OT: history podcast rec
by Jay 
, San Diego, Thursday, September 15, 2016, 10:01 (3192 days ago)
A couple of you guys had mentioned the History of Rome podcast by Matt Duncan.
He also produces a podcast series called "Revolutions", taking an in-depth look at various revolutions throughout history. So far he has covered the English Revolution (1640s-1660), the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and he's in the middle of the Haitian revolution in the late 18th century. They are 30-minute episodes so they are definitely put together in bite-size chunks. I also find Duncan more listenable than Dan Carlin (Hardcore History), although I like both podcasts.
I started with the French Revolution, and I'm on part 23 (of a 55-part series). I'm really enjoying filling in the gaps of my working knowledge of what went down. I knew the broad strokes, but the deep context (both in France and in Europe at large), and the biographical portraits of the various players has been really illuminating.
http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/
BTW, with part 23, I'm up to the August Insurrection of 1792 and the September massacres and shit is starting to get crazy. We haven't even hit the Reign of Terror yet, and it already looks like "The Purge" movie come to life.
Related to Revolutions, if you are looking,
by nedhead , Friday, September 16, 2016, 06:00 (3191 days ago) @ Jay
another great history podcast is China History Podcast by Laszlo Montgomery. I'm biased to all things Chinese, so I'm not sure how well it will translate, but he does a great job of describing some incredibly interesting and complex issues. Some of his first podcasts were boilerplate history that I couldn't get through, but his topic-specific histories are amazing.
His 8-part series on the great Deng Xiaopeng is a masterpiece, though I recommend getting some background from earlier episodes first. So too is his series on the Cultural Revolution, which I'm pretty sure I now have a better handle on than the average educated Chinese. I'm saving up Zhou Enlai for the future.
You won't be saying that by epsiode 40!
by nedhead , Thursday, September 15, 2016, 17:15 (3192 days ago) @ Jay
I read 3/4 of a book about the French Revolution, too. It's the revolution that will never end!
I did finish off Revolutions and generally love the other stories in the series as well, but need to wait until they finish to binge. This week I've been listening to Daniele Bolleli's History on Fire, which is much more Carlin than Duncan.
For those History of Rome fans, I've also very much enjoyed History of Byzantium. Robin Pierson picked up where Duncan left off, with the same style for story-telling. He's not quite Duncan, but nobody is.
I'm partial to Hardcore History...
by TH , Thursday, September 15, 2016, 12:07 (3192 days ago) @ Jay
...but will check this out.
I like Carlin too, but sometimes his delivery grates after
by Jay , San Diego, Thursday, September 15, 2016, 12:14 (3192 days ago) @ TH
the nineteenth hour of a single episode (kidding). Good stuff though. The WWI series is the only one I've finished all the way through, but it was superb.
I think you'd really like his "Wrath of the Khans" 5-parter.
by Crehart , Hermosa Beach, CA, Thursday, September 15, 2016, 14:34 (3192 days ago) @ Jay
I plan to jump into the WWI series soon. Possibly when I finally get back home and into some kind of routine.
Book rec: A Place of Greater Safety is a fantastic novel
about the French Revolution, focusing on Robespierre, Desmoulins, and Danton. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I've been on Team Desmoulins since I finished it.
thanks for the rec
by Jay , San Diego, Thursday, September 15, 2016, 12:00 (3192 days ago) @ HCE
I also pulled out my old copy of A Tale of Two Cities which I'd like to plunge back into.
Danton is one of those guys who just seemed larger than life (literally): a huge, ugly, Andre the Giant kind of figure, also probably dyslexic, but apparently an amazing orator and persuader. His storyline is one of the most fascinating of the entire saga. He goes from being kind of a moderate, to planning the insurrection that overthrows the monarchy, and then to feeling remorseful once the bloodbath really got rolling.
I wish Netflix or HBO would tackle this in a 12-part miniseries.
Agreed, and it looks like the BBC is giving it a shot
I can't find anything recent about it, but apparently the novel is getting the miniseries treatment from the BBC. If they do even half as well with this as they did with Wolf Hall, it'll make for great tv.
I keep identifying parallels
by Jay , San Diego, Thursday, September 15, 2016, 12:16 (3192 days ago) @ HCE
to our current political climate. Not that Trump is any kind of true revolutionary. But Jean-Paul Marat was definitely Breitbart.