History Book: Julia Child’s 110th birthday

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, August 15th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up: the WORLD History Book. This week we celebrate the birthday of a culinary legend, and we reflect on a recent tragedy.

EICHER: But first, we’ll go back to the year 1882, when a memorable piece of classical music made its debut. Here’s arts and media editor Collin Garbarino.

MUSIC: [1812 Overture]

COLLIN GARBARINO: This week marks the 140th anniversary of the first performance of Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Most people remember the 1812 Overture as the piece that contains cannon blasts. And there’s good reason for those cannon blasts. The piece was meant to commemorate the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat during his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812.

Tchaikovsky wrote the overture to celebrate the completion of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, which itself was built to commemorate Russia’s salvation from the French.

The overture begins with the melody from a Russian hymn representing the prayers of the Russian people. Then the overture includes strands from La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, to represent the invading French army.

Russian melodies battle La Marseillaise for a while. And then those famous cannons fire, representing the Battle of Borodino, the battle in which Napoleon defeated the Russian army.

But the French couldn’t capitalize on their victory. Supplies were scarce and winter was coming, so Napoleon ordered a hasty retreat. Tchaikovsky’s piece begins descending runs symbolizing Napoleon's flight out of Russia. Russian religious melodies resume before the piece ends with elven cannon blasts and strains of the Russian national anthem, “God Save the Tsar.”

Things didn’t go according to plan at that first performance in 1882. The Tsar had recently been assassinated, the cathedral still wasn’t finished, and the production was significantly scaled back—no cannons. Tchaikovsky didn’t even direct that first performance. In fact, he said the 1812 Overture was “very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love.” Maybe someone pointed out neither the French nor the Russian anthem were the national anthems of their countries in 1812.

In spite of its creator’s dislike, the 1812 Overture would go on to become one of his most popular works.

From celebrating French defeats to celebrating French cuisine.

MUSIC: [Theme for the French Chef]

Today is the 110th birthday of Julia Child—one of America’s first culinary superstars credited with bringing French cuisine to everyday Americans.

But Child wasn’t always interested in food. She didn’t begin cooking until after she was married in her mid-thirties, and she didn’t become interested in French cuisine until she and her husband lived in France after World War II.

But through her cookbooks and her popular TV show which debuted in 1963, Child hoped to inspire Americans to learn about the French food she loved, as well as French culture.

JULIA CHILD: Welcome to The French Chef. I’m Julia Child. Today, I’m going to show you how to make a real French omelet, and it’s a wonderful dish to know about. It’s not just a breakfast dish. In France, for instance, they never eat them for breakfast at all because they only eat cafe au lait and croissants.

Cooking wasn’t just about the taste of the food. Child thought cooking could be part of living a good life. In a 1978 interview with Dick Cavett, Child gives some advice that sounds very relevant to Americans today.

CHILD: More and more people are getting interested in cooking as a creative activity. And I think as restaurants get more and more expensive and the food goes down and down, if you’re used to good eating you’re better off cooking it by yourself at home. As a matter of fact, not by yourself. I think it’s a great deal of fun to cook with friends. And more and more people are doing that.

And finally, today marks the one year anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

AUDIO: [Street noises and gun fire]

As Taliban fighters enter the capital city, President Ashraf Gani and many other high-level administrators flee the country. Helicopters evacuate the U.S. embassy as the American flag is lowered.

The next day, President Joe Biden addresses Americans. He blames the Trump administration and Afghan security forces for the chaos unfolding in Kabul.

BIDEN: When I came into office, I inherited a deal President Trump negotiated with the Taliban. Under his agreement, U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021. Just a little over three months after I took office.

Even as Biden speaks, tens of thousands of Afghans flee to the airport hoping for escape.

SOLDIER: Over there on the other side of the tarmac, you can see all the Afghans lined up. The place is turning into Mad Max quick.

Over the next two weeks, more than 120,000 people with ties to the West are evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport. But when the airlift stops on August 31, thousands of people with U.S. passports or visas are left behind.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Collin Garbarino.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.