Archive - Speakola newsletter

‘Here, kings and dictators do not rule’

President Biden’s speech will become one of the most famous of this century, whatever the outcome of the election.

3 hrs ago •

Vale Phineas Meere

Friend of Speakola Phineas Meere died suddenly this week aged 43. He was a speech spotter extraordinaire, with the eye of a hawk.

Jul 16 •

June 2024

'I know I'm not a young man'

Biden delivered something resembling a presidential speech after the disaster of the debate. Some people do better with an audience.

Jun 30 •

'That’s how you’re going to make my child’s death worthwhile'

Susan Bro is the mother of Heather Heyer, the young protestor run down in Charlottesville by a neo Nazi. This is the eulogy she delivered for her…

Jun 28 •

Speeches and swears

After Dane Swan's funny, expletive-filled Hall of Fame speech, Sammy J sent me on the lookout for sweary speeches for the radio segment. Read on for…

Jun 20 •

'The very real dangers of death'

Here is one of the most famous talk show clips in history, James Baldwin on the Dick Cavett show on this day in 1968 — a time of when America and indeed…

Jun 13 •

NEW PODCAST EPISODE #55 — Andrew Moran's eulogy for his father

Andrew Moran is a baritone with Opera Australia. At the end of last year, he lost his father, Lawrence Moran, and delivered a lovely eulogy at his…

Jun 6 •

'This great and noble undertaking'

I'll post a few D-Day speeches over the next few days. The first is perhaps the most famous. Dwight Eisenhower's 'Order of the Day' for 6th June 1944.

Jun 5 •

'It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide'

74 years ago, Republican senator Margaret Chase Smith stood up in the chamber and spoke her 'declaration of conscience' against McCarthyism.

Jun 3 •

May 2024

'I have held a job, Howard'

It’s Memorial Day in the USA (or it has just passed Tuesday) and I thought I’d post a famous speech by a notable US Marine and Senator, and a not so…

May 28 •

'A House Divided Against Itself' — Abraham Lincoln, 1858

Apologies. I sent the previous email without attaching the Lincoln speech. Here it is.

May 26 •

It turns out that Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito is not the only one flying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag. Leonard Leo, the man behind the extremist…

Published on Letters from an American • May 26

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