027: Too Soon to Thank God

Mark Podcast
Monument to Alexander II in Helsinki. As part of his reforms, Alexander reestablished the Finnish Diet, an act for which he is still honored in Finland.
Monument to Alexander II in Helsinki. As part of his reforms, Alexander reestablished the Finnish Diet, an act for which he is still honored in Finland.

Slavs and Slav nationalism are going to play a huge role in the history of the twentieth century. This episode presents an overview of the Slavic world, with a special emphasis on Russia, the most important Slavic nation.

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Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

Fanfare

Polonaise from Christmas Eve
Composed in 1895 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Performed by The United States Air Force Band. Public domain. Source.

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.

026: America’s Coming Out Party

Mark Podcast
Title page to the original sheet music for "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis."
Title page to the original sheet music for “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis.”

The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (more commonly known today as the 1904 World’s Fair) marks America’s entry onto the world stage. Here is an assessment of the fair, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

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

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

“Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”
Composed in 1904 by Kerry Mills. Public domain.
Performed by Gary Hunter. Public domain. Source.

Suite for José Rizal

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.

025: I Am the King

Mark Podcast
"La Vie" ("Life"), painted in 1903 by Pablo Picasso.
“La Vie” (“Life”), painted in 1903 by Pablo Picasso.

Pablo Picasso comes to Paris to seek his fortune, during the Paris Exposition of 1900, but also experiences a tragedy. The Olympic Games of 1900 were also held in Paris. Franco-Italian relations become warmer. Instability in Morocco creates an opening for French intervention, provided some sort of understanding can be reached with Britain.

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Download.

Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

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 ℗ 2015, 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

024: How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?

Mark Podcast
Period cartoon commenting on the Perdicaris affair.
Period cartoon commenting on the Perdicaris affair.

In the United States of 1903-4, Theodore Roosevelt responds to British and German moves against Venezuela, renews his commitment to preserving America’s natural beauty, and gears up for the Presidential election. W.E.B. DuBois publishes The Souls of Black Folk, and an American citizen is kidnapped in Morocco.

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Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“America the Beautiful”
Composed in 1882 by Samuel A. Ward. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Band Brass Quintet. 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.

023: Making Italians

Mark Podcast
A map of Italy, illustrating the process of her unification.
A map of Italy, illustrating the process of her unification.

“We have made Italy. What remains is to make Italians.” Italy struggles with unifying its different peoples into one nation.

Listen.

Download.

Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Funiculì, Funiculà”
Composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza. Public domain.

“Santa Lucia”
Traditional. Public domain.
Sung by Tino Rossi. Public domain recording. 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.

Mid-week Update

Mark Update

Next Sunday’s episode will be more Italian history—reunification (1870) through the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1897—with an emphasis on what’s going on in southern Italy, since the previous episode was largely from a northern perspective. I’m also putting the finishing touches on my version of “Funiculì, Funiculà,” which was composed in 1880 and will be a part of the episode.

This week I am also working on a script for a future episode on the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. So far, we’ve released two episodes on TR, with one more coming shortly. This script I’m working on this week may be the last episode on the Roosevelt presidency, but it may get long enough that I’ll have to split it into two parts. That would make five episodes on a seven and a half year presidency. It was never my plan to give each US president this much attention, but TR demands attention, as much so today as he was when he was President.

We’re coming up on the Russo-Japanese War pretty soon. I expect that will take seven (!) episodes to cover properly. And, of course, the Great War of 1914 is looming off in the distance.

022: La Forza del Destino

Mark Podcast

Luciano Pavarotti sings “La donna è mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto.

The story of how a united Italy was born in the nineteenth century.

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Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

Overture to La Forza del Destino (“The Force of Destiny”)
Composed in 1862 by Giuseppe Verdi. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details

“La donna è mobile” (“The Lady Is Fickle”) from Rigoletto
Composed in 1851 by Giuseppe Verdi. Public domain.
Performed by Enrico Caruso. Public domain recording. Source.

Overture to Nabucco (“Nebuchadnezzar”)
Composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi. Public domain.
Performed by the DuPage orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details

 

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.

021: A Man, A Plan, A Canal—Panama!

Mark Podcast
1902 Washington Post political cartoon on Theodore Roosevelt's bear hunting trip.
1902 Washington Post political cartoon on Theodore Roosevelt’s bear hunting trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We return to the United States this week to examine more of the issues confronting Theodore Roosevelt’s administration: Are American soldiers committing war crimes in the Philippines? The signing of a treaty with Nicaragua Colombia Panama to build a canal across Central America. A coal strike that threatens to leave Americans in the cold during the 1902 mid-term election. And the burning question of whether Theodore Roosevelt is really all that great a hunter.

Listen.

Download.

Transcript.
Transcript provided by listener Josh.

 

Playlist:

 

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)
Composed in 1893 by Antonín Dvořák. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Coro di zingari (“Anvil Chorus”) from Il trovatore
Composed in 1853 by Giuseppe Verdi. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

“The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”
Composed in 1907 by John Walter Bratton. Public domain.

 

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.