In this wide-ranging conversation, Cameron reconnects with historian and longtime friend J. David Markham on the eve of his 80th birthday. They reflect on two decades of working together on the Napoleon podcast, swap family updates, and dive into Markham’s latest projects—including his forthcoming book Simply Caesar and several Napoleonic works in progress. The discussion turns to the reception of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, the importance of history for understanding today’s politics, and the...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr 16 min
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”… for two-and-a-quarter hours. The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #61 – Ridley’s Travesty appeared first on Napoleon ....
Dec 14, 2023
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 Great”, we reply. Andrew joined us from NYC to explain how he manages to both be British *and* a fan of Napoleon; why Napoleon was a funny dude who cracked jokes even while on the battlefield; wh...
Nov 20, 2014•1 hr 20 min
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 .
Aug 15, 2014
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 National Gallery of Victoria. We spoke about how the exhibition came to be, a bit about some of the pieces on display (such as the wonderful “Napoleon Crossing The Alps” by David) ...
Jun 06, 2012•44 min
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 International Napoleonic Society. Today Nicholas regales us with the story of Wolfe Tone , a leading figure in the United Irishmen Irish independence movement and who is regarded as the father of ...
Feb 11, 2011•1 hr 47 min
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 French troops in Haiti under Generals Leclerc and Rochambeau commit terrible atrocities against the Haitians? Did the Haitians under Loverture commit atrocities? I read from Napoleon’s...
Aug 11, 2010•1 hr 19 min
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 a picture of Napoleon’s motivations for his actions and his subsequent regrets. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback we had from the last episode. I’m sur...
Jul 30, 2010•1 hr 9 min
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 International Napoleonic Society, who has an article published in Volume 3 of the Internatonal Napoleonic Society’s Journal and who authored a paper on Napoleon and Haiti which was recently read (by INS “Firs...
Jul 23, 2010•55 min
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 ....
Mar 12, 2010
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 of credentials: * Ph.D. University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, 1993 * D.E.A. Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, (Diplôme d’Etudes Appr...
Nov 13, 2009•1 hr 23 min
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 ....
Jun 08, 2009•1 hr 3 min
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 ....
Apr 30, 2009•1 hr 4 min
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 of the campaign have been different? Why did Napoleon stay so long in Moscow? Alex is assistant professor of European history at Louisiana State University ...
Apr 11, 2009•1 hr 21 min
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 show. Click here to open up our page in iTunes . Our guest today is the wonderful Alexander Mikaberidze . Alex is assistant professor of European history at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He holds a degree...
Mar 28, 2009•1 hr 22 min
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 copies of “ Napoleon After The Abdication ” from the school of Paul Delaroche. He tells us about his love of the work of Percier and Fontaine, ...
Jan 21, 2009•45 min
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 political history of the French military during this period: The French Army, 1750-1820: Careers, Talent, Merit (Manchester, 2002) and Bonapartists in the ...
Dec 17, 2008•1 hr 17 min
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 charming. Meeting him was one of the highlights of the INS congress in Corsica last July. So I’m sure it will be of no surprise to you to learn that our subject tonight is The ...
Nov 30, 2008•1 hr 14 min
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 to share with you some thoughts on Ben. I was at David’s house in Olympia this last weekend, shooting video of his AMAZING Napoleonic collection for our upcoming DVD pack...
Oct 28, 2008•44 min
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 two years on St Helena, without a decent doctor to attend to his increasing illness – which, of course, we believe to be symptoms of arsenic poisoning – his death and then his subsequent return to Paris, many years ...
Sep 19, 2008•1 hr 15 min
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 ....
Sep 19, 2008•1 hr 7 min
The story of Napoleon’s years on St Helena is dominated by one man, whose name is infamous in Napoleonic history – Sir Hudson Lowe , Napoleon’s “jailer”. The Duke of Wellington later said that he was “a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew nothing at all of the world, and like all men who knew nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous”. On today’s show we discuss the arrival of Lowe to St Helena and Napoleon’s forced move to new...
Aug 22, 2008•1 hr 17 min
Would you like to spend some time with David and I in Paris? Keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of weeks for details but it will be in the evening of July 13th, probably at the Cafe de la Paix around 5pm. On today’s episode, we discuss Napoleon’s journey on the Northumberland to St Helena and his arrival on the island, one of the most remote locations on earth and the last place he would ever visit. We also discuss the people who chose to go with Napoleon into exile and their possible...
Jun 27, 2008•1 hr 14 min
Hey folks – do you think we can make David’s new book, THE ROAD TO ST HELENA, the #1 History book on Amazon? Buy five copies today, give them to your friends, and make Napoleon NUMBER ONE! In this episode of The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast we examine how the British government came to the conclusion that it would be a cold day in hell before “Old Boney” would ever set foot on British soil or given the opportunity of justice before a fair trial. Breaking laws, making up new laws, defying their own...
May 22, 2008•1 hr 17 min
Hey folks – do you think we can make David’s new book, THE ROAD TO ST HELENA, the #1 History book on Amazon? Buy five copies today, give them to your friends, and make Napoleon NUMBER ONE! On today’s show, David examines the political machinations the British went through to make sure Napoleon never set foot on British soil. According to the British law of ‘habeas corpus’, Napoleon should have been given a fair trial, but of course several people in England didn’t want that to happen. Did all of...
May 13, 2008•55 min
I know it’s been a while between drinks, my friends, but there are good reasons. Listen to today’s show to learn more! Today we finally… FINALLY… get Napoleon on “the boat”! David walks us through Napoleon’s last days in France and his reasons for choosing to surrender himself to the British instead of making a run for the United States. This show is based on David’s book “Napoleon For Dummies”. The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #39 – Au Revoir France! appeared first on Napoleon ....
Apr 15, 2008•1 hr 25 min
Let me start off by apologizing for my audio – it seems I had the wrong microphone on. Luckily I’m just the button pusher so the impact is small. 🙂 In today’s episode, David explains the range of options Napoleon considered after his abdication of 22 June, 1815. Should he go to England, Russia, Austria or the United States? This show is based on David’s book “Napoleon For Dummies”. The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #38 – Napoleon’s Options appeared first on Napoleon ....
Mar 13, 2008•57 min
Somehow we managed to get another entire episode just out of Joseph Fouche , Minister of Police, Duke of Otranto, and his machinations after Napoleon’s abdication to try to ensure his own position of power in post-Napoleonic France. We also talk about what’s happening during this period of instability with Marshals Ney, Davout and Murat. Napoleon, although the topic of much discussion, is, in this episode, almost a minor character. This show is based on David’s book “Napoleon For Dummies”. The p...
Feb 24, 2008•1 hr 1 min
In this episode David explains the Machiavellian machinations of Joseph Fouche in the days after Waterloo; how Napoleon was trying to manage the destiny of the Empire from his bath; and the events leading up to Napoleon’s final abdication from the throne and then declaring a regency in the name of his son, Napoleon II. This show is based on David’s book “Napoleon For Dummies”. The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #36 – The End Of The Empire appeared first on Napoleon ....
Jan 31, 2008•1 hr 21 min
First of all, let me wish you all a happy 2008 from David and myself. Second, please allow me to apologize – both for the delay in this episode of our little show as well as the audio problems with it. As I explain in the introduction to the show, there was a major technical snafu with the recording (apparently a result of a Skype upgrade not playing nice with my recording software) which left David’s voice sounding like Darth Vader after a couple of Ambien. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks t...
Jan 27, 2008•58 min
