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In 1917, the first jazz record, recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, an all-white musical group from New Orleans, played a major role in introducing jazz to white America. It became the first million-selling record in history.

African-American musicians didn’t get record deals back then, but African-American military bands took the sound of jazz to Europe during the war. After the Armistice, jazz swept the world, bringing a number of African-American musicians and singers to prominence, most notably Louis Armstrong.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Livery Stable Blues”
Composed in 1917 by Ray Lopez and Alcide Nunez. Public domain.
Performed by The Original Dixieland Jass Band. Public domain recording. Thank you, Adam Cuerden. Source.

Rhapsody in Blue
Composed in 1924 by George Gershwin. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

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

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Jazz music was born in New Orleans out of a combination of marching band music, spirituals, blues, and ragtime.

Jazz is by its nature improvisational, more a style of performance than of composition. You can’t learn it from sheet music. It might have remained an obscure regional music if not for the invention of the phonograph.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”
Composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz and Joe Hayden. Public domain.

“The Washington Post”
Composed in 1889 by John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever”
Composed in 1896 by John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“The Liberty Bell”
Composed in 1893 by John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Maple Leaf Rag”
Composed in 1899 by Scott Joplin. Public domain.
Performed by William J. Leslie and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5 license. Source.

“Magnetic Rag”
Composed in 1899 by Scott Joplin. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

“The Entertainer”
Composed in 1902 by Scott Joplin. Public domain.

“Alexander’s Ragtime Band”
Composed in 1910 by Irving Berlin. Public domain.

“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”
Traditional. Public domain.

“The Memphis Blues”
Composed in 1912 by W.C. Handy. Public domain.
Performed by the Victor Military Band in 1914. Public domain recording. Source.

“The St. Louis Blues”
Composed in 1914 by W.C. Handy. Public domain.

“When the Saints Go Marching In”
Traditional. Public domain.

“The Memphis Blues”
Composed in 1912 by W.C. Handy. Public domain.

Closing Theme 

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

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Labor unrest broke out in China after the Great War, as it did in many places, but in China it had a strong nationalist component. As the warlords fought each other to exhaustion, the United Front was ready to make its move to take control of the country.

But Sun Yat-sen’s death complicated the picture. Who would lead the Kuomintang? Candidates included party chair Wang Jingwei and KMT military commander Chiang Kai-shek, who had the added advantage of being Sun’s brother-in-law.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

醉漁唱晚 (The Evening Song of the Drunken Fisherman)
Composed in 1876 by 天聞閣琴譜 (Tianwen Ge Qinpu). Public domain.
Performed by Charlie Huang. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.

二泉映月 (The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring)
Composed c. 1950 by 阿炳 (Abing). Public domain.
Performed by 张沛坚 (Zhang Peijian). Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

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

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As President of the United States, Warren Harding made some very good Cabinet appointments, and some very bad ones. His best was Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, who surprised the world by calling for substantial reductions in the sizes of the Allied navies.

Meanwhile, in the city of Tulsa, an accident in an elevator becomes the worst incident of racial violence in US history: The Tulsa Massacre.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Ain’t We Got Fun?”
Composed in 1920 by Richard Whiting, lyrics by Raymond Egan and Gus Kahn.
Performed by Billy Jones. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

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

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In 1915, Gandhi returned to India. He needed some time to get acquainted with his home country, after living abroad for two decades.

The British government spoke of granting India more self rule, but in 1919, when a British officer ordered a massacre of hundreds of peaceful, unarmed Indian civilians in Amritsar, it was for many people in India the last straw. The nationalist movement would settle for no less than full independence.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Moonlight and Daybreak

Closing Theme 

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Mohandas Gandhi went to South Africa to represent an Indian business in a court case there. In South Africa, he became involved in the fight for equal rights for Indians.

It was during this time that Gandhi developed his philosophy of non-violent resistance, called satyagraha, and published Hind Swaraj, a call for Indian self-rule.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Instrumental Oriental Music of India
By Michael Burkard. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

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

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By the beginning of the twentieth century, astronomers had a rough idea of the size and shape of our galaxy. Our solar system was believed to be located at or near the center.

Three decades later, after advances in astronomy, it was determined that our solar system is nowhere near the center of the galaxy. Far more surprising were the discoveries that our galaxy is only one of many such collections of stars, and that the Universe is expanding.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Four Pieces for Clarinet and Orchestra, No. 1
Composed in 1913 by Alban Berg. Public domain.
Performed by Carol McGonnell, clarinet; Steven Beck, piano. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Car horn sound effect from Wikipedia user Magicallwiz and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.

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By the early twentieth century, a new generation of Indian nationalists was emerging, one more radical and less patient than its elders, who sought new ways to pressure the British for increased home rule, even outright independence.

Muslim Indians created their own association, the Muslim League, to rival the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress. And a quiet barrister named Mohandas Gandhi traveled to South Africa on behalf of a client.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Eastern Musings

Closing Theme 

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

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The United Kingdom was the wealthiest and most powerful nation on Earth for most of the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution powered the British rise, but after other Western nations began to catch up, Britain’s unique ability to extract wealth from India kept it ahead of its competition for decades longer than would otherwise have been possible. But British supremacy came at a terrible cost to the people of India.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Raga Number One

Closing Theme 

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

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In 1858, the British government took direct control over India. This was in response to the Rebellion of the previous year and concerns over East India Company misrule.

British rule led to some benefits, but it also produced famine and a collapse in per capita income. By the late 19th century, Indian nationalists were organizing for more Indian say in the governance of their own country.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Instrumental Oriental Music of India
By Michael Burkard. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

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