Description
The rise and fall of empires, rulers, and the events that shaped world history.
William Dalrymple and Anita Anand explore the intricate stories of revolutions, imperial wars, and the people who built and lost empires.
From the British Empire to the Ottomans to Ancient India, history is shaped by power struggles and territorial conquests. How does it continue to affect the world today?
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Episodes
- 2025 / 10 / 8297. Gaza in WW1: A Rematch For Gallipoli (Part 7)How did British Army General Murray fail to take Gaza in 1917? Who was General Allenby and how did his tactics in the cavalry charge on Gaza City lead to transformation in the region? What are the connections...
- 2025 / 10 / 5296. Ottoman Gaza: Gunpowder Conquests & Rising Nationalism (Part 6)In 1516, the Ottomans defeated the mighty Mamluk Empire in the Middle East, taking control of Gaza. How did Ottoman forces roll out scorched-earth tactics on Gaza City to punish those who had rebelled against...
- 2025 / 10 / 1295. Crusader Gaza: Saladin & Richard The Lionheart (Part 5)Why did Crusaders travel from Western Europe to Gaza and The Levant in the 11th century? Who was Saladin and how did he conquer the Franks? How did the Mamluks defeat the Mongols in the 1200s and usher in an...
- 2025 / 9 / 29294. Gaza & The Islamic Conquest (Part 4)How did the expansion of Islam out of the Arab peninsular affect Gaza in the seventh century? Who was ‘Amr ibn al-As and how did he ambush the Byzantines in Gaza? Why is the Islamic Conquest described as the...
- 2025 / 9 / 24293. Ancient Gaza: The Rise of Christianity (Part 3)How did Gaza become a centre of learning and festivals during the Byzantine era? Who was St. Porphyrius of Gaza, and why did he destroy pagan temples in the city? Why is the Early Christian period considered...
- 2025 / 9 / 24293. The Gaza Erotic Literature Festival: Byzantine Gaza (Part 3)How did Gaza become a centre of learning and festivals during the Byzantine era? Who was St. Porphyrius of Gaza, and why did he destroy pagan temples in the city? Why is the Early Christian period considered...
- 2025 / 9 / 22292. Ancient Gaza: From The Assyrians to The Romans (Part 2)Why did the Assyrians spare Philistine port cities like Gaza when they conquered The Levant? How did the Persians overthrow the Babylonians in the region? What did Alexander The Great send back to his tutor...
- 2025 / 9 / 17291. Ancient Gaza: The Philistines (Part 1)Gaza is one of the oldest urban centres on Earth, and in this series we are exploring its long history. It was first referred to by Pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15th century BC when it was known as Ghazzati....
- 2025 / 9 / 15290. Medieval India’s Alexander The Great: The Cholas (Part 2)Who was South India’s equivalent to Alexander The Great? How did the Chola dynasty conquer Southeast Asia? And what was life like for the enslaved “service women” in the Chola court? William and Anita are...
- 2025 / 9 / 10289. Medieval India’s Game of Thrones: The Cholas (Part 1)Who were the Cholas who ruled in South India from the 9th century? How was a Hindu symbol of a Chola queen the inspiration behind the Christian hymn “Lord of The Dance”? What was the Medieval Indian...
- 2025 / 9 / 8288. Suez Crisis: The End of The British Empire (Part 5)How did the Suez Crisis end? Why did the Suez Crisis mark the end of the Anglo-American “special relationship”? And was it Egypt or India that marked the nail in the coffin of the British Empire? William and...
- 2025 / 9 / 3287. Suez Crisis: Lies, Cyanide Pills, & Soviet Tanks (Part 4)Who was Dulles Airport named after and why was he instrumental in de-escalating the Suez Crisis? Why did Nasser order cyanide pills for his military generals during the crisis? How did the Egyptians use beer...
- 2025 / 9 / 1286. Suez Crisis: Hungary Revolts & Britain Bombs Egypt (Part 3)What did the Queen think about Britain’s humiliating failures in Suez in 1956? Why did France and Britain not inform their American allies of the invasion? What was simultaneously going on in Hungary that...
- 2025 / 8 / 27285. Suez Crisis: The Secret Meeting Between Israel, Britain & France (Part 2)Why did France & Britain secretly collude with Israel against Egypt? What did America think was going on in Suez? Why did the Soviets think the US was behind an uprising in Hungary? William and Anita are...
- 2025 / 8 / 25284. Suez Crisis: The British Imperialist vs The Arab Nationalist (Part 1)How did Britain and France almost start World War 3 in 1956? Who was Anthony Eden and why did he hate Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser? Why was the Suez Canal so vital to European oil supplies in the...
- 2025 / 8 / 20283. Partition: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh (Part 6)How did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan in 1971? When did India and Pakistan go from sharing intelligence to being at the brink of nuclear war? Why did George Harrison from the Beatles organise a concert...
- 2025 / 8 / 18282. Partition: The Birth of The Kashmir Conflict (Part 5)What happened to the 565 princely states within British India when it became independent from the empire? How are the current conflicts in Balochistan and Kashmir linked to the partition of the princely...
- 2025 / 8 / 13281. Partition: Why Was India Split In Two? (Part 4)Why was the Partition of India and Pakistan so rushed in 1947? How did Partition divide everything from stationery to army boots in a matter of weeks? And how do South Asians today grapple with the memory of...
- 2025 / 8 / 11280. Partition: The Creation of Pakistan (Part 3)Why did Jinnah initially accept that Pakistan could be part of an Indian Federation? When did Jinnah start to push for Pakistan to be independent from India? What was Direct Action Day in 1946, and how did it...
- 2025 / 8 / 6279. Partition: How Dubai Almost Became Part of India (Part 2)Why have we forgotten that much of the Arabian peninsula was once legally part of India? How were the founding fathers of Yemen influenced by Indian nationalists? Which British spy was a double agent for the...
- 2025 / 8 / 4278. Partition: India’s Break With Burma (Part 1)Why did Japan’s invasion of Burma in WW2 affect its path to independence? Who was the Burmese fascist leader who praised Hitler for his views on immigration? How did the separation of Burma link to the origin...
- 2025 / 7 / 30277. America Drills Through Hell’s Gorge (Part 5)How did the US orchestrate the Panamanian Revolution to be able to build the Panama Canal? Why did French engineer Bunau-Varilla and the US sign a treaty about Panama without a single Panamanian in the room?...
- 2025 / 7 / 28276. The Biggest Corruption Scandal in French History (Part 4)How was George Eiffel of the Eiffel Tower involved in a huge corruption scandal associated with the Panama Canal? How many workers died during the French attempt to build the canal? And who was Bunau-Varilla...
- 2025 / 7 / 23275. The Battle To Build The Panama Canal (Part 3)What madcap schemes did French engineers use to drum up support to build the Panama Canal in the 1880s? How did the Gold Rush affect the flow of travellers through Panama looking for a shortcut? Who was the...
- 2025 / 7 / 21274. Pirates of Panama: Francis Drake Strikes Spain's Empire (Part 2)Who was Captain Morgan, and why is a spiced rum named after him? How did a Welsh buccaneer lead an attack on the heart of Spain’s empire in Panama? How did Elizabeth I fund Francis Drake’s first slaving...
- 2025 / 7 / 16273. Panama’s Brutish Conquistador Who Found The Pacific and Lost His Head (Part 1)Who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean? Who was Balboa and why did he set his bloodhounds on Native people in Panama? Why do we remember Cortes over the brutish conquistador Balboa? Anita and...
- 2025 / 7 / 15272. Solving The Mystery of America's Lost ColonyHave archaeologists finally solved the 400 year mystery of the lost American colonists? Who orchestrated historical hoaxes in the 1930s and did they get away with it? How has the history of the Roanoke Colony...
- 2025 / 7 / 9271. Canada’s Dark Secret: Stolen Children, Unmarked Graves, & Survival Stories (Ep 5)What was life like for Indigenous children forced to attend Residential Schools in Canada in the 1800s and 1900s? When was the final residential school closed? Which grim discovery in 2021 forced...
- 2025 / 7 / 7270. The Day The Brits Burned The White House (Ep 4)Why did Washington invade Quebec? How did the US fail to take the Canadian territories during the Revolutionary Wars? And why did the British burn the White House? Anita and William are once again joined...
- 2025 / 7 / 2269. Colonising Canada: The Truth Behind ‘The Last of The Mohicans’ (Ep 3)Is there any truth in the film 'The Last of The Mohicans' and how did the French and Indian War that it's based on change the make-up of Canada? Why was the Seven Years War the first truly global war? What is...
- 2025 / 6 / 30268. Colonising Canada: Why Does Quebec Speak French? (Ep 2)How did beaver fur and codfish turn a failed French attempt at colonisation into a success? What is the historical context behind Quebec as a French-speaking region of Canada? Did Indigenous leaders cleverly...
- 2025 / 6 / 25267. Colonising Canada: Kidnapping, Scurvy, & Fool’s Gold (Ep 1)Who was the first European to try and colonise Canada? Who was John Cabot and why was he spied on by Columbus? Why did Jacques Cartier kidnap Indigenous Canadians and take them back to France? What is the...
- 2025 / 6 / 23266. American Greenland: Nazis, Secret Nuclear Bases, & Trump (Ep 4)When did the US first ask to buy Greenland? Why did America occupy the region in World War II? And how did a secret plan codenamed “Project Iceworm” lead to nuclear waste spilling on Greenland’s soil? Anita...
- 2025 / 6 / 18265. Danish Greenland: Eradicating Inuit Culture (Ep 3)How did the Danish missionary Hans Egede combine capitalism and religion in his colonisation of Greenland in the 1700s? Why have we forgotten about Danish colonialism in India and Greenland? When did...
- 2025 / 6 / 16264. Viking Greenland: Mysteries of the Lost Norse Settlers (Ep 2)How did the Vikings and the Inuit interact in Greenland? When was the last record of Norse settlers in the region? How did climate change affect the decline of Viking settlers in Greenland, and why is their...
- 2025 / 6 / 15Murder in the Congo, The Cuban Missile Crisis, & India in the UN (EXTRACT)How did the first Asian UN Secretary General prevent multiple Armeggedons in the 1960s? What is the mystery surrounding his predecessor’s death? How did the Global South shape the UN in a post-colonial...
- 2025 / 6 / 11263. Viking Greenland: Erik The Red & Horny Zombies (Ep 1)How did the Norse settlers in Greenland adapt to the harsh Arctic environment, and what did their diet consist of beyond fish? What role did walrus ivory play in their trade with Norway? And who were the...
- 2025 / 6 / 9262. Berlin Blockade: Airlift Across The Iron Curtain (Ep 2)When was Checkpoint Charlie created in Berlin? What triggered Stalin to enact a blockade on West Berlin? And how did the Western powers airlift over 2.3 million tons of supplies to their occupied zone of the...
- 2025 / 6 / 4261. Race To Berlin 1945: A Devastated City Divided (Ep 1)What was life like in Berlin in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War? Why did the Red Army steal taps from Berlin houses when they reached the city? Was the famous photo of the red flag on the...
- 2025 / 6 / 2260. Yalta: Signing Away The Fate of The World (Ep 5)Did the Western powers fail at Yalta? Did Churchill hold strong in his red line about the fate of Poland? Why did the Big Three eat a huge feast in the middle of a war zone? In the final episode in the story...
- 2025 / 5 / 28259. Eastern Europe & “The Great Betrayal” (Ep 4)Who created the United Nations? How did The Big Three divide Germany between themselves? Why did Poland see the Yalta conference as “The Great Betrayal”? Anita and William explore the origins of the United...
- 2025 / 5 / 26258. The Big Three & The Big Carve Up (Ep 3)Where did The Big Three stay as they carved up the post-war world map, and why were their rooms full of bedbugs? Why did FDR refuse to allow the press to photograph him arriving at Yalta? What role did...
- 2025 / 5 / 21257. Churchill, FDR, & Mind Games at Yalta (Ep 2)How did FDR become the mediator between Stalin and Churchill at the 1945 conference? Why did Churchill call Yalta the “Hades Riviera”? What was Mussolini’s rude nickname for FDR? Anita and William dive into...
- 2025 / 5 / 19256. Stalin & 8 Days That Changed The World (Ep 1)How did one peace conference in Yalta in 1945 completely transform the world in just eight days? What was Joseph Stalin's backstory before becoming the Soviet leader? What is the relevance of the Yalta...
- 2025 / 5 / 14255. Victorian Narcos: From Opium To Fentanyl (Ep 9)What led to the Second Opium War? Why wasn’t China colonised by Europeans? When did China start referring to this period as the “century of humiliation” and how did this narrative shape nationalism in the...
- 2025 / 5 / 12254. Victorian Narcos: Fire Monkeys, Iron Gunships, & Peasant Warfare (Ep 8)Who won the First Opium War? Why did British troops feel guilty about their role? What treaty led to Britain taking control of Hong Kong? Anita and William discuss the tragic imbalance of The First Opium...
- 2025 / 5 / 7253. Victorian Narcos: Drug Dealers Lead Britain to War (Ep 7)How did opium traders convince the British Cabinet to wage war on China? Who was Lord Palmerston? Why was China, one of the biggest empires in the world, so ill-prepared for war at sea? William and Anita...
- 2025 / 5 / 5252. Victorian Narcos: Selling Drugs To The Queen (Ep 6)Who was Commissioner Lin and how did he crack down on foreign opium in China? Why was Charles Elliot so hopeless that he landed Queen Victoria with a bill owing millions to drug dealers? What was the Canton...
- 2025 / 4 / 30251. Victorian Narcos: Flooding China With Indian Opium (Ep 5)Who were Jardine and Matheson? What was life like for workers growing opium in India? How does George Orwell relate to the East India Company opium trade? William and Anita explore how William Jardine and...
- 2025 / 4 / 28250. Victorian Narcos: Banished From Beijing (Ep 4)How did the Macartney Mission fail so spectacularly? Where does the word ‘kowtow’ come from? Why were the diplomats banished from the Forbidden City? Listen as William and Anita continue the story of how...