Episodes
Monday Mar 25, 2019
Every Man A King: Huey Long, the Kingfish of Louisiana
Monday Mar 25, 2019
Monday Mar 25, 2019
The rich and powerful of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana filled the air with swinging jazz music, stuffed their faces with food, and drank their weight in champaign. Meanwhile, citizens living on the Bayou, the swamps, and the Northern plains were struggling to survive. These people were ignored by the elite, who they were unable to vote out due to a combination of racial voting laws, and an expensive poll tax. Louisiana was already the poorest state in the union, and they were sinking deeper and deeper with the onset of the Great Depression.
One of their own would rise out of the impoverished Winn Parish, and march into Baton Rouge. This man was not afraid to make enemies, and his booming voice echoed throughout the state. No person was too powerful to scare him into submission, and all who tried deeply regretted crossing him. Huey Long aimed to speak for the common people, to end poverty once and for all. However, its his methods he used to complete his promises which made him known as the dictator of Louisiana.
Music:
Every Man a King by the Louisiana Ramblers (written by Huey Long)
Jambalaya (On the Bayou) by Hank Williams
Monday Mar 11, 2019
Someone Had Blundered: The Crimean War
Monday Mar 11, 2019
Monday Mar 11, 2019
1850: the once great Ottoman Empire was now the sick man of Europe. Internal dissent from growing ethnic nationalism within the diverse country was beginning to crack the already fragile hold the Royal Family kept over their territory. Furthermore, a series of devastating wars against its neighbours have shrunk its size further and further out of Europe. Now, the Balkans were looking to host the next large uprising. To the north, the Russian Empire was striving to assert its power in Europe. While its size may have been intimidating, it also had growing instability. Russia had yet to modernize its industry and military. Their eyes gazed menacingly towards the Ottomans for a solution. Should the Russians take advantage of their dwindling rival, perhaps their prestige could be restored.
On the opposite end of the continent, France, still struggling in the aftermath of Napoleon, was looking to repair its image as a Great Power. Seeing the Catholic Church as a potential ally, they, too, set their eyes on the Ottoman Empire in hopes of becoming protectors of Christians within its borders. Russia would not have this, as they were the chosen protectors of Christians in Ottoman territory. As France and Russia began to throw rhetoric back and forth, the British watched on in terror. The Congress of Europe was at risk of falling apart, and the balance of power in Europe was in jeopardy of going out of whack. All these events would lead to the landscape of the Crimean Peninsula turning to ash, and running red with blood.
Music:
The Charge of the Light Brigade by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra