises a question the establishment still doesn't want to answer. What actually makes a painting valuable—the brushstroke, or the name attached to it? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • The Countess Who Bankrolled a Revolution (And Nearly Destroyed It)

    The Countess Who Bankrolled a Revolution (And Nearly Destroyed It)
    Jun 15 2026
    Meet Peggy Guggenheim, the wild American heiress who single-handedly launched Abstract Expressionism—then almost killed it with her legendary feuds, affairs, and catastrophically bad business decisions. From her floating palazzo filled with Picassos to her bedroom populated by most of the art world, this is the story of how one woman's messy personal life shaped modern art. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • The Artist Who Convinced Hitler He Was a Genius (While Secretly Mocking Him)

    The Artist Who Convinced Hitler He Was a Genius (While Secretly Mocking Him)
    Jun 14 2026
    Meet Arno Breker, the sculptor who became Hitler's favorite artist by creating massive propaganda statues—then spent decades after WWII claiming he was just 'apolitical' and 'misunderstood.' We're diving into the uncomfortable truth about artists who collaborate with fascists, and why the art world's relationship with Breker reveals everything wrong with how we separate 'art' from politics. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    14 mins
  • The Painter Who Terrorized Paris (With a Paintbrush)

    The Painter Who Terrorized Paris (With a Paintbrush)
    Jun 13 2026
    In 1905, a 24-year-old artist named Henri Matisse hung a painting so shocking that a critic compared the exhibition room to 'a cage of wild beasts'—accidentally naming an entire art movement. We're diving into how Fauvism exploded onto the scene through scandal, friendship, and colors so violent they made people physically ill. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • The Spy Who Stole Modern Art (And Got Away With It)

    The Spy Who Stole Modern Art (And Got Away With It)
    Jun 12 2026
    Meet Rose Valland, the mild-mannered French museum curator who secretly documented Nazi art theft while working under their noses, then spent decades hunting down stolen masterpieces across Europe. Her covert operation saved thousands of artworks and exposed the biggest art heist in history—but Hollywood barely remembers her name. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
    Show More Show Less
    18 mins