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PODCAST

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope

A corpse that explodes inside the Vatican. A papal doctor who hides behind secrecy, lies, and forbidden photographs. This is not fiction — it’s a true story. For decades, the scandal surrounding Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, personal physician to Pope Pius XII, has been buried under shame and silence. Now, after years of research in hidden archives and forgotten testimonies, the truth comes to light. From Nazi-occupied Rome to the shadowy dawn of the Cold War, this investigative series blends true crime

true crime documentary

All Episodes

30:46

10 - The Man Who Blew Up the Pope

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/11/05

The embalming of Pope Pius XII ends in catastrophe: his body decomposes before horrified witnesses, exploding during the funeral procession. As the Vatican scrambles to contain the disaster, scandal erupts. "Paris Match" publishes a secret medical diary and a shocking deathbed photograph of the pontiff — the first time a Pope has ever been seen stripped of all dignity. At the center is Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, accused of betrayal, deprived of his medical license by the Medical Association, and

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21:25

9 - Anatomy of a Pontiff

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/10/29

Pope Pius XII is dead. His longtime physician, Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, remains at his side, carrying out his final duty. But above all looms Cardinal Eugène Tisserant — the iron-fisted Dean of the College of Cardinals — determined to dismantle Pacelli’s inner circle. Sister Pasqualina, the Pope’s housekeeper and right hand, is forced out. And Riccardo makes a desperate gamble: an experimental embalming with the mysterious Dr. Oreste Nuzzi — an “aromatization” tinged with the occult, promising

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28:38

8 - The Pope Who Wouldn't Die

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/10/22

October 1958. Pope Pius XII is dying in Castel Gandolfo. Beside his bed: doctors, nuns… and Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, leaking secrets to the press.A false death announcement shocks the world. A forbidden photograph captures the pontiff in his last moments. And Riccardo, the Pope’s own doctor, prepares the most disastrous embalming in history.Discover more at RiccardoPodcast.com — where, starting September 17, 2025, you’ll find documents, research, and exclusive insights expanding on the story. Hosted

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29:23

7 - Who Owns the Pope's Body?

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/10/15

In 1954, Pius XII’s health collapses — and with it, his trust in his lifelong doctor, Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi. Newly unearthed diaries from Cardinal Domenico Tardini expose a year of rivalries, deception, and failed cures: rectal feeding, false medical bulletins, and the clash between Riccardo and the charismatic Dr. Paul Niehans. As the Pope suffers visions and humiliation, medicine turns into politics, and the Vatican becomes a battlefield of egos. This episode reveals the hidden struggle for

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36:32

6 - Paranormal Activity

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/10/08

As the Montesi scandal fades, it leaves deep scars on Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi and his bond with Pius XII. In the aftermath, Riccardo descends into a forbidden world: by 1954, he is promoting M.B.R. 36, a fraudulent cancer cure, while secretly dabbling in séances and the occult — practices condemned by the Church. Newly uncovered documents and unheard testimony reveal how this descent pushed one of the Pope’s closest insiders to the brink of sorcery and quackery, dragging the Vatican into perilous

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41:14

5 - The Killer Footbath

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/10/01

1953. On the beach at Capocotta — before the hunting estate of Dr. Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi — the body of young Wilma Montesi is discovered. What should have been a routine investigation quickly turns into a true crime scandal. Police rush to close the case, dismissing her death as the result of a footbath gone wrong. The explanation is ridiculed across Italy, seen as a blatant cover-up.The murder mystery engulfs Riccardo, putting both his career and the Vatican’s reputation on the line. As rumors of

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32:36

4 - The Doctor Who Outlived Hitler

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/09/24

The Vatican under siege. Nazi forces occupy Rome and tighten their grip around St. Peter’s Square, as Hitler plots to kidnap Pope Pius XII. At the Pope’s side stands Dr. Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi — an unorthodox physician, gambler, and keeper of secrets. Surviving the Nazi threat forges their friendship in fear and mystery, binding Pope and doctor closer than ever. After the war, a new rival appears at the court of Pius XII: Dr. Paul Niehans of Switzerland, whose experimental cell therapy at Clinique

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35:31

2 - All the Pope's Men

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/09/17

Rome, 1930: a city under fascist rule, where the Vatican seethes with spies, secret deals, and political violence. In this shadowed world, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli — soon to become Pope Pius XII — rises to power, while at his side emerges the unlikely figure of Dr. Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi: gambler, racecar driver, and unorthodox physician. This episode explores their growing bond, tracing Pacelli’s ascent within the Church and Riccardo’s reckless double life. At the center lies homeopathy — a

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52:16

3 - The Bones of Saint Peter

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/09/17

As Nazi troops invade Poland, Pope Pius XII faces the most terrifying choice of his life: condemn Hitler and risk the Church’s destruction, or remain silent and watch the world burn. In the shadows of Saint Peter’s Basilica, secret excavations begin to unearth the Apostle’s bones — a mission that becomes a dangerous mix of faith, archaeology, and espionage. Beneath the Vatican, plots to assassinate Hitler unfold, while above ground, bombs rain down on Rome for the first time in history. At the

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36:50

1 - The Devil's Hour

Riccardo: The Man Who Blew Up the Pope ·

2025/09/17

Every papal death revives a haunting memory: the secret science of preserving the body, and the grotesque disaster of 1958, when Pope Pius XII’s corpse exploded. This first episode rewinds to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tracing the parallel rise of Eugenio Pacelli — the future Pope Pius XII, the most powerful pope of the modern era — and Dr. Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, the ambitious outsider who would become his unlikely companion. Along the way, shadowy figures emerge, including Fernando

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