Consolation Prize

Consolation Prize is a podcast about the United States in the world through the eyes of its consuls. The responsibility for the United States’ reputation in other parts of the world often fell squarely on the shoulders of consuls and they were the first ones called in when Americans got themselves in trouble or were mistreated while they were abroad. How they interpreted their duties sometimes got them involved in all kinds of complicated circumstances. And often, their actions on a personal level had ramifications far up the chain, even making a difference in national politics or international relations. Please join us as we travel the globe with nineteenth-century consuls!

Final Report Transmission 06/23/2022

Final Report Transmission After two seasons, we have a lot to reflect on! We wanted you to hear the voices of the team, who have been working mostly behind the scenes for the past two seasons, and hear about their experiences working on Consolation Prize. Here, we have the honor to transmit to you our final report on our show about consuls.

Show notes available at consolationprize.rrchnm.org. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165681

Twelve Foreign Men 05/31/2022

Twelve Foreign Men In our final episode of Consolation Prize, we return to 1844 Hawai'i, where we look at another case involving vice consul William Hooper. In his efforts to gain power for the United States, Hooper may have made the lives of actual Americans more difficult. Hear how Hooper got involved in a legal case about a sexual assault, to the detriment of the accused, but to the ultimate benefit of the United States.

This episode was produced by Abby Mullen and Kris Stinson. Show notes available at consolati /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165684

The Consul and I 05/17/2022

The Consul and I In this episode of Consolation Prize, we meet two Americans in 1860s Thailand. Reverend Dan Beach Bradley was a Christian missionary and a newspaper publisher, and Captain James Madison Hood was the US consul to the Kingdom of Siam. These two men could not be more different from one another, but they both craved power in their own ways. In their quest for political power and moral superiority, they got involved in an international diplomatic kerfuffle of epic proportions in the Kingdom of Siam.

/episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165687

Pacific Salmon Run 05/10/2022

Pacific Salmon Run In this mini episode of Consolation Prize, we complete our tour of the world by going to the last continent where the United States had consuls: Australia. Alexander George Webster was a consul in Hobart, a port city on the island of Tasmania, but he also served on the Tasmanian Fisheries Commission, a group that was very concerned with making sure that Tasmanian rivers were stocked full of fish. In this episode, we see how Webster used his position as consul to move salmon halfway around the world, from th /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165693

Remember the Lusitania 04/19/2022

Remember the Lusitania In this episode of Consolation Prize, we investigate the role of consuls in dealing with wartime disasters and the toll they took on them. Consul Wesley Frost was stationed in Queenstown, Ireland during the early years of World War I. As part of his responsibilities, Frost assisted survivors from more than 80 German submarine attacks including the SS Lusitania, which at the time resulted in the greatest loss of civilian lives. Frost’s response to these attacks helped establish the processes the United Sta /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165696

The Art of Diplomacy 03/29/2022

The Art of Diplomacy Irena Wiley was a diplomat's wife. But she was also an artist who used her art to reflect the humanity of the many people she encountered all around the world. Bill Adair is an artist who purchased Wiley's pieces at a junk auction nearly 35 years after she died. This special episode of Consolation Prize is their story--how Wiley's work brought the humanity of devastated people to the fore, and how Bill's work has brought Wiley's work to the fore.

Consolation Prize is a podcast of R2 Studios at Ge /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165699

States of Confusion 03/08/2022

States of Confusion We explore the long and complicated relationship between the United States and the Papal States, the political-religious home of the Roman Catholic Church. The Papal States were ruled by the Pope from his seat in the Vatican until the city fell in 1870 and became the capital of a new nation called "Italy." In this episode, we follow the careers of consuls William Stillman and Edwin Cushman who served in the 1860s. Stillman and Cushman had the hard task of representing the United States during an era of inte /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165702

Views and Re-Views 02/15/2022

Views and Re-Views In this episode of Consolation Prize, we are exploring a consul’s involvement in a coup and a revolution. When the United States decided to construct a canal in Panama, the president of Nicaragua José Zelaya became upset. He believed the canal would be in his nation. Once it was clear it would not be, Zelaya began to turn his country away from the US. In response, the United States engineered a rebellion against Zelaya, and a president more favorable to American aims was installed. Not all Nicaraguans we /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165705

What Is a Consul, Anyway? (re-release) 01/14/2022

What Is a Consul, Anyway? (re-release) In this special bonus episode, we talk with a scholar who studies the history of the US consular service. We answer your questions like, What is a consul? What do they do? What makes them so interesting? Why should we care about consuls? /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165708

Yeah, That Poinsett (re-release) 12/22/2021

Yeah, That Poinsett (re-release) In this bonus holiday episode, a re-release from 2020, we explore the consular life of Joel Roberts Poinsett, everyone’s favorite holiday historical figure. Before he went to Mexico, where he “discovered” the flower that now bears his name, Poinsett went all over the world, including to South American as a consul. While he was there, he got involved in quite a lot of activities that didn’t really fit the consular program. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165714

Hawaii 4-3 12/14/2021

Hawaii 4-3 Consolation Prize is going true crime! In today's episode, we're going to hear about a murder case that a consul had to do some investigation of. William Hooper had to piece together what happened in the death of Jephtha Jenney, on board the whaleship Nassau in the Pacific Ocean. In his role as consul in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hooper was charged with dealing with crime committed by Americans--and this was a particularly gruesome one. Listen to the story as told through the materials he collected.

Find /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165717

Beyond the Consul: Monterey 11/18/2021

Beyond the Consul: Monterey Today we’re going to a domestic destination–but it wasn’t always domestic. The history of Monterey goes back hundreds of years, and it shows how empires and commerce come together in one prime location. We talk to Aaron Gilmartin, a guide at Monterey State Historic Park, who told us about Monterey and how Thomas Larkin fit into its history.

Show notes, including a full transcript, at consolationprize.rrchnm.org. Visit Monterey State Historic Park as well: /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165720

California Dreaming 11/16/2021

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. So when Thomas Larkin was appointed as consul to Monterey, Alta California, he had the job of keeping the peace with Mexico---while other Americans tried to make war. But Larkin also wanted to bring California into the United States. He became a consul who literally worked himself out of a job, when California became part of the Unit /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165723

Beyond the Consul: Tahiti 10/28/2021

Beyond the Consul: Tahiti In our first Beyond the Consul episode, we're talking to Patty O'Brien about Tahiti. We talk about the power structures present in Tahiti when Europeans come in, how gender plays a role in Tahiti's history, and why we shouldn't really call Tahiti a "paradise," with all its connotations. Plus we think together about how our sources color the story we tell.

Show notes, including a full transcript, at consolationprize.rrchnm.org. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165726

Troublemakers in Tahiti 10/26/2021

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. But instead, the first two U.S. consuls destroyed the reputation of the United States and actively sabotaged their changes of good relations with the sovereign Tahitian government. Either actively or passively, they helped the French take over Tahiti in 1842 and made Tahiti a much less f /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165729

Season 2 Trailer: What is Manifest Destiny? 09/28/2021

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? Several experts weigh in. You'll hear from Steve Inskeep, Matthew Raffety, Amy Greenberg, Gene Allen Smith, and Brian Rouleau--and then you'll hear a lot more from us on this season of Consolation Prize, where our first several shows will be dedicated to the consuls who went forth during the era of Manifest Destiny. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165732

News update: R2 Studios! 09/15/2021

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. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165735

Summer Episode: Against the Grain 09/14/2021

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. Producers Deepthi Murali and Kris Stinson sit down with team member Megan Brett and executive producer Abby Mullen to taste such dishes as Boko-Boko, black bread, buttered shark, and mesquite beans! Together, we discuss the drastically different ways food is experienced depending on who and where you are as well as the many ways food and drink have changed over the last several hun /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165738

Summer Episode: Cuisine, Consumption, and Consuls 08/17/2021

Summer Episode: Cuisine, Consumption, and Consuls In this bonus episode, we look back on the stories from season one with an eye for food. Alongside a cast of guest taste-testers, producers Deepthi Murali and Kris Stinson both try and discuss many of the dishes and drinks that have appeared in the accounts of consuls from places like Jerusalem, Algiers, Martinique, and Canton. Together, they explore the many ways that food has been a powerful force in the history of consuls, belonging, and empire!

Show notes and a full transcript available at co /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165741

Episode 12: Unrecognizable Citizens 05/11/2021

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. So that's where we're closing out Season 1. In this episode, we're taking the perspective of the Black Americans who had to deal with consuls in the midst of incredibly difficult circumstances. We'll tell the story of Lucien Matthews, a free Black man who did business in Mexico before the Civil War, and the story /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165744

Episode 11: Greener Pastures 04/20/2021

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. Before Greener went to Vladivostok, he was a trailblazer in education and politics, but questions about his race and his motivations followed him throughout his political life. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165747

Bonus Episode: Interview with Maura Harty 04/06/2021

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 who concluded her career at the State Department in the role of Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs.

Shownotes at consolationprize.rrchnm.org. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165750

Episode 10: Worthy of Notice 03/30/2021

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. We’re telling the story of three women, whose stories range from the very conventional to the very unconventional (at least by the standards of the time). Each of these women contributed something significant to the history of the U.S. consular service, and each deserves to have her story told.

Producers Deepthi Murali, Megan Brett, and Brenna Reilley bring us their stories /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165753

Episode 9: Victims of Independence 03/09/2021

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. Their struggles to do their jobs in the Barbary states was complicated by their inability to get along with each other, and in the end they couldn't accomplish the mission they'd been charged with: to make peace without payment with the Barbary states.

Shownotes are at consolati /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165756

Episode 8: Eden to Ashes 02/16/2021

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. We will discuss the eruption itself, and the diplomatic consequences for Martinique.

Show notes are at https://consolationprize.rrchnm.org/2021/02/11/episode-8-eden-to-ashes/. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165762

Episode 7: Selah in Jerusalem 01/26/2021

Episode 7: Selah in Jerusalem We go to Jerusalem to find out more about Selah Merrill, the longest-serving consul there before 1948. Despite his desire to be in Jerusalem, Merrill didn't like the city or the people he encountered. He positively hated Jews; he disdained the American tourists; and he picked fights with the American colonists. So why did he stay? /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165765

Bonus Mini-Episode 1: Yeah, That Poinsett 12/21/2020

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. Before he went to Mexico, where he "discovered" the flower that now bears his name, Poinsett went all over the world, including to South American as a consul. While he was there, he got involved in quite a lot of activities that didn't really fit the consular program. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165768

Episode 6: Making a Good First Empression 12/15/2020

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. Samuel Shaw was the supercargo on that first voyage of the Empress of China. On his next voyage to Canton, he went as the U.S. consul, charged with helping the United States gain a foothold in the China trade. On behalf of the United States, he had to make a good impression---all the while knowing that the United States might not make s /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165771

Episode 5: Uncertain Waters in Zanzibar 11/24/2020

Episode 5: Uncertain Waters in Zanzibar In this episode, we learn about Richard Waters. Waters served as the first consul from the United States to Zanzibar because the burgeoning trade of Salem merchants required some official oversight, but in order to be successful, he had to learn to navigate the world of Indian Ocean trade. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165774

Episode 4B: A Webb of Connections, Part 2 11/04/2020

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! We continue to wrestle with the intersection of politics and religion in Webb's career and the ways in which his legacy remains with us today, even if Webb himself faded from the American scene in the early twentieth century. /episode/index/show/12851bde-a1d2-4af3-9131-fda9d810d5ad/id/24165777

Consolation Prize

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