Empire
Channel Details
Empire
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 pow...
Recent Episodes
322 episodes
Introducing: The Rest Is Science
Forget what you think you know about reality.
The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending new show from Goalhanger that tears do...
315. Controversy, Colonialism, & V.S. Naipaul
Who was V.S. Naipaul and why was he so controversial? How did Naipaul alter the way in which writers and readers saw the world, and in particular how...
314. Rudyard Kipling: Villain or Visionary? (Part 3)
Should we still read Kipling today? What family tragedy did Kipling face in the later half of his life? How did he fan the flames of jingoism during a...
313. Rudyard Kipling: Escaping India & Writing The Jungle Book (Part 2)
What inspired Kipling to write his two most famous works: The Jungle Book and Kim? Why did Kipling hate London and swiftly move to the US? How did Kip...
312. Kipling: An Idyllic Indian Childhood That Became A Nightmare (Part 1)
Rudyard Kipling was one of the most evocative writers of India, yet he was a jingoist and an imperialist until his dying day. So how do we grapple wit...
311. Cricket In India: Beating The Brits At Their Own Game (Part 2)
How did Britain’s imperial game become so popular in India? Why were India’s princes the ‘nepo babies’ of cricket? How does the legacy of Partition co...
310. The Origin of The Ashes & The Killer Cricket Scandal (Part 1)
How is the history of cricket completely intertwined with the history of the British Empire? What was the Bodyline Controversy of the 1930s and how di...
309. Tintin, Nazis, & Soviets
What was the origin story of Hergé, the Belgian illustrator who created The Adventures of Tintin? How did an unlikely friendship transform Hergé’s lif...
308. Asterix and Obelix, Babar The Elephant, & Colonial Cartoons
How did a story made up by a mother for her sick children turn into Babar The Elephant? Why did two immigrants to France create such a patriotically F...
307. Austen vs Brontë: Unmasking Slavery Heiresses
What is the true history behind the “madwoman in the attic” in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre? How was Jane Austen’s aunt deeply connected to slavery in...
306. Joseph Conrad: From Russian Exile To The Heart of Darkness
How did a Polish sailor become one of the greatest writers in the English language? Why were Conrad’s parents exiled to the harsh conditions of northe...
305. Orwell: Dark Secrets, The CIA, & His Forgotten Failures (Part 4)
Why was Orwell’s wife, Eileen, written out of his story when she co-wrote Animal Farm? How did the CIA twist the novel into anti-communist propaganda?...
304. Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984 & Totalitarian Dystopia (Part 3)
What was the inspiration behind George Orwell’s most famous works? Why did he move to the remote Scottish island of Jura to finish writing 1984? What...
303. Orwell: Fighting Fascism In The Spanish Civil War (Part 2)
Why did George Orwell go to Spain to fight on the Republican side against General Franco? Who saved his life when he was shot in the throat? How did i...
302. Orwell: The Anti-Imperialist in India & Burma (Part 1)
How was George Orwell’s childhood rooted in the British Empire and the opium trade in India? Why did George Orwell become a colonial police officer in...
301. Gaza: The First Arab-Israeli War & The Creation of The Gaza Strip (Part 11)
How did neighbouring Arab nations respond to the displacement of Palestinians in 1948? Why was the future Egyptian prime minister, General Nasser, sta...
300. Gaza: The 1948 War (Part 10)
Why did the British decide to end their Mandate in Palestine less than three decades after it began? What was the UN Partition Plan for Palestine and...
299. Gaza: The Palestinian Revolt, The Black and Tans, & Bomber Harris (Part 9)
When Palestinian Arabs rose up against the British in 1936, what repressive tactics were used to quell the revolt? Who was the WW2 hero “Bomber” Harri...
298. Gaza: The British Occupation of Palestine (Part 8)
What was the British Mandate of Palestine that emerged after World War I? Why were the Black and Tans sent to Palestine and what methods did they use...
297. 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...
296. 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 tac...
295. 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 th...
294. 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 Byzanti...
293. 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...
292. 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 reg...
291. 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 I...
290. 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 “se...
289. 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 “...
288. 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...
287. 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 g...
286. 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 inva...
285. 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...
284. 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...
283. 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...
282. 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...
281. 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?...
280. 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...
279. 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 n...
278. 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 immig...
277. 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 tre...