The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast

Join J. David Markham and Cameron Reilly as they re-unite after nearly a decade to dissect the travesty that is Ridley Scott's 2023 film, "Napoleon". The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #61 – Ridley’s Travesty appeared first on Napoleon.

After a break of 3.5 years, WE’RE BACK, BABY! Sir J. David Markham – yes, he’s an actual KNIGHT now (see photo below) –  and Cameron Reilly are back with a brand new episode. And what brought the show out of retirement, we hear you ask? The wonderful new 800-page biography by Andrew Roberts “Napoleon The […] The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #60 – Andrew Roberts, Napoleon The Great appeared first on Napoleon.

Here’s a plug for the Life Of Caesar podcast, hosted by Cameron and Ray Harris. It’s been going since Dec ’13, has about 80,000 listeners and ranks in the Top 100 podcasts in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN, so check it out! The post Check Out The Caesar Show appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks! It’s been nearly 18 months since the last podcast! Can you believe it!? This is a special episode to celebrate and promote a special Napoleonic event that is currently happening in Melbourne – Napoleon: Revolution to Empire. I had the chance today to chat with Sophie Matthiesson, one of the curators at the […] The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #59 – Napoleon @ The NGV appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! I know, I know, it’s been 8 months since our last podcast. Sorry folks. On this episode, our special guest is again Nicholas Stark, a 20-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008, and who is studying at West Chester University in Philadelphia and a Fellow of the […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #58 – Wolfe Tone & The Irish Rebellions 1796-98 appeared first on Napoleon.

And once again we are fortunate to have Nicholas Stark back on the show to finish our series on Napoleon and Haiti. Today we focus on the claims that Napoleon directly ordered atrocities to be committed in Haiti. Did Napoleon, as Claude Ribbe claims, invent the gas chamber? (We find no evidence for that.) Did […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #57 – Haiti Pt 3 appeared first on Napoleon.

We’re back with Nicholas Stark to discuss St. Domingo / Haiti and Napoleon’s reinstitution of slavery in 1802. Was Toussaint L’Overture really a “saint” (his name translates as “all saints” or “all souls opening”)? Was Napoleon really a racist? Nick does another amazing job of delving into the primary sources from this period to paint […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #56 – Nick Stark on Haiti (Part Two) appeared first on Napoleon.

WELCOME BACK! I know – it’s been a long, long…. long time! But we are glad to be back! On this episode, our special guest is Nicholas Stark, a 19-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008. Nicholas is an undergraduate at West Chester University and a Fellow of the […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #55 – Nicholas Stark on Napoleon and Haiti (part one) appeared first on Napoleon.

Our own J. David Markham was recently interviewed on Australian radio regarding a lock of Napoleon’s hair recently found in Sydney’s town hall. Listen to David’s interview here! The post David Markham on Australia’s ABC Radio appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! It’s been a long time between shows, I’m so sorry! But you’ll LOVE this episode, trust me, it was worth waiting for! Our guest today is Dr Philip Dwyer, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, School of Humanities and Social Science, History Dept, University of Newscastle, Australia. Philip has a long list […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #54 – Dr Philip Dwyer appeared first on Napoleon.

We’re very lucky to have Alexander Mikaberidze back to discuss a few more important Russian generals and the crossing of the Berezina.     The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #53 – Alex Mikaberidze part 4 appeared first on Napoleon.

Alexander Mikaberidze joins us again on this episode to share deep biographical details about the major Russian Generals around the war of 1812 – Kutusov, Bagration, Barclay de Tolly, Tolstoy – the men who defeated Napoleon with a highly unusual strategy.     The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #52 – Alex Mikaberidze on The Russian Generals appeared first on Napoleon.

Our guest today is again the wonderful Alexander Mikaberidze. We continue the discussion from where we left off in Episode 50, talking about Napoleon’s entry into Moscow, the burning of Moscow, and the “strategic withdrawal”. Was the burning of Moscow deliberate strategy on behalf of the Russians? If they hadn’t burned it, would the outcome […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast 51 – Alex Mikaberidze on The Burning of Moscow appeared first on Napoleon.

We made it to 50! w00t! Thanks to everyone for supporting our little show over the last few years. It’s been an honour to create these shows for you. Can I ask a favour? Would you mind going to our iTunes page and rating the podcast? The more ratings we get, the more people find […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast 50 – Guest Alex Mikaberidze on Napoleon and Alexander appeared first on Napoleon.

Breaking away from talking to historians about Napoleon, today we have as our guest Australian businessman and political powerbroker, Michael Kroger. Michael joins us to discuss his fascination with Napoleon, which extends to having 5 floors of his Melbourne mansion decorated in the Empire Style and owning (among other things) one of only seven original […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #49 – Michael Kroger appeared first on Napoleon.

Continuing our series of chats with eminent Napoleonic scholars, today our guest is Rafe Blaufarb, Ben Weider Eminent Scholar and Director of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University. Dr. Blaufarb is a specialist in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. He is the author of several books on the social and […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #48 – Rafe Blaufarb appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! On episode #47, David and I have our first special guest! Jerry Gallaher is Past President of the Napoleonic Alliqance and author of the 1976 classic account of one of Napoleon’s greatest Marshals, Louis Davout – “Iron Marshal – A Biography of Louis N. Davout.” He’s also a true gentleman, scholar and totally […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #47 – Louis Davout, The Iron Marshal appeared first on Napoleon.

Hi folks. As you’ll have seen in my last post, Ben Weider, President and Founder of the International Napoleonic Society, passed away on October 17, 2008. As Ben was a major influence in Napoleonic circles, a tireless promoter of the Emperor’s achievements, and, not least, a very close friend and colleague of David’s, we wanted […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #46 – In Memory of Ben Weider appeared first on Napoleon.

Well…. here we are folks. The end of the chronological part of our story. It’s been two-and-a-half years in the making. Sometimes I never thought we’d get here. In many ways, I wish we hadn’t. But it had to happen – and so – on today’s episode, the Emperor – dies. We discuss his last […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #45 – La Mort de Napoleon appeared first on Napoleon.

On today’s episode, David and I talk about Napoleon’s struggles with Hudson Lowe, the theory that he was slowly being murdered while on St Helena, poisoned by someone in his own retinue, his sexual escapades with Albine de Montholon, and whether or not he had a “foxhole” religious conversion. The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #44 – The Murder Of Napoleon appeared first on Napoleon.