Season 12 premiered October 20, 2024 – a nonfictional account of The Martian Revolution of 2247.
Mike Duncan is taking everything he's learned from 12 seasons of historical revolutions - the repeating arcs, characters, ideas, events, and patterns which all revolutions seem to follow - and created a fictional history of the Martian Revolution of 2247. The series is written from the point of view of a historian working hundreds of years after the Martian Revolution and will be presented in the style and format of previous seasons of Revolutions. It will look, sound, and feel like a Mike Duncan history podcast…but will instead be a fictional narrative of a gripping science-fiction epic.
Revolutions is a podcast that covers the great political revolutions that have defined the modern world. Each season is a long-form narrative covering a different defining revolutionary epoch across three hundred years of history. It explores in great detail the people, ideas, and events that challenged and toppled outdated regimes and replaced them with new governments. After more than 350 episodes over ten seasons of narrative nonfiction, the 12th season is a fictional account of the Martian Revolution of 2247.
*BREAKING NEWS*
In the fall of 2025, the Revolutions podcast will return to its roots by diving into the great revolutions of the 20th century. The new run of episodes begins with the story of Irish Independence, a dramatic upheaval in the wake of WWI that saw Ireland free itself from centuries of English rule. Full of inspiring personalities, tragic events, and thrilling triumphs, Irish Independence is one of the most gripping events in revolutionary history. Future seasons will plunge ahead through the turbulent 20th century, and include the Spanish Civil War, the Cuban Revolution, and the Algerian War of Independence.
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Delving into the foundational history of Russia, this episode traces its origins from the migration of the East Slavs and the formation of Kievan Rus, influenced by Viking trade and Orthodox Christianity. It details the devastating impact of the Mongol invasion, the subsequent rise of Moscow, and its eventual liberation from Tatar rule. The narrative culminates with the concept of Moscow as the "Third Rome," the consolidation of power under Ivan the Great, and the tumultuous reign of Ivan the Terrible, which shaped Russia into a multi-ethnic empire before the "Time of Troubles" paved the way for the Romanovs.
This episode delves into the pivotal 1872 split of the First International, examining the deep ideological rift and personal animosity between Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin. While they agreed on the need for revolutionary change, their fundamental disagreement centered on the role of the state: Marx advocating for a temporary "dictatorship of the proletariat" and Bakunin insisting on its immediate destruction. The episode also explores their differing tactical approaches and the unfortunate role of antisemitism in their personal attacks, ultimately showing how their conflict led to the demise of the unified International but laid groundwork for the Russian Revolution.
