[RERUN] EPISODE 89: The Marquis de Lafayette: A Conversation with Mike Duncan

“Marat posed a difficult challenge for Lafayette—a difficult challenge for any free society. Lafayette was committed to the principle of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but here was a journalist using fanatical lies and scurrilous accusations to incite the population to mass murder.” Mike Duncan “Lafayette’s unique position at the center of the action meant, as Paris polarized, his attempt to hold the center offended everyone.” Mike Duncan Mike Duncan is one of the godfathers of historical podcasting. He began podcasting before most people had any clue what the podcasting medium even entailed. His History of Rome and Revolutions are among the most popular historical podcasts ever created. And when he is not recording, Mike is busy writing best-selling books such as The Storm Before the Storm and Hero of Two Worlds. In this whirlwind of productivity, Mike was gracious enough to find some time to sit with me for a conversation about the life of Gilbert du Motier, better known as Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette is a rather wild historical figure, since he played a key role in two of the main revolutions that changed the destiny of the West—the American and the French revol…