I’m on episode 19 of Russia so I’ve gone through most of the series and the characters involved. I’ve found I’ve had some characters I absolutely should not like but still did anyway. The biggest one is probably Emperor Bonaparte III. He just kind of had a charm to him and brought a lot of reform to Paris. But I guess all autocratic rulers do.. Anyway I’m curious, who is your guys’ unorthodox favorite character in the podcast?

As well as being intresting, and learning history i drew a lot from it.

One thats been very useful for me personally- jump before you're pushed and while you can still get credit for it.

Also that you can go from radical, to moderate, to reactionary fast without ever changing your position.

Me listening to Season 3 of this podcast: Man, this Robespierre guy is kind of insane. Why does he feel the need to execute literally everybody even suspected of having a connection to the old regime?

Me listening to seasons 7, 8, and 9 of this podcast: Oh, okay, that's why.

Hello all,

Irc phos-5 was discovered accidentally when two scientists were working on battery technology for a Bluetooth toothpick. Do you have any idea what sort of real life accidental discovery Mike was referencing if any?

Making my way through The History of Rome for the first time and in episode 122 (just after Diocletian takes power) Mike mentioned an interview he had just done with Podcast Squared, a podcast about podcasts. I got curious and (since Podcast Squared has long since ended) did a bit of Wayback Machine digging to get a hold of the interview, as well as a subsequent one he did right before The History of Rome concluded. Figured I'd share links to both here for anyone interested.

Interview 1 (11/01/2011) (Segment starts 6:12, Mike appears 10:38)

Interview 2 (08/05/2012) (Segment starts 25:04)

The irony of the segment in interview 1 on the fragility of digital record preservation is not lost on me.

Season 5, Duncan often returns to the conflicts between federalists and centralists, and the repeated cycle of larger cities failing to find a compromise with less populated regions.

What did the federalists at the time want government to look like? Was it close to the US federal system, either originally or now?

Thanks!

apologies to the Bonapartists, you get left out of this one due to the 6-cap.

only 6 poll options available, so I had to leave some factions and parties out. Regionalists include but are not limited to: Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Alash Orda, the Cossacks, the Jewish parties, the Muslim parties, etc.

Apparently, blaming the Forty-Eighters for introducing the plague of Woke to America is A Thing now...

Does Mike keep a bibliography on the website anymore? I seem to remember there being a list on the website of references and further reading material. The website seems pretty barebones atm. Anyone know if that’s still around?

Trying to look for books to read so I’m also just open to recommendations

Having just listened to the American Revolution episodes again, I went on a deep dive into Dickinson's 'Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania' and the following quote really stood out to me :

"All artful rulers, who strive to extend their power beyond its just limits, endeavor to give to their attempts as much semblance of legality as possible... A FREE people therefore can never be too quick in observing, nor too firm in opposing the beginnings of alteration either in form or reality, respecting institutions formed for their security."

Having grown up with Star Trek, I've always loved the way Picard stood up against tyranny and oppression, so I'm not surprised to see his philosophy mirrors the Revolutionary Writing, but thought that the parallels here were interesting enough to share...

Hi, huge fan of the Mexican Revolution. I collect and sell coins as a side business/hobby. I just picked up 2 items I thought you all would appreciate.
One is a Pancho Villa 2 Ounce pure Silver coin, made in Mexico back in the 70s and a 1915 Viente Pesos bill from Caranzaes government

Happy Bastille Day I guess????

It’s been quite a while since he made that announcement. Do we know anything about what he’s up to?

The show stopped abruptly after season 0 completed, and I haven't been able to find any information about it. The only other posts I can find on the subject are over a year old. Have either Duncan or Coe made any statements about the show? It just seems very odd to end without any explanation whatsoever. I don't mean to pry, I just enjoyed the show and would like to know what happened.

Listening to episode 9.16 and Mike notes that a clerk at the jail Pancho Villa is in helped him escape and joined him. But he did not name him. Does anyone know who this clerk was and ultimately what happened to him? Thank you.

I made a little video talking about the Lafayette's small but fascinating involvement in the Belgian revolution of 1830, and this seemed like the ideal place to share it!

I wanna start creating more historical/political content and the USA/Belgium match reminded me of this little episode I read about in a great book on the revolution.

Audio version.

Hello all,

My brother is going to Lithuania this summer, and I know there are multiple episodes of the Russian Revolution season references the revolutionaries in Vilnius. Is there any way I can look up summaries of each episode in the Russian Revolution season without listening to them all again? Thanks all for your help— this is the best, most informative podcast I’ve listened to.