The Siècle History Podcast

The Siècle is a history podcast covering France's overlooked century between Napoleon and World War I. Visit thesiecle.com for annotated scripts, pictures, maps, sources and more.

History
1
Episode 46: Revolutions
64 min
2
Episode 45: The July Revolution
78 min
3
Episode 44: Bourbons on the Rocks
52 min
4
Fact Check 2: The Lying Chef
28 min
5
Episode 43: The Politicians
31 min
6
Episode 42: Marmont
50 min
7
Supplemental 21: The French History Games
94 min
8
Episode 41: The People
32 min
9
Episode 40: The Journalists
19 min
10
Supplemental 20: What's a franc?
19 min
11
Supplemental 19: Fifth Birthday Special
53 min
12
Episode 39: The Four Ordinances
49 min
13
Episode 38: The 221
55 min
14
Episode 37: Algiers
35 min
15
Episode 36: Wreck of the Medusa
58 min
16
Supplemental 18: Bonds, French Bonds
32 min
17
Episode 35: L'Économie
43 min
18
Episode 34: Polignac
On Aug. 8, 1829, a new French ministry was appointed featuring Charles X's friend Jules de Polignac. This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. Visit thesiecle.com/episode34 for a full transcript of this episode...
57 min
19
Supplemental 17: Béranger
During the Bourbon Restoration, one man's songs were everywhere. He wrote about politics and about love, for the rich and for the poor, and persevered despite the best efforts of the government to shut him up. Meet the Bob Dylan of the Restoration:...
36 min
20
Episode 33: Martignac
Buffeted by a bad election, King Charles X is forced to appoint a more moderate ministry. Can Prime Minister Martignac forge a middle course before his boss gets fed up with concessions? Support The Siècle for as little as $1 per month on...
41 min
21
Supplemental 16: Restoration Elections
Restoration France had an elected parliament, but its elections were radically different from the voting we're familiar with today. Here's how they did it, from tax-based voting rights to not-so-secret ballots to candidates running and winning in...
22 min
22
Episode 32: The Congregation
King Charles X's reign was marked by web of conspiracy theories about the alleged role of two secretive Catholic organizations: the Jesuits and the enigmatic Congregation. Let's dive in to what was true, what was false, and why ultimately it didn't...
27 min
23
Fact-Check 1: Learning and Forgetting
Many people have quoted a famous quip about the Bourbon Restoration, that "The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing." While this is a real quote, more or less, almost everything people think they know about it is wrong.
16 min
24
Episode 31: The Election of 1827
"The enemy redoubles his efforts," King Charles X wrote in September 1827, shortly before he dissolved the French parliament in a risky political gambit. "However, I am resolved to act with firmness and wisdom and am entirely confident that in the end...
47 min
25
Supplemental 15: Art Greco
A Delacroix painting, a Rossini opera and a Dumas novel help demonstrate the profound impact that the Greek War of Independence had on French art and literature. Visit for a full transcript of this episode with notes, illustrations and music. 
28 min