Empire: World History

406. Norman Conquest: The First Crusade (Part 6)

How did Normans from Western Europe reach as far as Antioch in what is now Turkey? What was their role in The First Crusade? Who was the Byzantine Alexios I Komnenos and

405. Norman Conquest: Medieval Mafia Invade The East (Part 5)

They are best known for invading England in 1066, but the Normans conquered territories in the East too. Who was Robert The Weasel, and did he operate like a Mafia boss

404. Norman Conquest: Colonising Ireland (Part 4)

How did the Normans conquer the Celts on the fringes of their territory after 1066? What led to the events of the Norman Conquest of Ireland, which still affects the nati

403. The Norman Conquests: The Battle of Hastings (Part 3)

For weeks, William the Conqueror has been stuck on the Normandy coast, waiting. Then the wind changes. The Normans land in England, and the stage is set for the most famo

402. The Norman Conquests: The Real Story of 1066 (Part 2)

Who was William the Conqueror? Who was Harold Godwinson? Who was Harald Hardrada? And how did these three rivals change the course of English history forever? In Episode

401. The Norman Conquests: Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry (Part 1)

The Bayeux Tapestry shows one of the defining moments in English history. But look closer at its dragon-prowed ships and its warriors, and there's another story stitched

400. Stalin: A Poisonous Legacy (Part 6)

Fiona Hill is the leading authority on Russia and has been in the room with Putin and Trump. She joins Anita Anand and William Dalrymple to discuss how Stalin’s violent l

399. Stalin: Hitler’s Downfall At Stalingrad (Part 5)

Antony Beevor wrote the definitive book on the Battle of Stalingrad. He joins William Dalrymple and Anita Anand to discuss how Hitler and Stalin’s armies faced gruelling

398. Stalin: The Great Terror (Part 4)

Soon after Stalin’s purges and mass violence, Nazi soldiers launch a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union, opening up the Eastern Front of World War II.  Who was Stalin

397. Stalin: Killing Trotsky (Part 3)

Was it an ice axe or an ice pick? The murder of Trotsky in Mexico is infamous, but what does it say about Stalin’s willingness to seek out and destroy his rivals? Who was

396. Stalin: The Bolshevik Revolution (Part 2)

Despite later mythology, Stalin was effectively a nobody during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Unlike Trotsky and Lenin, he was not on the frontline amongst the revoluti

395. Stalin: The Rise of A Tyrant (Part 1)

How did Stalin become one of the most ruthless dictators in World History? What was his childhood like in Georgia? How did he rise from a poet training to be a priest, to

394. Road To 9/11: Hijackers, CIA Failures, and America’s Darkest Day (Part 6)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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