The Eleventh. I’m furious! I maintain the rage! I’ve just listened to Episode 6 The Eleventh, that goes through the events, the machinations and the deceptions of November 11, 1975. Forget that cuddly image of Fraser that he curated during his later years: the man was ice-cold.
Heather Cox Richardson. Her ‘politics and history’ talk on Tuesday 21st looked at the history of impeachment, the nature of the executive order, the difference between debt and deficit and how to convince someone to stop watching FOX news (short answer, you can’t). Her American history talk on 23 April took us to the 1880s and 1890s – a time that I know virtually nothing about in terms of American history. That was when the small states of North and Sth Dakota, Montana etc. were created as an attempt by Republicans to ensure that they could keep power. She talks about the importance of the West, and the use of anti-Chinese legislation to shore up political support. She finishes with the invation of Cuba and the Phillipines and the idea of non-citizen nationals. This lecture was a bit too detailed and politicy-y for me. Check her Facebook page.
Rough Translation I’ve had the two-parter, The Search Part I and Part II on my phone for a while. It’s about the disappearance of Iraqi photo-journalist Kamaran Najim, who became a photographer against the wishes of his religious family. When he was kidnapped after a shoot-out, his family initially joined forces with his westernized friends to search for him. There’s real-life sound here of the attack (I assume that it’s authentic?) and it’s a good, if sad, story.
Judith Lucy- Overwhelmed and Dying She’s been flogging her misery in her trademark drawl for years, but I have a new appreciation of her since she’s been appearing on Charlie Pickering. She has a new podcast series which is more of the same, but I’m enjoying it. In Episode 1 Blindsided, the sudden breakup of her relationship caterpaults her back into the misery-stakes.
RevolutionsPodcast Still going with the Russian Revolution, although it’s going to be stretched out even further because Mike Duncan is planning on taking about a four month break between the 1905 Revolution in April and picking up again in October for the 1917 Revolution. He’s going to work on his book on Lafayette between May and October. Anyway, Episode 29 10.30 The SRs looks at the difference in viewpoint between the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Marxists regarding the kulaks and their role in the coming revolution. But they didn’t give up on their assassination activities. In Episode 10.31 A Big Mistake he examines the Russian-Japanese War, which didn’t go well, especially when Europe decided that they’d leave Tzar Nicholas to hold the line against the Yellow Peril which meant that they didn’t have to worry about Russia on their own doorstep.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 