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1-800-1800

1-800-1800

Mandylion Press 33 Episodes Aug 11, 2026

1-800-1800 is a podcast that explores 19th-century history, art, literature, culture, and scandal. Each episode picks a random year from the 1800s to discuss the events and people that shaped the modern world. Hosted by Madeline Porsella and Mabel Taylor, two historians of art and design, the show combines rigorous research with a gossipy tone. It is produced by Mandylion Press.

Episodes

1-800-1861: Death Becomes Her w/ Jessica DeFino
1-800-1861: Death Becomes Her w/ Jessica DeFino Aug 11, 2026 4780 This week on 1-800-1800, we’re discussing life’s inevitabilities—death and unrealistic beauty standards—with Jessica DeFino of one of our all time favorite Substacks, Flesh World!! Join us to learn more about Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria’s resulting mourning period as well as the ways death is trending in contemporary beauty culture. This one goes crazy!Show Notes* Flesh World* Ask Ugly*
1-800-Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
1-800-Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog Jul 28, 2026 295 This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.comThis week, Mabel and Madeline dig into the painting that has appeared most frequently in Mandylion’s visual glossaries, Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog from 1818. She’s in The Gadfly, The Morgesons, The Hill of Dreams, and our upcoming title, Love Days. Listen to find out why we can’t get eno
1-800-1876: America, the sequel
1-800-1876: America, the sequel Jul 14, 2026 5427 Yoohoo,Welcome to America, the sequel. In this episode we look back at the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876. We talk about the giant engines and sexy corsets on display, the unfinished revolutionary projects in civil rights and labor movements, and what, exactly, an acre is. Like, subscribe, drop us a line. XOXO,M&MShow Notes* The Flying Horses, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. * Paine
1-800-1776: The Shot Heard Round the World
1-800-1776: The Shot Heard Round the World Jul 2, 2026 6044 I’m a yankee doodle dandy and you’re on the precipice of learning all that Mabel and Madeline have to say about the American Revolution in this special episode about 1776. Its a World War, its a Civil War, its a tax scheme, its an inspiration to us all! Enjoy it and have a happy fourth of July, k
1-800-1871 (feat. Sara Hinkley)
1-800-1871 (feat. Sara Hinkley) May 19, 2026 4436 This week we are very excited to welcome the brilliant Sara Hinkley onto 1-800-1800 to discuss her forthcoming novel The Red Sacrament. Sara’s brilliant debut tells the story of a theater troupe of vampires, set against the backdrop of the Siege of Paris and the Commune. We had simply the best time discussing the book, Sara’s research process, and our shared obsession with the last days of the Sec
1-800-1841: London's Charivari
1-800-1841: London's Charivari May 5, 2026 4765 Madeline and Mabel discuss the founding of Punch Magazine, the most popular satirical magazine of the 19th century, and muse on its enduring influence. The girls also touch on a sensational murder/botched abortion case, Summer House, a US president you’ve never heard of, and more!!Show notes: Births, Deaths* Renoir, Blousy Nudes* https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/26/renoirs-problem-nudes*
1-800-The Princess Cassamissima
1-800-The Princess Cassamissima Apr 30, 2026 111 This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.comBook Club Alert !! This week the girls recap Henry James's The Princess Cassamissima, the story of a young man of mysterious parentage who tries to take on the world's inequities but instead just ends up smoking cigarettes on a magenta divan. We were delighted, we were puzzled, we were forced to ask "are beauty and
1-800-1787: Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade
1-800-1787: Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade Apr 14, 2026 4464 On this week’s episode, Madeline takes us back to her material culture roots to tell the story of the British abolition movement through one object, the Wedgwood “Slave Medallion.” Join us to learn about the object that made abolition a fashionable cause in the 18th century and why 1787 is a part of the long 19th century !! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscri
1-800-The Gadfly
1-800-The Gadfly Mar 31, 2026 123 This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mandylion.substack.comMandylion now has a book club at McNally Jackson called the Minor Works book club. Each month we read a forgotten novel from the nineteenth century (brought to you by Mandylion Press), or a minor work of a major author. This month we read Ethel Lilian Voynich’s The Gadfly, one of our first Mandylion books and many
1-800-1844: A telegraph and a train walk into a bar
1-800-1844: A telegraph and a train walk into a bar Mar 10, 2026 5370 What Hath God Wrought, indeed! This week on 1-800-1800, Mabel tells Madeline what a telegraph is. She starts in 1792 with the one and only Claude Chappe, a man so passionate about the optical semaphore telegraph that he threw himself into a well, and then moves onto Samuel Morse, who gave the world not only the single-wire electromagnetic telegraph, but also this insane painting of Hercules: This
1-800-1823: On the origin of an American religion
1-800-1823: On the origin of an American religion Mar 3, 2026 3809 This week, Madeline and Mabel discuss the origins of Mormonism and how its founder, Joseph Smith, continues to influence the modern day iteration of the religion. Hypocrisy, hucksterism, hats, bad bets, and talking to God. What more could a girl ask for? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subs
1-800-Wuthering Heights
1-800-Wuthering Heights Feb 17, 2026 3504 In this special episode of 1-800-1800, Madeline and Mabel discuss Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights as well as Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. The girls cover impossible naming conventions, mysterious heritage, and awful set design in this discussion. Listen now! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access t

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