Snakes & Otters Podcast

The Snakes & Otters guys dive into an appreciation of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. All you tabloid types out there, be warned, Martin wants you to ease up. And Martin likes to get his way.

There are tons and tons of books about Queen Elizabeth II, but the guys really loved watching the Netflix series The Crown, which has three seasons available as of November 2019. It's really worth checking out and Claire Foys won a well-deserved Best Actress Emmy Award for her work in Season 2.

Robert suggests a new kind of discussion for us, an "alternative history". We wrestle with the question: what if Robert Kennedy isn't killed in June 1968? Does that alter America's trajectory through the 1970s and 1980s? Bonus feature, we have to edit out our first "f bomb". Francis, watch your mouth next time. 

Once again, the guys did not mention it here, but still one of the better biographies of Robert Kennedy is one of the earliest, Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur M. Schlesinger and Michael Beschloss, originally written in 1979 but recently reissued in 2012.

Also if you really want to read some great "alternate history" novels, the guys suggest anything by Harry Turtledove, perhaps one of the acknowledged masters of the genre.

We mean, it is obviously our favorite pastime, but what makes for a good read in history?

Martin needs to get over his disappointment in Juliet Barker's Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England so Francis advocates for a fictionalized approach such as Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt to help.

Unsatisfied, Robert gets existential on both their asses. 

Martin leads a "reach back" episode about Franz Ferdinand and why the Serbs thought he was worth shooting. Shoot a guy in a funny hat, start a war. Damn 1914 was weird. The story includes a juicy sex scandal, so be sure to download and give a listen. 

Although the guys don't mention it by name, perhaps the best and most recent works about Franz Ferdinand is The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World by Greg King and Sue Woolmans from 2014. It's worth checking out.

Robert, Martin and Francis talk about the nation's oldest continuous Shakespeare festival, right here in River City. We relish and review the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival's Summer 2019 productions of King Lear, Henry IV Part 2 and As You Like It. Robert, as our resident theater buff, leads the way with some help from Francis as the resident Shakespeare expert.

Martin, Robert and Francis reach back to Episodes 5 and 6 and dig more into the legacy of the one and only Jack 'King' Kirby. He means everything to the visual appeal of the MCU. 

Jack Kirby's output is so prolific that no one book could possible cover all the massive work that he did in his decades of comic book illustration. check out his Amazon Search Page for some great starting points!

Francis has us digging into Ronald Pestritto's Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism. Martin, Robert and Francis all agree, Wilson made a huge mess. So much for all those great American Ideals from Franklin and Voltaire. Wilson don't need them.

The Voltaire discussion continues! Francis is sticking with Voltaire: A Life by Ian Davidson, but Martin brings in Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin to help Robert show Francis how wrong he is. 

Francis leads the discussion on that paragon of the Enlightenment, Voltaire. Francis thinks Americans owe him a lot. Martin and Robert say not so fast homey. Check out Voltaire: A Life by Ian Davidson, if, you know, you want to side with Francis. 

Part 2 of comics and culture! Robert, Martin and Francis talk you through how comics intersect with other media. In other words, we freaking love the MCU! 

And yes, the guys don't mention it again here, but perhaps the best history of the comic book medium can be found in Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution. It's worth checking out!