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In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas is joined by Heather Teysko — host of the Renaissance English History Podcast, founder of TudorCon, and one of the true pioneers of independent history podcasting. Heather started her podcast back in 2009 on a Labor Day weekend whim, with a cheap microphone and no idea how to edit audio, and has since built it into one of the longest-continuously-running independent history podcasts in the world, alongside a book community, online summits, a Tudor planner, and TudorCon — the world’s first Tudor history convention, now in its seventh year. Jonathan and Heather swap stories about falling in love with Britain, building history audiences online, resisting the shiny lure of algorithm-chasing, and why genuine passion is the only thing that makes any of this work. They also dig into TudorCon 2026 — taking place October 23rd–25th at the extraordinary Agecroft Hall in Richmond, Virginia, a genuine 15th-century English manor house that was disassembled and shipped to America piece by piece — where Anglotopia is proud to be a sponsor.
Anglotopia Listeners can use the code ANGLOTOPIA to get 15% off the Tudorcon ticket price or Tudorcon from home.
For Tudorcon, they can go to https://tudorcon.englandcast.com; that’s the full Tudorcon site.
For Tudorcon From Home, you can go to englandcast.com/tudorconfromhome and get a Tudorcon from home ticket.
Use the code ANGLOTOPIA to save 15% on both pages.
Links
- Renaissance English History Podcast — englandcast.com
- TudorCon 2026 (October 23–25, Richmond VA) — tudorcon.englandcast.com
- Agecroft Hall, Richmond Virginia — agecrofthall.org
- Heather’s book — The Tudor Fan Guide (Countryman Press/WW Norton, coming Summer 2027)
- Churchill Conference 2026 Philadelphia
- Friends of Anglotopia
Takeaways
- Heather Teysko launched the Renaissance English History Podcast in 2009 — the only Tudor history podcast in existence at the time — and very nearly canceled it in 2013 when she discovered it was getting 40,000 downloads a month without her having posted a new episode in nearly a year.
- The spark for Heather’s Tudor obsession was singing William Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus in a high school choir and realising that Byrd was writing secret Catholic music in Latin while serving Elizabeth I’s Protestant court — a teenage existential crisis that never really ended.
- TudorCon, which began as an online summit and went in-person in 2019, is now expanding significantly for 2026 — moving from a single-track event at Agecroft Hall to a multi-track conference with five classrooms and a reception hall, thanks to a new partnership with Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.
- Agecroft Hall is a genuine 15th-century Lancashire manor house that was purchased, disassembled stone by stone, and shipped to Richmond, Virginia in the 1920s by a wealthy tobacco entrepreneur who wanted to live in an authentic English manor — including the original medieval glass, which had to be transported separately by road to avoid cracking.
- TudorCon is deliberately designed to sit between an academic conference and a Renaissance fair — costume-friendly, open to non-academics, and built around the idea that passionate enthusiasts with deep knowledge of a specific corner of Tudor history have just as much to contribute as credentialed scholars.
- TudorCon From Home is a full live-streamed experience with its own host, dedicated talks, special events, and a real community feel — the online attendees even took a group screenshot last year to include in the official TudorCon group photo.
- Heather lived in England for two years in her mid-20s on a BUNAC visa, spending weekends picking random train destinations and exploring — including accidentally attending the Durham Miners’ Parade without knowing what it was.
- After nearly 16 years treating her Tudor work as a hobby, Heather made a deliberate mental shift 18 months ago to treat it as a business — and has since signed a book deal with Countryman Press (an imprint of WW Norton) for The Tudor Fan Guide, due out in summer 2027.
- Both Heather and Jonathan agree that chasing algorithms and platform trends is a dead end — the only sustainable strategy is making content you’re genuinely passionate about and trusting that your specific audience will find you.
- Heather is currently deep in a rabbit hole on medieval female mystics — including Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Elizabeth Barton (the Maid of Kent), the only woman in recorded history to have her head displayed on London Bridge.
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Soundbites
- “William Byrd was writing Catholic music in Latin about transubstantiation while he was writing Protestant theological services for Elizabeth I. And something about that really spoke to the teenager in me — nobody understands my deep dark soul.” — Heather on the moment that sparked a lifelong obsession.
- “I logged in and I looked at my statistics. And this thing was getting like 40,000 downloads a month. And I was like, what the heck? I guess I’ll keep this live.” — Heather on almost cancelling the podcast in 2013.
- “I had a young person’s rail card. Every weekend I would show up at a random train station, look at where the trains were headed, and pick a place that sounded interesting. I wound up in Durham Cathedral for the miners’ parade without knowing what a miners’ parade was.” — Heather on her two years living in England.
- “I wanted to build something that was a mix of an academic conference with the fun of a Renaissance fair — where you could wear costumes, but you’re actually focused on the history. And I think it’s pretty cool.” — Heather on the founding vision of TudorCon.
- “Tudor nerds tend to be islands of nerdiness surrounded by people who roll their eyes when we want to talk about transubstantiation. Just having a space for all these people to be together in real time was really awesome.” — Heather on why the community side of TudorCon matters more than the talks.
- “It’s the friendliest place in the world. People are always nervous about coming if they don’t know anybody. Absolutely, you can come by yourself — because it’s just the nicest group of people around.” — Heather on what first-time TudorCon attendees always say.
- “I could listen to somebody read train schedules if they were enthusiastic about it and loved it. That genuine passion for something — it’s not something you see every day. When you see people who really have it, it’s infectious.” — Heather on what makes content communities work.
- “She was starting from nothing — she had nothing. And she was paying me and treating it like a business. And I had this realization: I have way more reach than she does, and I keep treating my stuff like a hobby. So it’s going to always stay that way.” — Heather on the moment she decided to take her own business seriously.
- “I used to feel guilty working on my podcast because I was like, I’m just doing my Tudor stuff. But now I’m like, actually, this is a business. Mom’s going to work now. Mom needs to not be disturbed because mom is working.” — Heather on the mental shift that changed everything.
- “There’s a community dedicated to roundabouts in Wales. There are 8 billion people in the world — surely a couple thousand of them share what you’re passionate about. The internet gives you the tools to bring them together.” — Heather on why niche communities always find their audience.
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Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction — Jonathan introduces Heather Teysko and TudorCon, and announces Anglotopia as a 2026 sponsor
- 02:17 How Tudor History Started — William Byrd, high school choir, and a teenage existential crisis about transubstantiation
- 04:29 Moving to England at 24 — BUNAC visas, headhunting firms, Barnet, and random train adventures
- 07:19 Starting the Podcast in 2009 — A Labor Day whim, a cheap microphone, and no idea how to edit
- 09:38 The Early Podcasting Landscape — Why nobody treated it as a business, and how the show evolved
- 11:00 Almost Cancelling Everything — 40,000 monthly downloads, a baby, and a very close call
- 12:27 Moving to Spain and Finding a Business Model — Throwing things at the wall, a failed Tudor radio network, and a slow evolution
- 13:44 The Online Summit That Led to TudorCon — The Facebook group, the debates, and realising community was the magic sauce
- 15:02 TudorCon’s History — From first in-person 2019 to pandemic pivot to Richmond expansion
- 15:52 TudorCon 2026 — Multi-track expansion, Randolph-Macon College partnership, and why Jonathan is finally going to Agecroft
- 16:00 What Is Agecroft Hall? — A real 15th-century Lancashire manor house shipped to Virginia stone by stone
- 18:37 The TudorCon 2026 Speaker Lineup — Nathan Amin as keynote, John Dee’s experiments, everyday Tudor life, and Virginia’s local Tudor connections
- 21:21 What Surprises First-Time Attendees — The friendliness, the inclusivity, and the magic of being around your people
- 23:05 TudorCon From Home — The live stream, Heather’s husband as host, and the group photo story
- 24:43 A Discount Code for Anglotopia Listeners — Details in the show notes
- 25:09 The Churchill Conference Comparison — Jonathan’s experience and the Philadelphia America 250 connection
- 26:41 Building a History Community — What Heather has learned about authenticity, passion, and why shiny marketing objects always fail
- 29:51 On Expanding Too Far — Why Francotopia and New Zealandopia were bad ideas, and why passion can’t be replicated
- 30:31 The New Zealand Girls’ Trip — Nine months old, postpartum depression, and one of the worst decisions of Heather’s life
- 31:52 Travelling with Infants — Jonathan’s Diamond Jubilee trip with a six-month-old and the Oxford ring road
- 33:18 Chasing Algorithms vs. Staying Authentic — How both Jonathan and Heather learned the same lesson the hard way
- 34:25 The Value of Community in the Age of AI — Why human connection and shared passion can’t be replicated by technology
- 34:54 What’s Coming on the Renaissance English History Podcast — Female mystics, Julian of Norwich, Elizabeth Barton, and following the rabbit hole
- 36:50 The Business Shift — From “my Tudor stuff” to a real business, a book deal with WW Norton, and a Tudor app in development
- 41:21 Two Hobby-Turned-Businesses Compare Notes — Jonathan and Heather on what it feels like when the hard work starts paying off
- 42:51 Wrap-Up — Where to find Heather, TudorCon details, and a reminder that Anglotopia is a proud 2026 sponsor
Video Version
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