048: The Flight of Icarus

Mark Podcast
The only photograph of the Wrights' airplane in flight on the historic day. Orville is piloting, and Wilbur is on the right.
The only photograph of the Wrights’ airplane in flight on the historic day. Orville is piloting, and Wilbur is on the right.

The Wright brothers develop the first airplane, after many others have failed, by using the very twentieth century method of patient, careful experimentation.

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Transcript.

 

Playlist:
 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Composed in 1843 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons License. Details.

“Flight of the Bumblebee” from The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Composed in 1900 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Band. 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.

047s: Documents

Mark Supplemental

“Darius Green and His Flying Machine” was written c.1870, and I’m including it in the podcast because the poem captures the mixture of wonder and disdain that many people felt toward those who aspired to build a flying machine during this period.

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You can read the text of the poem here.

 

“Darius Green and His Flying Machine” is in the public domain. This recording ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved.

047: Icarus Rising

Mark Podcast
Artist David Bovey created this 21st century interpretation of the myth of Icarus. ©2004 by David Bovey.
Artist David Bovey created this amazing 21st century interpretation of the myth of Icarus. ©2004 by David Bovey.

The dream of human flight is ancient in origin. While technologies to make small objects fly existed for a surprisingly long time, the engineering problems of scaling these up to human flight proved a tremendous challenge.

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Transcript.

 

Playlist:
 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Roman Carnival Overture
Composed in 1844 by Hector Berlioz. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Gymnopédies No. 1
Composed in 1888 by Erik Satie. Public domain.
Performed by Accou. 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. Enjoy more of David Bovey’s work here.

046 Deeds Not Words

Mark Podcast
In this political cartoon, the British Cabinet receives the news that the House of Lords has rejected the People's Budget. Prime Minister Asquith is depicted making the announcement. The fellow throwing his arms into the air in glee is Winston Churchill, and the man restraining him is David Lloyd George.
In this political cartoon, the British Cabinet receives the news that the House of Lords has rejected the People’s Budget. Prime Minister Asquith is depicted making the announcement. The fellow throwing his arms into the air in glee is Winston Churchill, and the man restraining him is David Lloyd George.

The 1906 general election gave the Liberals a landslide victory, but it was still an uphill fight to enact the new government’s policies. The working classes and the Labour Party were asserting themselves, and the House of Lords was becoming increasingly activist and obstructionist, a marked change from British tradition. A frustrated women’s suffrage movement grew increasingly militant, even violent, while over everything loomed the Irish Question.

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Transcript.

 

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Enigma Variations, Theme and Variation V.
Composed in 1899 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

“God Defend New Zealand”
Composed in 1876 by John Joseph Woods. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public Domain recording. Source.

 

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

Rite of Spring

Mark Ballet

A modern production recreating the Ballets Russes premiere performance of Rite of Spring. Nijinsky’s choreography was not so carefully preserved in this case, but modern reconstructions rely on photographs and the reminiscences of the original performers, so it’s probably pretty close. This is the ballet that sparked a riot.

045 The God of Dance

Mark Podcast
Vaslav Nijinksy, in a 1909 publicity photo from the Ballets Russes.
Vaslav Nijinksy, in a 1909 publicity photo from the Ballets Russes.

Vaslav Nijinksy bursts onto the scene as a new kind of ballet dancer for a new kind of ballet, becoming the star of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Over a five year period, 1909-1913, these two men would redefine ballet.

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Transcript.

 

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Shéhérezade
Composed in 1888 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Composed in 1894 by Claude Debussy. Public domain.
Performed by the Natalia Ensemble, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Closing Theme

 

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

044 Charlatan and Charmer

Mark Podcast
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev.
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev.

The Russian aristocrat Sergei Diaghilev brings Russian art to the Western world, and becomes a hugely influential figure in the world of art.

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Transcript.

 

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor
Composed in 1892 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra, Neal O’Doan, piano. Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Closing Theme

 

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

043: Carry a Big Stick

Mark Podcast
Wall Street during the Panic of 1907.
Wall Street during the Panic of 1907.

In his final years as President, Theodore Roosevelt continues to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, while at home, racial tensions, an earthquake, and a stock market panic roil American politics.

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Download.

Transcript.

 

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“El Himno de Bayamo”
Composed in 1867 by Perucho Figueredo. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Jacob’s Ladder”
Traditional. Arranged by Mark Painter.

Closing Theme

 

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