The Siècle history podcast
@thesiecle.com
A history podcast by @dhmontgomery.com covering France's overlooked century between Napoleon and World War I. Annotated transcripts at thesiecle.com!
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The Siècle history podcast
@thesiecle.com
· Nov 14
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thesiecle.com
Hello!
The Siècle is a narrative history podcast by @dhmontgomery.com, covering French history 1814-1914, mostly in order.
I also post full transcripts of every episode on the podcast website, including footnotes, pictures & custom maps.
Get started with the show at the link below!
The Siècle is a narrative history podcast by @dhmontgomery.com, covering French history 1814-1914, mostly in order.
I also post full transcripts of every episode on the podcast website, including footnotes, pictures & custom maps.
Get started with the show at the link below!
Got burning questions about Episode 51: The House of Orleans? Come join me Thursday at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 ET / 11 UTC) for a live aftershow. I'll take questions about the episode, my research process, anecdotes that didn't make the script, and more. (No need to be a Patreon backer to join!)
Episode 51 live aftershow this Thursday | The Siècle podcast
On Thursday, September 17, 2026, I'll be hosting a live aftershow to discuss Episode 51: The House of Orleans! Join me in the live chat with
www.patreon.com
September 15, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Got burning questions about Episode 51: The House of Orleans? Come join me Thursday at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 ET / 11 UTC) for a live aftershow. I'll take questions about the episode, my research process, anecdotes that didn't make the script, and more. (No need to be a Patreon backer to join!)
Reposted by The Siècle history podcast
🎵 There is a house they call Orleans
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:
Episode 51: The House of Orleans
A handsome prince yearning to be his own man as he moves from lover to lover. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence France from behind the scene...
thesiecle.com
September 14, 2026 at 6:39 PM
🎵 There is a house they call Orleans
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
This little scamp is François. He's 12 years old in this picture, and in two months his father Louis-Philippe will become King of the French.
An older François was also the artist of this painting. He was a watercolorist and painted many scenes from his life, including voyages & revolutions.
An older François was also the artist of this painting. He was a watercolorist and painted many scenes from his life, including voyages & revolutions.
September 15, 2026 at 2:53 AM
This little scamp is François. He's 12 years old in this picture, and in two months his father Louis-Philippe will become King of the French.
An older François was also the artist of this painting. He was a watercolorist and painted many scenes from his life, including voyages & revolutions.
An older François was also the artist of this painting. He was a watercolorist and painted many scenes from his life, including voyages & revolutions.
🎵 There is a house they call Orleans
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:
Episode 51: The House of Orleans
A handsome prince yearning to be his own man as he moves from lover to lover. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence France from behind the scene...
thesiecle.com
September 14, 2026 at 6:39 PM
🎵 There is a house they call Orleans
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
They keep on raising sons
And it's been the ruin of the elder line
They're gone, the old Bourbons 🎵
A young man attends plays with a playwright. Sounds educational! But these two — the new Duc d'Orléans & Alexandre Dumas — were among the most notorious horndogs of their day, & their post-play chats focused more on actresses than scripts.
Find out more in Episode 51: thesiecle.com/episode51/
Find out more in Episode 51: thesiecle.com/episode51/
September 14, 2026 at 3:52 PM
A young man attends plays with a playwright. Sounds educational! But these two — the new Duc d'Orléans & Alexandre Dumas — were among the most notorious horndogs of their day, & their post-play chats focused more on actresses than scripts.
Find out more in Episode 51: thesiecle.com/episode51/
Find out more in Episode 51: thesiecle.com/episode51/
Reposted by The Siècle history podcast
Marie-Amélie, wife of future French King Louis-Philippe, was pregnant almost exactly 50% of the time over a 14-year period from December 1809 through July 1824. A fun new episode of my history podcast:
NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:
Episode 51: The House of Orleans
A handsome prince yearning to be his own man as he moves from lover to lover. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence France from behind the scene...
thesiecle.com
September 14, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Marie-Amélie, wife of future French King Louis-Philippe, was pregnant almost exactly 50% of the time over a 14-year period from December 1809 through July 1824. A fun new episode of my history podcast:
NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:
Episode 51: The House of Orleans
A handsome prince yearning to be his own man as he moves from lover to lover. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence France from behind the scene...
thesiecle.com
September 14, 2026 at 1:57 PM
NEW EPISODE: A handsome prince with a never-ending parade of mistresses. A woman slyly subverting gender roles to influence policy behind the scenes. A deaf sea-captain, sailing the world and fighting slavery. A... thrifter? Meet the July Monarchy's massive royal family:
Merry Sièclemas to everyone who celebrates.
Merry Sièclemas! (To Patrons only — everyone else can celebrate in an hour.)
September 14, 2026 at 4:58 AM
Merry Sièclemas to everyone who celebrates.
Merry Sièclemas! (To Patrons only — everyone else can celebrate in an hour.)
September 14, 2026 at 3:40 AM
Merry Sièclemas! (To Patrons only — everyone else can celebrate in an hour.)
Reposted by The Siècle history podcast
(professor voice) Students, I submit to you that the mid-19th century was anything but mid
September 12, 2026 at 11:27 AM
(professor voice) Students, I submit to you that the mid-19th century was anything but mid
Do any of my followers speak Hungarian? I'm looking for pronunciation help on the name "Apponyi" — one site said "a-PON-ee-eye" and I want to make sure before recording it.
September 11, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Do any of my followers speak Hungarian? I'm looking for pronunciation help on the name "Apponyi" — one site said "a-PON-ee-eye" and I want to make sure before recording it.
Reposted by The Siècle history podcast
Where else will you have the opportunity to stay overnight in a monastery AND attend a papal audience?! Join the Pontifacts Tour of Italy now!!
Jan 30-Feb 7, 2027
tinyurl.com/pontifactstour
Jan 30-Feb 7, 2027
tinyurl.com/pontifactstour
September 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Where else will you have the opportunity to stay overnight in a monastery AND attend a papal audience?! Join the Pontifacts Tour of Italy now!!
Jan 30-Feb 7, 2027
tinyurl.com/pontifactstour
Jan 30-Feb 7, 2027
tinyurl.com/pontifactstour
Printed a PDF of my upcoming episode's script for review. 10,000 words, 53 footnotes, and 29 pages including 27 different public domain works of art. Coming soon!
September 10, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Printed a PDF of my upcoming episode's script for review. 10,000 words, 53 footnotes, and 29 pages including 27 different public domain works of art. Coming soon!
I have a soft spot for the phrase, "The [X] of kings and the king of [X]."
Jacques Laffitte was called the "banker of kings and the king of bankers."
Artist François Gérard was the "painter of kings and the king of bankers."
The antimetabole is delicious.
Jacques Laffitte was called the "banker of kings and the king of bankers."
Artist François Gérard was the "painter of kings and the king of bankers."
The antimetabole is delicious.
September 10, 2026 at 4:33 AM
I have a soft spot for the phrase, "The [X] of kings and the king of [X]."
Jacques Laffitte was called the "banker of kings and the king of bankers."
Artist François Gérard was the "painter of kings and the king of bankers."
The antimetabole is delicious.
Jacques Laffitte was called the "banker of kings and the king of bankers."
Artist François Gérard was the "painter of kings and the king of bankers."
The antimetabole is delicious.
This is a lovely little town in western France, capital of the Vendée department. It's called... well, in the 19th Century, the name of this little town was a contentious issue. See, succeeding governments kept renaming it in their own honor. 1/
August 28, 2026 at 2:24 AM
This is a lovely little town in western France, capital of the Vendée department. It's called... well, in the 19th Century, the name of this little town was a contentious issue. See, succeeding governments kept renaming it in their own honor. 1/
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
French historian: to understand the debate about the cup, we need to start in 1789
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
French historian: to understand the debate about the cup, we need to start in 1789
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Philosopher: can 'emptiness' be said to 'fill' a cup? Is 'fullness' something that can exist 'halfway'?
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Philosopher: can 'emptiness' be said to 'fill' a cup? Is 'fullness' something that can exist 'halfway'?
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Computational complexity theorist: but is it 1/2+1/2^n or 1/2+1/n^c? Those give you two *very* different complexity classes.
One (PP) is harder than NP and close to PSPACE. The other (BPP) is much closer to P in many ways.
#🧮
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Computational complexity theorist: but is it 1/2+1/2^n or 1/2+1/n^c? Those give you two *very* different complexity classes.
One (PP) is harder than NP and close to PSPACE. The other (BPP) is much closer to P in many ways.
#🧮
August 22, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
French historian: to understand the debate about the cup, we need to start in 1789
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
French historian: to understand the debate about the cup, we need to start in 1789
If you see this, post a princess
August 21, 2026 at 5:22 AM
If you see this, post a princess
“Some [1830s French newspapers] refused to print serials: The National and… Gazette, on opposing political sides, agreed that modern fiction was a source of corruption and that such frivolity besmirched a serious journal.”
August 16, 2026 at 1:36 AM
“Some [1830s French newspapers] refused to print serials: The National and… Gazette, on opposing political sides, agreed that modern fiction was a source of corruption and that such frivolity besmirched a serious journal.”
François Guizot, a leading figure of the center-right in France’s July Monarchy, described the regime’s centrists as a mix of “indecisive honest men and meticulous intriguers.”
August 15, 2026 at 4:44 AM
François Guizot, a leading figure of the center-right in France’s July Monarchy, described the regime’s centrists as a mix of “indecisive honest men and meticulous intriguers.”
Thoughts on the best way to translate the phrase "Quel beau mouvement" into English? It's someone enthusiastically describing the July Revolution. Dictionaries I've consulted have suggested something like "beautiful/wonderful movement" but I wonder if that loses something in English.
August 1, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Thoughts on the best way to translate the phrase "Quel beau mouvement" into English? It's someone enthusiastically describing the July Revolution. Dictionaries I've consulted have suggested something like "beautiful/wonderful movement" but I wonder if that loses something in English.
@mikeduncan.bsky.social Is your show bibliography online anywhere? It used to be at thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_... but that's now offline.
August 1, 2026 at 8:01 PM
@mikeduncan.bsky.social Is your show bibliography online anywhere? It used to be at thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_... but that's now offline.
Reposted by The Siècle history podcast
Enjoying FRENCH WEIRD, an excellent new podcast from my pal @rwilliamsparis.bsky.social, interrogating the lesser explored underside of French culture that you'll not get from watching Emily In Paris. There's a first full episode here on Michel Houellebecq which is unmissable
frenchweird.com 👈
frenchweird.com 👈
July 28, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Enjoying FRENCH WEIRD, an excellent new podcast from my pal @rwilliamsparis.bsky.social, interrogating the lesser explored underside of French culture that you'll not get from watching Emily In Paris. There's a first full episode here on Michel Houellebecq which is unmissable
frenchweird.com 👈
frenchweird.com 👈
No, John, I assure you, I'm very aware of what my podcast needs to grow, and it's more episodes on a consistent schedule. A me problem, not a you problem.
July 31, 2026 at 2:56 PM
No, John, I assure you, I'm very aware of what my podcast needs to grow, and it's more episodes on a consistent schedule. A me problem, not a you problem.
Even more inescapable than barricades if you're going to have a French revolution? The Marquis de Lafayette.
Meanwhile, opposition deputies are gathered to hear from the revolutionary hero Lafayette. Lafayette says he's been offered command of the Paris National Guard — which is a little weird, since Charles disbanded the Guard in 1827.
July 29, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Even more inescapable than barricades if you're going to have a French revolution? The Marquis de Lafayette.