The Age of Napoleon Podcast
Episodes
Episode 136: The Stumbling Colossus
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
1809 was another trying year for the Spanish Patriots. The will to resist remained strong, but the Spanish leadership seemed unable to come up with a ...
Episode 135: A Bed of Roses
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The spring and summer of 1810 saw Napoleon enjoying life as a newlywed. Bonaparte was happy, but there were ominous signs of trouble ahead. He himself...
Episode 134: By Gentler Means
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon's search for a new wife eventually led to Vienna, where the new Austrian Foreign Minister, Klemens von Metternich, was preparing to take Aust...
Prix Napoléon Special Episode
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We interview David Serero of the Festival Napoléon and get a special message from Will Clark of Grey History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Episode 133: Long Live America
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
News of the Abdications of Bayonne shook Spanish colonial societies to their foundations. Within a few years, the nations of South and Central America...
Episode 132: The Old Master
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We examine Spanish America on the eve of the Wars of Independence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 131: The Sacrifice
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josephine was the great love of Napoleon's life, but in late 1809, he had their marriage annulled -- how had it come to this? Learn more about you...
Episode 130: The Heart of the Empire
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We examine Napoleon's private life, with a special focus on the most important person in it: the charming and controversial Empress of the French, Jos...
Episode 129: I Am Charlemagne
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1809, General Sir Arthur Wellesley led a small British army into Spain. While the war raged on, Napoleon was also picking a political...
Episode 128: To Conquer a Throne
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Iberia, 1809: the Aragonese capital of Zaragoza was under siege once again. To the west, the French prepared another invasion of Portugal. Meanwhile, ...
Episode 127: The Liberators
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout 1809, small groups of brave (or foolish) German patriots tried to stir up nationalist uprisings against France. Meanwhile, in Iberia, a ver...
Episode 126: Martyrs and Scapegoats
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Late 1809: Napoleon negotiated a punitive peace treaty with Austria and survived a strange assassination attempt. Meanwhile, the British launched a su...
Episode 125: An Age Forlorn
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After his victory at Wagram, Napoleon pursued the Austrians. Peace was in the air, but the war would end on an almost unbelievably dramatic note in th...
Episode 124: My Blood for the Emperor
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1809, Napoleon crossed the Danube again to confront Archduke Charles and the Habsburg field army and avenge his defeat at Aspern-Essl...
Episode 123: Heroes and Rebels
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the War of the Fifth Coalition raged on, anti-French rebels rose up in the Alps and a remarkable Royal Navy captain fought one of the era's strange...
Episode 122: The Emperor Alone
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Austria, 1809: Napoleon was stunned after the first defeat of his career at Aspern-Essling and the death of his best friend and closest confidant, Mar...
Episode 121: The Red Danube
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On May 21st, 1809, the Austrians attacked the Grande Armée at the towns of Aspern and Essling. The ensuing two days were the hardest test of Napoleon...
Episode 120: More Terrible than Ever
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In April, 1809, the Austrians finally launched their long-awaited invasion of the Napoleonic Empire. The French were taken by surprise, but Napoleon h...
Episode 119: Setting the World Aflame
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
French and British forces continue fighting in Spain. In Paris, Napoleon's frustrations with Talleyrand finally boil over as he prepares to face off a...
Episode 118: The Hornets' Nest
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After taking Madrid, Napoleon chased a British army into northwestern Spain. Meanwhile, behind the lines, Spanish guerrillas waged a brutal war agains...
Episode 117: Impossible
01 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Spanish Patriots prepared to hold off Bonaparte in a rocky mountain pass, but they didn't count on the heroism of the Polish cavalry of Napoleon's...
Paris Games Special
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I sat down with two fellow French history podcasters for a Paris Games-themed discussion of some of our favorite characters of 18th and 19th century F...
Episode 116: Strike Hard
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In early November 1808, French troops crossed the Ebro River in their second invasion of Spain, led by the Emperor himself. Learn more about your ad c...
Episode 115: War to the Knife
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The summer of 1808 saw desperate fighting across Iberia as Spanish and Portuguese patriots rose up against Napoleon. France's most powerful enemy, Gre...
Episode 114: The Limits of Power
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Spanish uprising was a disaster for France. Napoleon tried to shore up his diplomatic situation but found himself undermined by a surprising new e...
Episode 113: Victory or Death
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the spring of 1808, Napoleon said he considered Spain conquered. That summer, Spanish forces dealt France its first major battlefield defeat in nea...
Grey History Collaboration
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I recently recorded a collaboration with Will Clark of Grey History: the French Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
Episode 112: The Way of the Bandit
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the Spring of 1808, Napoleon installed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. However, the people of Madrid had had enough of the French, and to...
Episode 111: Bad Omens
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Portugal conquered, Napoleon turned his attention to Spain. As French troops began occupying the country, it soon became clear they were sitting ...
Episode 110: Barbarians
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
1807 saw Napoleon and the British jockeying for influence among the remaining neutral states of Europe. Average people paid the price for this competi...
Episode 109: The Rise of the Sausage-Maker
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1808, France would find itself in a new war on the Iberian Peninsula. How did Napoleon find himself engaged in a new war less than a year after the...
Episode 108: Europe Under the Eagle
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By 1808, the Napoleonic empire stretched from Poland to the Pyrenees, and from the North Sea to the southern tip of Italy. How was Europe adjusting to...
Episode 107: The Will of the Emperor
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By 1809, Napoleon had ruled France for a decade. How did the Napoleonic regime actually function? How could one person effectively exercise his will o...
Episode 106: The Art of Power
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Europe at the dawn of the nineteenth century, art and politics were deeply intertwined, sometimes in surprising ways. No one understood this better...
Episode 105: The Imperial City
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During his 15 years in power, Napoleon put an indelible mark on his adopted city: Paris. The First Empire was a formative period in the history of the...
Episode 104: Man of the Century
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon's new treaty with Russia had totally transformed European geopolitics. What did it mean for the future of the continent? For France? For Napo...
Episode 103: The Two Eagles
01 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1807, the emperors of France and Russia, and the King and Queen of Prussia met at the Baltic town of Tilsit for a remarkable diplomat...
Episode 102: Bennigsen's Gamble
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1807, Napoleon was on the verge of seizing a prize that had eluded him for 6 months: Königsberg. The end of the war was in sight, bu...
Episode 101: Beyond Bravery
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Napoleon struggled to rebuild his army after Eylau, French forces lay siege to the port city of Danzig. In late Spring, the Grande Armée went back...
Episode 100: What a Massacre
01 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Battle of Eylau was the greatest challenge of Napoleon's career so far. For two days, the French and Russian armies fought with unbelievable tenac...
The Soul of a Free Man
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A recording of a recent talk I gave on the life of Toussaint Louverture You can find out more about the Symposium at: https://www.historysymposium.co...
Episode 99: Dangers of Every Kind
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In January of 1807, Napoleon ordered his men to make winter quarters and turned his attention to an exciting, but dangerous new mistress with a hidden...
Episode 98: Eagles East
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
France and the Grande Armée were growing tired of war, but in the winter of 1806, Napoleon led his forces east, into a harsh, new environment that wo...
Episode 97: The Rights of War
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As Napoleon and the Grande Armée enjoyed a pleasant interlude in occupied Berlin, the war was escalating in unprecedented ways. Sailors, smugglers, a...
Episode 96: Our Favorite Enemy
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After their defeats at Jena and Auerstedt, the vaunted Prussian army collapsed in the face of Napoleon's onslaught. As the French pushed into the hear...
Episode 95: The Iron Marshal's Stand
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Germany, 1806: while Napoleon was winning another triumph at the Battle of Jena, the Third Corps of his army was forced to fight alone in a desperate ...
Episode 94: History on Horseback
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In early October, 1806, Napoleon led the Grande Armée to war once again, this time against the Prussians. The events of the next week would change th...
Episode 93: A Ridiculous War
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1806, France and Prussia went to war. The Grande Armée was at the height of its powers, but the French did not want this fight. The Prussian army ...
Dispatch #1
09 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Introducing a new feature to the show. Visit: www.patreon.com/ageofnapoleon and sign up if you'd like to join us. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Episode 92: Fear and Expectation
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
1806 saw Europe reeling from the aftermath of Austerlitz. Napoleon organized his new empire and continued to remake the map of the continent, but he w...
Episode 91: The Cavalry
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An overview of the most colorful and romanticized branch of a Napoleonic military: the cavalry. Depending on your perspective, they were either the br...
Episode 90: The New Order
30 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After his stunning victories of late 1805, Napoleon sought to impose a new international order on central Europe. This would mean an all-out diplomati...
Episode 89: Immortal Nelson
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Horatio Nelson's last battle was a stunning British victory, but his fleet's troubles were just beginning. We examine the stunning aftermath of Trafal...
Episode 88: Eastward with Jesse Alexander
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I interviewed Real Time History's Jesse Alexander about his latest project: tracing Napoleon's downfall from the invasion of Russia in 1812. You can f...
Episode 87: Thank God I Have Done My Duty
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In October 1805, a Franco-Spanish fleet sailed out of Cadiz to seek a confrontation with a British fleet under Horatio Nelson. What ensued was one of ...
Episode 86: Six Hours
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon famously said that if he could control the English Channel for 6 hours, he would control the world. In 1805, the French navy launched an auda...
Episode 85: In the Hands of a Giant
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Battle of Austerlitz changed Europe forever. As news of his triumph reverberated across Europe, Napoleon began to redraw the map of the continent....
Episode 84: The Battle of the Three Emperors
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the first anniversary of his coronation, Napoleon faced off against a powerful Coalition army. With France's strategic situation deteriorating by t...
Episode 83: The Chase
31 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon pursues a Coalition army through Austria. Masséna fights in Italy. Prussian neutrality finally ends. https://www.patreon.com/ageofnapoleon ...
Episode 82: The Fortunes of War
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A new coalition forms against France. Napoleon leads his new army into Germany in a stunning, lightning campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Episode 81: The Eagles of Boulogne
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon brings his army to the Channel Coast and builds it into one of the most formidable war machines in military history. Meanwhile, talk of anoth...
Episode 80: The Crown of Charlemagne
25 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On December 2nd, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 79: The Eagle's Landing
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We examine Napoleon's colonial policies, the tragic end of Toussaint Louverture, and the final act of the Haitian War of Independence. Learn more abou...
Episode 78: Free Haiti
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After his victory over Britain, Toussaint Louverture began a new struggle: to build a new country out of the ruins of war and rebellion. Louverture ha...
Episode 77: The Symposium
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A recording of a panel on Napoleonic podcasting from the 2021 Massena Society symposium on Napoleonic History. The Massena Society's YouTube channel ...
Episode 76: The Black Napoleon
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the war in Haiti rages on, Toussaint Louverture makes a fateful decision to leave his allies behind. We follow his development as a general as he f...
Episode 75: The Opening
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Haiti sinks deeper into chaos and tragedy, Toussaint begins his rise to leadership within the rebel movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Episode 74: The Age of Toussaint
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Haiti was France's richest colony, but Europe's lust for sugar had created a barbaric and unstable social system in the colonies. We meet the man who ...
Episode 73: The Blood of a King
11 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1803, Britain sent a team of assassins against Napoleon. They failed, but the plot led to one of the most controversial episodes of Napoleon's care...
Episode 72: The Experiment
23 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the war over, France was finally becoming prosperous again. Napoleon contemplated what this would mean for his regime as he worked to reform the ...
Episode 71: The Spoiled Child of Victory
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
France welcomes the Catholic Church back to the country in grand style, but the Concordat complicated Napoleon's relationship with staunch republicans...
Episode 70: Concord
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon finally had his deal with the Vatican, but how would the Concordat of 1801 change France? What would it mean for the future of the revolution...
Episode 69: God Save the Republic
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon continues in his attempt to reconcile with conservatives. He finally manages to bring the Vatican to the negotiating table for an historic ag...
Episode 68: The Eagle and the Owls
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon wanted to bring social harmony to France, but to do that, he needed to resolve the bitter conflict between the Catholic Church and the revolu...
Episode 67: Resistance is Pointless
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A conclusion to our discussion of the Napoleonic Code, plus the fate of France's crown jewels, the legal opposition to Bonaparte's regime, and women's...
Episode 66: Master of France
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bonaparte finally takes the last legal step towards dictatorship, and we begin a discussion of his most important legacy: the Napoleonic Code. Learn m...
Episode 65: The Blank Slate
21 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Treaty of Amiens is greeted with celebrations around the world. With peace, Napoleon prepares to embark on an ambitious program of reform. Learn ...
Episode 64: The Last Treaty
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After 8 years of war, Britain and France were finally on the road to peace, but reaching an agreement between such bitter rivals would be a long, ardu...
Episode 63: Definitive Peace
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After their defeat at Hohenlinden, the Austrians return to the negotiating table, resulting in a treaty that threw the entire future of the Holy Roman...
Episode 62; The World Stage
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The War of the 2nd Coalition is winding down, but in the cut-throat world of Napoleonic diplomacy, peace could often prove elusive. Learn more about y...
Episode 61: Triumph and Temptation
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Horatio Nelson continues to build his reputation as one of the most brilliant sailors of the age, but as his fame grows, the dark side of Nelson's cha...
Episode 60: Do Much or Be Ruined
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the outbreak of war, Nelson vows to either make his career or destroy himself in the effort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
Episode 59: That Great Little Man
19 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We examine the early career of Horatio Nelson, one of Napoleon's ablest and most implacable opponents. Nelson had good connections and showed great pr...
Episode 58: Stalemate
28 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Austria drops out of the war, leaving Britain to continue the struggle against France alone. Emperor Paul of Russia faces fierce opposition. The Briti...
Episode 57: The Infernal Machine
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After Marengo, Napoleon's secret police did battle with violent radicals in the political underground, culminating in a brush with death on Christmas ...
Episode 56: The Fruits of Victory
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Does the Battle of Marengo deserve its reputation as one of Napoleon's greatest victories? We analyze the battle and examine its chaotic aftermath. If...
Episode 55: The Promise
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon marches against the Austrians yet again, with the future of his new regime hanging in the balance. What followed was one of the most dramatic...
Episode 54: The New Covenant
23 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon outmaneuvers his rivals and forms a new government, then secures his position as dictator of France with an undemocratic referendum. Learn mo...
Episode 53: Marx and the Coup with Matt Christman
07 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Writer and political commentator Matt Christman returns for a conversation about the significance of the Coup of 18 Brumaire. Learn more about your ad...
Episode 52: The Morning After
23 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We examine the aftermath and significance of the Coup of 18 Brumaire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 51: The Sword of Brumaire
07 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon makes a triumphant return to France, but finds the country no longer has any dire need of a military savior. Nonetheless, a plot was already ...
Episode 50: Egypt Epilogue with Derek Davison
21 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Derek Davison returns to discuss Middle Eastern history in the wake of the French Expedition. Topics include: the remarkable reign of Muhammad Ali, ar...
Episode 49: Meanwhile, in Europe
10 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
While Napoleon is away in Egypt, the revolution faces new struggles in Europe. Another coalition goes to war with France. One of history's greatest co...
Episode 48: Leaving Egypt
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Murat's cavalry secure another crushing victory over the Mamelukes, but news from France leads Napoleon to abandon the expedition (and his mistress), ...
Episode 47: A Spectacle of Death
05 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the dream of an eastern empire collapsing, Bonaparte launches an invasion of Syria against enormous odds, leading to some of the darkest episodes...
Episode 46: The End of Illusion
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The expedition's bad luck continues. The people of Egypt finally reach their breaking point. Cairo gets a taste of Napoleon's tyrannical side. Bonapar...
Episode 45: In Debt with Zachary Stoltzfus
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation about debt and property in revolutionary and Napoleonic France, and what's it's like to research late 18th and early 19th century Frenc...
Episode 44: Ali Bonaparte
16 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Relations between France and other great powers deteriorate. The Army of the Orient occupies Cairo, and the French immediately run into difficulties g...
Episode 43: Brave Despair
29 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The British Mediterranean Fleet under Horatio Nelson spends months chasing the naval component of the Egypt Expedition. They finally catch the French ...
Episode 42: The Scorched Plains
26 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Army of the Orient pushes deeper into Egypt and learns painful lessons about life and death in the desert. Napoleon clamps down on discontent and ...