La Fayette, We Are Here!

Imagine growing up with the world’s most famous uncle, the one who conquered Europe and redefined France. For young Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, bedtime stories came with cavalry charges and imperial dreams. In this episode, we follow the nephew who turned admiration into ambition, rising from exile to become Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. Join us as we talk about France's Last Monarch! Timecodes Introduction 04:27 - A Royal without a Kingdom 09:49 - Conspiracies and the Road to Power 17:...

Thomas C. Williams is an American author and historian living in France since 1989. A former U.S. Embassy staffer, he is a leading expert on Volney and Thomas Jefferson’s secret translation of The Ruins of Empires, a radical Enlightenment text that nearly derailed Jefferson’s presidency. He has lectured at the Robert H. Smith Research Facility (Monticello) and the French Senate, published widely on the subject, and donated the largest collection of Jefferson translations to Monticello. He is ...

In July 1830, Paris erupted. For three days, workers, students, and veterans rose against royal ordinances that trampled the Charter of 1814. Barricades filled the streets, the tricolour flag flew once more, and the Bourbon monarchy collapsed. King Charles X fled, and Louis-Philippe, styled the “Citizen King”, took the throne. This revolution wasn’t just a power shift; it was a powerful reminder that France’s revolutionary spirit was far from extinguished. From backroom politics to stre...

If you weren't sleeping through your chemistry classes in high school, you probably heard the phrase "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed." This is basically what we know as the law of conservation of mass. It was coined by Antoine Lavoisier, the man considered the father of modern chemistry and one of history's most influential scientists. However, he will end his days under the blade of the guillotine in 1794. How can this be? Join us as we delve into the remarkab...

The story of the Résistance is the story of ordinary men and women rising to the occasion. Risking everything to fight oppression, to defend their homes, their country, their way of life. Being a résistant could mean many things. You could be part of a network, you could just run errands or messages, you could spy on the Germans or just not answer their questions properly. The Résistance took many, many forms, just like the collaboration. Join us as we explore this troubled, violent and fasc...