Profiles in Contrast
Sophie Manners delivers her thoughts on the life and times, traits and exploits of a prominent historical figure and then contrasts that individual with a mystery modern-age figure who is similar in the arc of their life, their personal credo, and how they have been treated by history. She begins with a brief biographical sketch, followed by a tease in which she describes the modern era contrasting figure before revealing their identity. She then explains her reasoning for her choice and contrasts the pair before concluding with summary comments and a personal statement about which one she finds the more compelling figure and why.
Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay
Profiles in Contrast
Latest Episodes
Marie Antoinette and the Price of the Image
She didn't say "let them eat cake." She also didn't cause the French Revolution, didn't empty the treasury, and wasn't the scheming traitor of revolutionary mythology. In this episode Sophie cuts through two centuries of propaganda ...
Voltaire and the Weapon Called Wit
He was imprisoned twice, exiled repeatedly, censored constantly, and outlived all of it to become the most celebrated mind in Europe. In this episode Sophie examines the life of François-Marie Arouet - better known as Voltaire - whose wit...
Vlad the Impaler and the Politics of Terror
Set aside the cape, the castle and the coffins. In this episode Sophie cuts through twelve decades of gothic fiction to find the real Vlad III of Wallachia - a fifteenth-century military commander of genuine strategic brilliance who deployed te...
Lady Godiva and the Legend that Replaced Her
Nearly everyone knows the legend of Lady Godiva - the noble Saxon woman who rode naked through the streets of Coventry to win tax relief for its suffering citizens. Far fewer know the woman beneath the legend: a major landowner in her own...
