Revolutions Podcast--The Appendices: Mini-review

As part of my run through of all of Revolutions Podcast, I have now just finished the appendices section.  

Incidentally, it's a bit unclear as to how to even refer to this section.  itunes classifies the appendices as "Season 11" of the show, and I've seen some other websites also refer to the appendices as "Season 11".  Certainly the appendices are long enough to be a whole season on their own--there are 12 appendix episodes, making it longer than the seasons on the July Revolution or the Paris Commune.  But other websites, like Wikipedia, list the fictional Martian Revolution as Season 11.  So I guess it depends who you ask.  But Mike Duncan himself is referring to the Martian Revolution as Season 11, so I guess that's authorative.  

The Appendices originally came out in the fall of 2022.  They are 12 episodes which seek to put an analytical framework on the 10 revolutions that Mike Duncan had covered: What are the commonalities among the 10 revolutions covered?  What have we learned about revolutions over the course of the series? Etc.

I was aware of these when they came out, but I opted not to listen to them at the time.  I'm more of a narrative history guy,  and so when these more analytical episodes started coming out, I figured I'd wait to listen to them.  

It wasn't that I was totally disinterested in them, but at the time I was more concerned with catching up on the backlog of episodes.  (I was still listening to The French Revolution at the time.)  And I knew I'd catch up with the appendices once I did my run through of the whole series.

Well, here are.

The Appendices are very well done.  Mike Duncan has put a lot of thought into them, and he's come up with some very detailed, and also very insightful, analysis on the nature of revolutions.

Now, I much prefer narratives myself, but that's just me.  If I was a more intelligent person, maybe I would enjoy the analytical stuff more.

Actually even as it was, I didn't hate these analytical episodes.  As I did some mindless chores, the episodes stimulated my brain, and gave me that pleasant feeling that you get when you are learning something interesting.  In other words, they tickled my brain a little.  They got me thinking about a few things.

But at the same time, I don't feel the need to listen to them 3 times through, like I did for the other seasons.  Once was enough.

Now, before I finally finish this podcast,  I'm off to listen to the Martian Revolution.  I have a feeling that once will be enough for the Martian Revolution as well.