Episodes
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
On Cheating Death and Inventing the Saxophone
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
In 1846 Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax received his patent for the saxophone, but not before he cheated death at least seven times. He was so accident prone that his own mother didn’t believe he would survive childhood. His close calls with death earned him the nickname “Little Sax the Ghost.”
Sax’s life was a roller coaster of ups and downs. Mired the backstabbing world of invention, he fought years of legal battles, narrowly escaped death multiple times, battled cancer in the 1850s, and still helped shape music history.
Both hated and loved in his own time, Sax would revolutionize the French military band, register over 40 different patents, and invent 14 different types of saxophones as well as an entire family of saxhorns.
Come explore the surprisingly tumultuous history of the saxophone.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Père Lachaise Cemetery: A History of Death in Paris
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Wednesday Oct 30, 2019
Join me on a tour of Père Lachaise Cemetery and explore the tombs of some of histories most incredible icons including Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Abelard and Heloise, and Chopin. We examine the cemetery's history, make a side tour to the catacombs beneath Paris, and explore the dark moments in history that have occurred in Père Lachaise since its establishment by Napoleon. Let's go to Paris!