The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast

In this wide-ranging conversation, Cameron reconnects with historian and longtime friend J. David Markham on the eve of his 80th birthday. They reflect on two decades of working together on the Napoleon podcast, swap family updates, and dive into Markham’s latest projects—including his forthcoming book Simply Caesar and several Napoleonic works in progress. The discussion turns to the reception of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, the importance of history for understanding today’s politics, and the challenges of civility in an increasingly polarized age. Markham also shares stories from Napoleonic society gatherings, his vast personal collection, and his perspective on America’s political trajectory. It’s a rich blend of personal reflection, Napoleonic passion, and urgent political commentary.














The post Napoleon #62 – 20 Years of Napoleon and Friendship appeared first on Napoleon.

Join J. David Markham and Cameron Reilly as they re-unite after nearly a decade to dissect the travesty that is Ridley Scott’s 2023 film, “Napoleon”… for two-and-a-quarter hours.















The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #61 – Ridley’s Travesty appeared first on Napoleon.

After a break of 3.5 years, WE’RE BACK, BABY!

Sir J. David Markham – yes, he’s an actual KNIGHT now (see photo below) – and Cameron Reilly are back with a brand new episode. And what brought the show out of retirement, we hear you ask?

The wonderful new 800-page biography by Andrew Roberts “Napoleon The Great”, we reply.



Andrew joined us from NYC to explain how he manages to both be British *and* a fan of Napoleon; why Napoleon was a funny dude who cracked jokes even while on the battlefield; why Napoleon wasn’t the evil warmonger he’s often portrayed as by the British; why his marriage to Josephine wasn’t Romeo & Juliette; and what his biggest mistake was.

Andrew’s book has recently been awarded the Grand Prix prize by the Fondation Napoleon and as of this Saturday will be listed in the NY Times bestseller lists (which, as you can probably guess, doesn’t happen with Napoleonic books very often).

If you want to skip the preamble between David and Cameron and get straight to the interview, it starts about 20 minutes in.

The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #60 – Andrew Roberts, Napoleon The Great appeared first on Napoleon.

Here’s a plug for the Life Of Caesar podcast, hosted by Cameron and Ray Harris. It’s been going since Dec ’13, has about 80,000 listeners and ranks in the Top 100 podcasts in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN, so check it out!

The post Check Out The Caesar Show appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks!

It’s been nearly 18 months since the last podcast! Can you believe it!?

This is a special episode to celebrate and promote a special Napoleonic event that is currently happening in Melbourne – Napoleon: Revolution to Empire.

I had the chance today to chat with Sophie Matthiesson, one of the curators at the National Gallery of Victoria. We spoke about how the exhibition came to be, a bit about some of the pieces on display (such as the wonderful “Napoleon Crossing The Alps” by David) and what she hopes people who attend the exhibition will learn about Napoleon.

I highly recommend attending the exhibition if you can and, if you can’t, at least check out the NGV website to read up on the exhibition.

The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #59 – Napoleon @ The NGV appeared first on Napoleon.