French Revolution & Napoleon (Grey History) - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I’ve been listening to and have supported this show because of the quality of the material, its presentation and especially the zeal of the host William Clark. I have found this podcast immensely entertaining, informative and an absolute pleasure to listen to. I only started to listen recently, and am currently only up to episode 40, but I sit out on my front porch EVERY night, smoke my cigar and let William Clark take me away to late 1700’s France. I cannot recommend this show any more highly than my effusive praise already, but I really do feel that strongly about this podcast. Subscribe, support and listen to William Clark and this podcast! It’s well worth your time.

This is an excellent, in-depth and well-researched history of the French Revolution. Far from a monologue. Will makes sure to cite historians with widely divergent interpretations from across the political spectrum to get an in-depth analysis of “grey areas” in the history of this extremely complex period.

I recently caught up to the most recent episode of Grey History, so I can no longer binge listen and will now have to wait impatiently for new installments. But it took a long time to catch up because William Clark puts out so much material. Not only does he provide a well-paced account of nearly every major event of the Revolution, he also quotes primary sources frequently and looks at the many different interpretations of what happened and why, from Burke through the Marxists and more modern scholars. His bonus content goes into many fascinating side stories, in-depth biographies and reviews of major controversies among historians. The Revolution was by nature chaotic, with a lot happening at the same time, but Clark manages to keep his narrative lines untangled, taking one topic at a time and giving it as many episodes as needed, before tackling another overlapping story. This is extremely detailed history and some may find it too detailed. However, as a lazy lover of history, I’m very happy to have William Clark do my reading for me and listen to his enthusiastic accounts on podcast.

This is the best French Revolution podcast out there. It’s the most detailed and also most carefully thought out. And it is always fun. A near impossible balance to achieve.