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Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

Who was Marquis de Lafayette? with Mike Duncan

Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

MS NOW, Chris Hayes

Msnbc, The Chris Hayes Podcast, Government, Politics, Chris Hayes, Why Is This Happening?, Withpod, Versant, Ms Now, News, Society & Culture, Versant Media

4.69.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 October 2021

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Time for a fun one, America's favorite fighting Frenchman. You may have seen streets, parks, and subway stations that include the name Lafayette, but may not know much about the man other than the show-stopping performance of Daveed Diggs, who played Lafayette in Hamilton. The actual Marquis de Lafayette was born in France to immense wealth and privilege, allowing him to mingle in the most elite circles of the time. He shipped off to the US colonies to find his fortune and endeared himself to George Washington, fought for US independence and then returned to France to play a crucial role in *their* revolution as well. Mike Duncan, a fish monger turned wildly popular history podcaster, wrote about Lafayette’s story in his new book, “Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution.” He joins to discuss Lafayette's fascinating life, his research and life in Paris during Covid and whether the US is on the precipice of revolution and democratic decline. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript

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0:00.0

The second hot and all congress in George Washington for political reasons say we need to bring this guy in close.

0:06.0

We need to make him very happy. We need to give him what he wants.

0:09.2

And in so doing he can have a little adventure. He can run around. He can get shot at. He can go home.

0:13.8

He can show his war wounds off to the women in Versailles and then convince the French to give us a bunch of money,

0:20.3

which that was what the plan was. And it just so happened that Lafayette himself was an endearing enough person and well liked enough

0:29.6

just as an individual. He was not impurious. He was not arrogant. Him and George Washington after just a few weeks really hit it off.

0:39.1

Hello and welcome to Wise is happening with me, your host Chris Hayes.

0:45.2

Oh man, fun one today. Um, is it weird to start your podcast by saying a fun one today?

0:51.5

The implication being the other ones aren't fun. But you know, sometimes we do very heavy topics. Sometimes we do lighter ones.

0:58.4

And sometimes we do ones that just they're not drenched in pathos. And I would describe today as a not drenched in pathos.

1:05.5

A fascinating and important tale. And it's a historical tale today. And I think the place I want to start is just by saying it is an unbelievable cliche.

1:15.4

Tickrally, I think about like middle aged and older dads. I think it's very gendered for some reason. And I think it's weird that it is.

1:22.1

Like become real history buffs. I remember a tweet saying like every dad has to choose between being a civil war dad and a war to dad.

1:30.2

And you only get to be one, which may be really laugh, which I keep thinking of. I'm actually neither my reconstruction dad. That's my thing.

1:37.4

But I've always loved history. I love history when I was a student in high school. I didn't pursue it that much in college.

1:44.0

And I think, you know, there's there's a there's ways in which I think history can be branded or perceived as being

1:50.5

musty and old or boring or dense. And there's lots of historical writing that is all of those things.

1:57.1

But you know, ultimately all history is is anything any human or human society or institution did in the past.

2:06.3

Which is basically all of human life on the planet. So there's lots of fascinating stuff no matter what you're into in quote unquote history.

2:15.8

And one of the great things that I've discovered over the last few years has been a great source of both joy and enlightenment for me are history podcasts a whole universe.

2:27.3

And let me tell you like they're a game changer on a long drive if you're a long drive by yourself. If you are going for long walks.

2:35.4

If I mean they are great and there's a bunch of them out there. The one that I first discovered is a podcast called Revolutions.

...

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