Author: Mark

301: The Marco Polo Bridge

Mark Podcast

Japanese air reconnaissance photo of the Marco Polo Bridge. You can see it lead to the Wanping Fortress, just on the other side of the river.

Following the formation of the Second United Front, Communist units were integrated into the Nationalist Army. Some of these Communist units deliberately sought to provoke war between China and Japan.

An incident at the Marco Polo Bridge on 7 July 1937 triggered a confrontation between Japan and China. Chiang Kai-shek was no longer of a mind to back down, and so the incident led to a bloody eight-year war between China and Japan.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

陽關三疊 (Three Refrains on the Yang Pass Theme)
Composed in 1867 by 琴學入門 (Qinxue Rumen)
Performed by Charles R. Tsua and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 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 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

300: The Imperial Way

Mark Podcast

Banner of the rebel Japanese soldiers during the 2-26 uprising. The writing reads: “Revere the Emperor; Destroy the Traitors.”

In China, frustrated military commanders actually kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek to force him to make peace with the Communists and unite against the Japanese invaders. In Japan, radical right-wing Army officers assassinated their enemies and attempted a coup.

The end results in China were a Second United Front and a new determination to resist the Japanese. In Japan, they were a strengthened determination to dominate East Asia. War is coming.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Hogaku
Composed and performed by Marco Randria and licensed from Pond5.com.

Closing Theme


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

299: The Spanish Civil War

Mark Podcast

Guernica, in the aftermath of the bombing.

The Spanish coup failed, but the rebel generals began a civil war against the Republic. Early efforts to take Madrid failed, but the Nationalists were on the advance everywhere else.

The Basque town of Guernica became world famous, following a brutal bombing by Spanish, German, and Italian aircraft.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Suite Española
Composed by Isaac Albéniz in 1886. Public domain.
Performed by Gordon Rowland. 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 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

298: The Lost Generation

Mark Podcast

Cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby, 1925.

Literature changed after the Great War. New writers emerged, famously dubbed “the lost generation” by Gertrude Stein, who challenged their literary elders.

Old conventions were out, replaced by new, more internalized, and more subjective ways of looking at the world.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“From Uncle Remus” from Woodland Sketches
Composed by Edward MacDowell in 1896. Public domain.
Performed by Jean Dubé and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 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 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

297: A Rendezvous with Destiny

Mark Podcast

Literary Digest’s post-election cover.

Franklin Roosevelt went into the 1936 election confident, although he faced challenges from both the right and the left.

This was the first election in which pollsters used modern sampling techniques to predict the result. Some came quite close. Others, notably Literary Digest, flubbed.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Those Crazy Cats

Closing Theme


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

296: Request Instructions as to Bodies

Mark Podcast

General Emilio Mola y Vidal was the leader of the 1936 coup. His code name was “El Director.”

The new leftist Popular Front government, elected in 1936, was aware that some in the military were plotting a coup and took steps to frustrate it.

Unfortunately for the government, the measures taken were insufficient and the coup began in July. It likely would have failed, were it not for assistance from Germany and Italy.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“El Pajarico”
Traditional. Public domain.

Closing Theme


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

295: The Bottle Uncorked

Mark Podcast

Francisco Franco (l.) and his brother Ramón in Africa in 1925.

King Alfonso XIII fled Spain in 1931, following the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. By the end of the year, the new republic had a constitution and had elected a Cortes.

The sudden change caught the Spanish right wing off guard, but soon they were fighting back.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Danza from La vida breve
Composed in 1913 by Manuel de Falla. Public domain.
Performed by Carrie Rehkopf and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 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 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

294: The Year of the Three Kings

Mark Podcast

British King George V celebrated his Silver Jubilee on May 6, 1935. Less than nine months later, he died, at the age of 70.

His eldest son, Edward, Prince of Wales, succeeded his father as Edward VIII. There were serious doubts about Edward’s commitment to the responsibilities of the Crown, doubts that soon grew into a constitutional crisis.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Minuet from The Wand of Youth
Composed in 1908 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by Steve’s Bedroom Band, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

“Old One Hundredth”

Closing Theme


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

293: Strength Through Joy

Mark Podcast

At the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, German spectators welcome the US Olympic Team with Nazi salutes.

Hitler was quite popular in Germany in the early years of his rule. He got sacks of fan mail and drew crowds wherever he went. Documentarian Leni Riefenstahl’s films of the Nuremberg Rallies were hugely successful.

In 1936, the Olympic Games were held in Berlin, and the Nazis used the occasion to showcase the “new Germany.”

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla” from Das Rheingold
Composed in 1876 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 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.