The rise and fall of empires 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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Chart trend
Position in the History chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#22#43JunJulAugSep
#3
all-time peak
1
day in the top 3 since Nov 2024
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
394. Road To 9/11: Hijackers, CIA Failures, and America’s Darkest Day (Part 6)
#30 trending · History
How did the CIA fail to tell the FBI that known Al-Qaeda terrorists were already training inside the United States? Who was the calculated mastermind behind the scheme to
Sep 9 46 min
393. Road To 9/11: Interviewing Bin Laden In The Caves of Tora Bora (Part 5)
What was it like to interview Osama bin Laden in the Tora Bora caves? Who were the other terrorists behind the infamous 1998 fatwa? How did Monica Lewinsky derail the res
Sep 6 47 min
392. Road To 9/11: Bin Laden vs Saudi Arabia (Part 4)
How did the Gulf War drive a permanent wedge between Osama bin Laden and the Saudi royal family? Why did the bin Laden family finally decide to disown him? How did he man
Sep 2 43 min
391. Road To 9/11: The Rise of Osama Bin Laden (Part 3)
Who were the bin Ladens, and how did they build a construction empire in Saudi Arabia?
What was Osama bin Laden’s childhood like, and how was he radicalised by a purita
Aug 30 44 min
390. Road To 9/11: The Soviet-Afghan War (Part 2)
Did the CIA actually fund Osama bin Laden during the Soviet-Afghan war?
Who was Abdullah Azzam, the radical scholar who turned jihad into a global franchise? How did a
Aug 26 43 min
389. Road To 9/11: Origin of Al-Qaeda (Part 1)
What were the building blocks of the rise of Radical Islamism that paved the road to the 9/11 terror attacks? How did the torture of radical members of the Muslim Brother
Aug 23 55 min
388. Viking Mythology: Thor, Ragnarok, & Jesus Christ (Ep 6)
Who are Thor and Ragnarok in Norse Mythology? How did the Vikings fuse their own spiritual beliefs with Christianity? And how do Norse spiritual practices continue in som
Aug 19 47 min
387. The Vikings Invade Britain (Ep 5)
Why did the Vikings invade Britain, and how did they mix into society? What did they do with the gold they stole from churches? Which Viking stereotypes are true - and wh
Aug 16 46 min
386. The Picts: Scotland’s Tattooed Warriors (Ep 4)
Who were the mysterious peoples who ruled parts of Scotland for 500 years? What is the true origin of the Loch Ness Monster? Is there a secret code behind the Pictish car
Aug 12 45 min
385. Saint Patrick: Slave, Rebel, & Ireland’s Patron Saint (Ep 3)
Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world every year by the Irish diaspora, but what is the real history behind the patron saint of Ireland? How is the traditi
Aug 9 55 min
384. The Roman Invasion: Gods on Hadrian’s Wall (Ep 2)
The Roman Conquest of Britain. The furthest western point of the empire. How did life change for ordinary people after the invasion? Why do Middle Eastern gods end up on
Aug 5 47 min
383. Romans vs Druids: The War For Celtic Britain (Ep 1)
What are the links between the Druids and Stonehenge? Why did Romans massacre Druids in Anglesey, Wales? What is the Pagan Calendar and how is modern Halloween derived fr
Aug 2 47 min
382. Empire of AI: Karen Hao On Today’s Hidden Colonialism (Ep 2)
Are modern AI companies the new empires? What is the hidden human cost behind chatbots like ChatGPT? How does Silicon Valley’s rhetoric echo the East India Company?
In t
Jul 29 56 min
381. Musk, Bezos & The New East India Companies (Ep 1)
Are modern tech corporations the new East India Company? What is the dark history behind Silicon Valley? What do Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have in common with Cecil Rhodes
Jul 26 53 min
380. Algerian Revolution: The Rise of Le Pen (Ep 6)
How is Marine Le Pen connected to the Algerian War of Independence? What can the cult film, La Haine, tell us about life in the banlieues for people of Algerian descent?
Jul 22 34 min
379. Algerian Revolution: Black Panthers, LSD, & Nina Simone (Ep 5)
How did Algiers become a centre for revolutionaries from around the world in the 1960s? What happened to the “pied noirs” white settlers after Algeria gained independence
Jul 19 46 min
378. Algerian Revolution: Birth of Independence (Ep 4)
How did the French use systemic torture during the Battle of Algiers? Which army generals plotted to overthrow the French president? Why did the bloody birth of an indepe
Jul 15 31 min
377. Algerian Revolution: The Battle of Algiers (Ep 3)
What really happened during the infamous Battle of Algiers? How did the Algerian War of Independence begin? Who was the radical mastermind who restructured the resistance
Jul 12 37 min
376. Algerian Revolution: Repression and Rebellion (Ep 2)
Who were the ‘pied noirs’ and how did they come to dominate Algerian society? What was life like for the millions of Muslim Algerians living under French rule? Why did VE
Jul 8 43 min
375. Algerian Revolution: The French Invasion (Ep 1)
How did the French colonise Algeria? Was the Algerian economy built on slavery? Who was the revolutionary priest who united Algerians against the invaders? What atrocitie
Jul 5 41 min
Chart positions
Where Empire: World History ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 12, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
As a product of American (Texas) public schools, most of what you’ve covered is completely new to me, and your presentation, filtered through your friendship, is a joy.
After your 3 Kings Christmas show, I’m hungry for more books of the Bible (and other religious texts) to be deconstructed. The work placed in context as political reactions to their time’s empire is fascinating.
Knuckleduster3000 · Dec 2024
Simply fantastic. The presenters are well spoken and don’t pretend that one of them is interviewing the other. They are both experts in the history of colonialism — particularly British colonialism in India — and weave their combined knowledge between them seemingly effortlessly. I’ve just finished their first series of episodes about the colonial histories of Britain and India and thoroughly look forward to their takes on other empires.
Bilas Peles · Nov 2024
I've heard William Dalrymple 1st time at Jaipur literature festival. Before that I read his book 'The last Mughal - Bahadursha Jafar. I love books writing by William, because they are well researched, with original reference documents from various archives and excellent writing style.
I have heard most of The Empire episodes & recommended it to anyone interested in the history. I listen it on my way to work or home or when I’m doing my weekend chores. I love it and have learned so much about world history in last many months. Didn’t know anything about Ukraine famine, took over six million lives, famine in Bengal- I knew about it, but got better knowledge. Recent episodes on pirates is also awesome. I tried to buy William Dalrymple latest book The Golden Road in America. But, I can buy from Indian bookstore websites & send as holiday gifts to my friends in India. Awesome podcast, and fun to listen & knowledge enriching. One should know history to be better citizens of world 🙏
OP Choudhary · Nov 2024
I am so happy I chanced upon this show a couple of years ago, and then my brother who also was listening to this podcast reminded me of this. So many book recommendations from this show, all absolute gems (happily, some I had already read). If I had one quibble—and this is about production issues, not quality—you two quite often speak over each other in your honest-to-goodness passion for these topics and may I request you to employ a good audio engineer who can make each of you audible (Hint! Hint! “Willy” needs his audio bumped up).
What a genuine delight! I am on 17 of 200 episodes as of this review, just a mere 183 more hours to go to catch up 😃.
Somesillyname1984 · Oct 2024
The Male host’s voice is pretty inconsistent because he’s probably leaning away from the mic at some points so it’s very hard to hear him. They also mumble and randomly throw out names without context as if the non-british world knows who they are. Like why would anyone know about some British military general from the 1800s without context?? Maybe this is aimed for a British audience so they don’t care to provide additional info.
Aria523 · Oct 2024
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Empire: World History, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
