Genius, Bastard, Tinkerer

Before Elon Musk, before Steve Jobs there was Leonardo da Vinci. Painter, engineer, dissector of corpses, and full-time procrastinator who dreamed up flying machines centuries before the Wright brothers.

👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠For all show notes & extras⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Vatican Tours

👉 Louvre Tours

👉 Borghese Gallery Tours

👉 Uffizi Tours

So who was Leonardo da Vinci really?
In this episode, we cut through the myths and get into the messy reality of the Renaissance’s most famous polymath. From being born illegitimate in Tuscany to becoming the toast of Milan and France, Leonardo’s life was anything but simple. He sketched helicopters that couldn’t fly, invented war machines that couldn’t be built, and painted the Mona Lisa, then carried it around for decades like a security blanket.

Along the way, we explore:

• Why da Vinci left most of his projects unfinished

• How his rivalry with Michelangelo shaped both their careers

• The Last Supper’s hidden details (and why it started flaking within 20 years)

• Why he may have put Judas on the same side of the table as Jesus

• How a Florentine silk merchant’s commission became the world’s most famous painting

Welcome to French People Are Rude, where we make history fun, irreverent, and just a little inappropriate. By the end of this episode, even Uncle Bob will walk away knowing that da Vinci was brilliant, eccentric, and more human than legend makes him out to be.