Explorers sought new passages to the Far East in the far north for centuries before reaching the North Pole became an end in itself. It took until the twentieth century for the first person to reach the North Pole, but exactly who that was and when it happened…well, that’s a tricky question.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, (“Pathétique”)
Composed in 1893 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

After years of plotting, failed uprisings, and repression, the Qing Dynasty is overthrown, and the Republic of China proclaimed.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

The Moon Reflecting in the Second Spring
Composed ca. 1940 by Abing. Public domain.
Performed by Wikipedia User David290,
and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The first experimental steam-powered, self-propelled road vehicles appeared in France in the late 18th century. By the late 19th century, there were also vehicles powered by battery and by internal combustion. But in the early years of the twentieth century, the automobile comes into its own as a practical, economic form of transportation.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Daisy Bell”
Composed in 1892 by Harry Dacre. Public domain.

“In My Merry Oldsmobile”
Composed in 1905 by Gus Edwards and Vincent Bryan. Public domain.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

In the United Kingdom, the constitutional crisis over the role of the House of Lords comes to a head in 1910, amid two general elections and the death of King Edward VII.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 3 in E♭ Major (“Eroica”)
Composed in 1804 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Performed by Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain. Source.

Tombeau fait à Paris sur la mort de Monsieur Blancrocher, C minor
Composed in 1652 by Johann Jakob Froberger. Public domain.
Performed by Joan Benson. Source.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

For many years, Mexico has been living under the rule of Porfirio Díaz. By the early twentieth century, Díaz is in his 70s and is growing increasingly out of touch. He will be deposed, and that will trigger the Mexican Revolution.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

“El Pájaro Carpintero” (“The Carpenter Bird”)
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Los Hijos de la Malinche (Noé González Molina, Alberto de Jesus Nazario, & Julio Cesar de la Cruz Gonzalez) and edited by Widkipedia users Manetx, PlatinumCarlos, Sophie AgDz, Andresmedina95 & AmandaGraM95. Source.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

An episode on certain developments in astronomy in the early years of the twentieth century: the appearance of Comet Halley, of a second, brighter comet, the Tunguska event, and the debate on the possibility of life on Mars.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Vanishing”
Composed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

1. X. 1905
Composed in 1905 by Leoš Janáček. Public domain.
Performed by Pandora Selfridge. Public domain recording. Source.

Symphony No. 1 in D major
Composed by Gustav Mahler in 1888. Public domain.
Performed by the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, Barbara Schubert conducting.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License. Source.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Before Theodore Roosevelt left office, he’d settled on William Howard Taft as his successor. The two men had been political allies and close friends. With Roosevelt’s support, Taft was elected President in 1908, but the two men would have a falling out soon afterward.

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Ragtime Fanfare

The Twentieth Century Rag

Euphonic Sounds
Composed in 1909 by Scott Joplin. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source. With much gratitude to Ragnar Hellspong for converting the music into a playable mp3 file.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

A look at the invention of radio, the first step on the road to modern electronics and modern mass media, a revolution in information, news, and entertainment.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Morse code sound effect created by Wikipedia user Horsten, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Edison Phonograph advertisement is public domain and/or fair use. Source.

Recording of Kaiser Franz Josef is public domain. Source.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Austria-Hungary makes a bid for relevance in the twentieth century by annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in so doing, shakes things up in Europe.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

An der schönen blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)
Composed in 1866 by Johann Strauss II. Public domain.
Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Strauss Waltz Medley
Arranged and performed by the United States Air Force Band Strolling Strings. Public domain. Source.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.