Episodes
Aug. 6, 2020
Consolation Prize: Trailer
Consolation Prize is a podcast about the history of the United States in the world through the eyes of its consuls.
Sept. 1, 2020
Episode 1: Burroughing into Mexico
In this episode, we travel to Vera Cruz, Mexico, to learn about how American consuls helped American businessmen assert their rights in contradiction of Mexican law.
Sept. 22, 2020
Episode 2: An Impressive Consul in Liverpool
In this episode, we meet Liverpool consul James Maury, whose job included helping American sailors who had been shipwrecked, were out of work--or were kidnapped by the British navy!
Oct. 7, 2020
Bonus Episode 1: What is a consul, anyway?
In this bonus episode, we delve into questions like "What is a consul?" "How do you get a job as a consul?" and other things. Listen to this if you feel adrift when listening to our regular episodes!
Oct. 13, 2020
Episode 3: Havana Hard Time as Consul
In this episode, we travel to Havana, Cuba to meet the consul Nicholas Trist, as he struggles between the dilemma of morals and money.
Nov. 3, 2020
Episode 4A: A Webb of Connections, Part 1
In this episode we meet Alexander Russell Webb, U.S. consul to Manila in the Philippines turned Muslim missionary to America.
Nov. 4, 2020
Episode 4B: A Webb of Connections, Part 2
In this episode we continue our story of Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb from his decision to resign as an American consul to his inauguration as an honorary consul-general for the Ottoman Empire!
Nov. 24, 2020
Episode 5: Uncertain Waters in Zanzibar
In this episode, we learn about Richard Waters who served as the first consul from the United States to Zanzibar.
Dec. 15, 2020
Episode 6: Making a Good First Empression
Within a year of the end of the American Revolution, the United States sent a ship to China, where the government hoped Americans could start a robust (and lucrative) trade.
Dec. 21, 2020
Bonus Mini-Episode 1: Yeah, That Poinsett
In this bonus holiday episode, we explore the consular life of Joel Roberts Poinsett, everyone's favorite holiday historical figure.
Jan. 26, 2021
Episode 7: Selah in Jerusalem
We go to Jerusalem to find out more about Selah Merrill, the longest-serving consul there before 1948.
Feb. 16, 2021
Episode 8: Eden to Ashes
In this episode, we venture into the tragic story of the 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique. Consul, Thomas Prentis and his family were among the 30,000 victims of this natural disaster.
March 9, 2021
Episode 9: Victims of Independence
James Leander Cathcart and Richard O'Brien were uniquely suited to their jobs, from one point of view: they had spent a lot of time in the region they were consuls to--as captives of the ruler during the previous decade.
March 30, 2021
Episode 10: Worthy of Notice
In today’s episode, we take a look at some people connected to the consular service who are worthy of notice: the women.
April 6, 2021
Bonus Episode: Interview with Maura Harty
In this bonus episode, we learn about the much more recent history of women in the consular service, as Abby interviews Maura Harty, a career Foreign Service officer.
April 20, 2021
Episode 11: Greener Pastures
In Episode 11, we explore the complicated, and sometimes tragic, life of Richard Greener, the first Black consul to a predominantly white post.
May 11, 2021
Episode 12: Unrecognizable Citizens
We've been to Mexico a few times this season, but we promised in the first episode that we'd return one last time, to talk about the relationship between Black Americans and the consuls in Mexico.
Aug. 17, 2021
Summer Episode: Cuisine, Consumption, and Consuls
In this bonus episode, we look back on the stories from season one with an eye for food.
Sept. 14, 2021
Summer Episode: Against the Grain
In this second installment of our summer series on food and consuls, we shift our gaze to look at food ways from the bottom-up.
Sept. 15, 2021
News update: R2 Studios!
We're under "new" management! Not really, we're just joining a new division of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, R2 Studios.
Sept. 28, 2021
Season 2 Trailer: What is Manifest Destiny?
Manifest Destiny is a term you hear a lot when you're learning about the history of the United States in the nineteenth century. But what is it, really?
Oct. 26, 2021
Troublemakers in Tahiti
When the United States began to establish official commercial relations with Tahiti, the government and the sailors who visited there thought that the U.S. consuls would be able to help them get the most out of their visit.
Oct. 28, 2021
Beyond the Consul: Tahiti
In our first Beyond the Consul episode, we're talking to Patty O'Brien about Tahiti.
Nov. 16, 2021
California Dreaming
As Americans moved into California, the U.S. government wanted to provide them with an official representative. But the government also wanted California for the United States.