In part one of this episode, we're introduced to King Louis XVI who history has not painted the guy in a good light. Not completely ignorant or pompous, Louis was still outside of the world of the peasant and struggled to pull France out of decades of war induced crippling debt. Every time Louis tried to implement something to help his country, it seemed to backfire. In other words, perfect fodder for a podcast about dumpster fires.

One could argue that Louis was ill equipped to take on the tall order of fixing all of France, it is important to note that our boy Louis was in fact a boy. At the age of 15, Louis had the weight of national debt, irate middle class, little support from the upper class, and a 1st estate that didn't take him seriously. All of this would combine to condemn Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette to a visit to the guillotine. Regardless of their fates, they at least looked good in the process!

In part 2, Kara explains the foundations of the French Revolution and how the public ultimately expressed their frustrations via the "Reign of Terror." You're going to learn about a guy is going to get his hand cut off, another beaten and stabbed to death in the streets, and worse yet, King Louis was too worried about waking up his wife in the middle of the night because there was a hoard of angry French peasantry outside his palace with literal pitchforks and torches.

Lastly, a lot of myths are going to be dispelled like how Louis went to his execution with stoicism even though history portrayed him as a screaming cowered, much like Ed would have been if he were in Louis shoes.

So sit back, relax, order some escargot and listen in because if you have a unit exam on how the French Revolution started and the fate of King Louis XVI, then you're in for a great study session!