Explaining the French Revolution

In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett talk about the French Revolution and the fascinating parallels between 18th-century French social dynamics and today's political landscape. From bureaucratic upheaval to radical terror, journey through the chaos that transformed France and birthed modern political divisions. Learn how a centralized monarchy crumbled into revolutionary fervor, spawning new ideas of nationalism, secularism, and total war that would reshape Europe. -- 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess -- SPONSOR: INCOGNI | GIVEWELL Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code ECON102 at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/econ102 GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. GiveWell has now spent over 17 years researching charitable organizations and only directs funding to a few of the HIGHEST-IMPACT opportunities they’ve found. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us. -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg -- FOLLOW ON X: @whatifalthist (Rudyard) @LudwigNverMises (Austin) @TurpentineMedia -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:15) Intro and Personal Anecdotes (04:13) Introduction to the French Revolution and Secular Cycles (08:40) Open and Closed Societies (15:47) Sponsor Message 1 (17:33) Sponsor Message 2 (18:44) The French Monarchy and its Attempt to Protect Freedom (25:50) The French Enlightenment and Modernity (30:52) Causes of the French Revolution (37:00) The Internal Conflicts and Instability of the Revolution (46:50) The Reign of Terror and the Jacobins (52:40) The Napoleonic Wars and their Impact on Europe (1:00:00) The Left and Right in French Politics (1:03:40) Counterfactual History: What if the Fronde had succeeded? (1:04:20) The French Army and National Identity (1:07:12) Outro BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: "Fire in the Minds of Men" by James Hadley Billington "The Old Regime and the French Revolution" by Alexis Henri C M Clerel Tocqueville