Month: February 2023

315: Lessons Learned IV

Mark Podcast

This memorial stone stands outside the building in which Adolf Hitler was born. The text translates as: FOR PEACE FREEDOM/AND DEMOCRACY/NEVER AGAIN FASCISM/MILLIONS OF DEAD GIVE WARNING.

That the Great War would lead to a Great Depression was probably inevitable. That the Great Depression would lead to another world war was not.

Before we dive into the narrative of the Second World War, we pause to consider what lessons can be drawn from the Jazz Age.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Violin Concerto in G minor, “Summer”
Composed in 1723 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by the Modena Chamber Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Photograph by Jo Oh, used pursuant to a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.

314: Here We Go Again

Mark Podcast

Soon after Germany’s surprise occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, Adolf Hitler set his sights on Poland, relying on the “tried-and-true method” (his words) of protesting alleged mistreatment of minority Germans in that country.

Hitler believed that the leaders of France and Britain would be too cowardly to go to war, but he understood it was a possibility. Still, he believed Germany was better prepared for war than were the Allies. Here we go again…

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Funeral March from Siegfried
Composed in 1871 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

313: What Guarantee Is There?

Mark Podcast

General Secretary Josef Stalin meets with German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in Moscow in August 1939 to negotiate a non-aggression agreement.

Following the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939, Adolf Hitler immediately set his sights on Poland, intending to use the same tactics he had used against Czechoslovakia: the “tried and true” method, as he put it.

In Moscow, the Soviet government sought an alliance with France and Britain aimed at containing Germany, but the three nations could not overcome their mutual distrust. So Stalin chose instead to cut a deal with the Germans.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Sabre Dance
Composed in 1942 by Aram Khachaturian. Public domain.
Performed by Markus Staab, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

312: It Don’t Mean a Thing

Mark Podcast
Duke Ellington and his orchestra perform “Take the ‘A’ Train” in the 1943 film Reville with Beverly.

Electronic amplification allowed singers to sing more softly, by simply getting closer to the microphone, producing a more intimate sound. This style, known as “crooning” soon dominated popular music.

Hollywood musicals of the 1930s, and especially Fred Astaire, popularized dancing and dance bands, which led to the creation of “big bands” and swing, a new style of jazz music.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“My Blue Heaven”
Composed in 1927 by Walter Donaldson and George A. Whiting. Public domain.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.