Episode Summary
Executive Summary: Mike Duncan uses the episode to promote the upcoming release of The Storm Before the Storm, outline his East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast book-tour dates, and then read the book’s acknowledgments. The second half emphasizes gratitude—to family, editor/publisher staff, research resources, and especially listeners—framing the book as a collective achievement built on long-term podcast support.
Main Topics: Book launch and promotional tour (Priority: 5/5): Duncan gives a detailed itinerary for the book tour, including cities, venues, dates, and times across the East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast. Upcoming book release (Priority: 5/5): He announces the publication of The Storm Before the Storm, describing it as the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic and encouraging pre-orders and purchases. Acknowledgments to family and support network (Priority: 4/5): He reads personal thanks to his wife, children, parents, agent, editor, and publishing team, stressing that the book was not created alone. Research infrastructure and academic resources (Priority: 4/5): Duncan highlights the University of Wisconsin and online classical research databases as crucial tools that made the book possible. Listener gratitude and podcast community (Priority: 5/5): He directly credits History of Rome and Revolutions listeners for enabling his career transition from hobbyist historian to author. Tone of sincerity and closure (Priority: 3/5): The episode blends self-promotion with genuine appreciation, presenting the book as both a milestone and a thank-you to the audience.
Key Arguments: The book’s publication and tour are major milestones worth audience support, including pre-orders and attendance at events. The book was not the product of one person alone; it depended on family support, professional editorial work, and institutional research access. Publicly funded and digital scholarly resources materially enabled the research behind the book. Podcast listeners are the foundational reason Duncan could turn a passion for history into a professional career.
Data Points: Book publication date: October 24 - He says The Storm Before the Storm will be published on October 24. East Coast launch event date/time: October 24, 7pm - Official launch party at the Harvard Bookstore in Boston. New York event date/time: October 25, 7pm - Shared event at Book Culture on 112th Street with Jared Yates-Sexon. Brooklyn event date/time: October 26, 7pm - Solo event at Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn. Philadelphia event date/time: October 27, 7pm - Event at Rittenhouse Square Barnes & Noble. Washington, D.C. event date/time: October 28, 1pm - Afternoon event at Politics and Prose. Madison event date/time: November 4, 10:30am - Wisconsin Book Festival at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Milwaukee event date: November 9 - Event at Boswell Books in Milwaukee. Chicago-area event date: November 16 - Event at Old Orchard Barnes & Noble in Skokie. Chicago event date: November 17 - Event at the Seminary Co-op near the University of Chicago. Los Angeles event date: December 4 - Barnes & Noble at The Grove. San Francisco event date: December 5 - Book Passage. Portland event date: December 6 - Powell’s City of Books in downtown Portland. Seattle event date: December 7 - Elliott Bay Book Company; described as the last confirmed date. Podcast duration of listener support: Over 10 years - He thanks listeners for sticking with him for more than a decade.
Pivotal Quotes: "I will remain forever grateful that you have allowed me to turn a passion for history into a career in history." — Mike Duncan: Closing thanks to podcast listeners and the core reason he says the book career was possible. "I did not do this alone." — Mike Duncan: Transition into the acknowledgments, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the book. "I hope you liked the book." — Mike Duncan: Final appeal to listeners after expressing thanks for pre-orders and support.
Implications: The episode functions as both a marketing push and a gratitude statement, reinforcing the podcast’s community role while setting up the book’s release and live-tour engagement.
About Revolutions
Mike Duncan is taking everything he's learned from 12 seasons of historical revolutions - the repeating arcs, characters, ideas, events, and patterns which all revolutions seem to follow - and created a fictional history of the Martian Revolution of 2247. The series is written from the point of view of a historian working hundreds of years after the Martian Revolution and will be presented in the style and format of previous seasons of Revolutions. It will look, sound, and feel like a Mike Duncan history podcast…but will instead be a fictional narrative of a gripping science-fiction epic. Revolutions is a podcast that covers the great political revolutions that have defined the modern world. Each season is a long-form narrative covering a different defining revolutionary epoch across three hundred years of history. It explores in great detail the people, ideas, and events that challenged and toppled outdated regimes and replaced them with new governments. After more than 350 episodes over ten seasons of narrative nonfiction, the 12th season is a fictional account of the Martian Revolution of 2247. *BREAKING NEWS* In the fall of 2025, the Revolutions podcast will return to its roots by diving into the great revolutions of the 20th century. The new run of episodes begins with the story of Irish Independence, a dramatic upheaval in the wake of WWI that saw Ireland free itself from centuries of English rule. Full of inspiring personalities, tragic events, and thrilling triumphs, Irish Independence is one of the most gripping events in revolutionary history. Future seasons will plunge ahead through the turbulent 20th century, and include the Spanish Civil War, the Cuban Revolution, and the Algerian War of Independence.