Empire: World History

The legendary ancient Greek poet, Homer, is a key source to our understanding of the Bronze Age Collapse, but did a single genius named Homer even exist? How could sophisticated poems like The Iliad and The Odyssey survive a "Dark Age" where even writing was destroyed? And what can the depiction of Greek gods in these poems tell us about religion at the time?  William and Anita are joined by Simon...

Stephen Fry joins William and Anita to discuss how Greek Myths have shaped our understanding of the Bronze Age Collapse.  Was the Trojan Horse real? What can we learn about the end of ancient civilisations through The Odyssey and The Iliad? How much truth lies within the story of the Trojan War, and where is the real archaeological site of Troy today?  Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire...

This is the beginning of the most dramatic imperial collapses in history. Why were Ancient civilisations so interconnected 3000 years ago? How did this interconnectedness lead to their downfall? Did people at the time know that disaster was on the horizon? In Episode 1 of a brand new series, Anita and William are joined by Josephine Quinn, author of How The World Made The West, and Professor of An...

In 1979, the people of Iran took to the streets to topple the Shah. This year they are back in the streets shouting “Long Live The Shah”. How did this happen? How did a country which so volcanically threw out the Shah in 1979 want the same family back again in 2026? What are the parallels between the Iranian Revolution then and the protests today? William and Anita are joined by Scott Anderson, au...

In recent weeks, protestors have swarmed the streets in Iran in defiance of the regime, and it feels as if the country is on the precipice of a transformative change. Yet these scenes feel familiar. In the 1970s, mass protests led to a religious revolution which replaced a monarchy led by the Shah with the Islamic Republic of Iran. What can this history tell us about today? To discuss the parallel...

How did Lucknow become the final battleground of the 1857 Uprising? Who was Begum Hazrat Mahal, and how did she hold together a rebellion against overwhelming odds? How did the 1857 Uprising lead to the fall of the East India Company, and the rise of the harsher British Raj? In the final episode of the series, Anita and William explain how northern India’s organised rebellion came to an end, usher...

How did the British finally break into Delhi during the 1857 Uprising? Why did a sudden solar eclipse change the fate of the siege overnight? Why is the British victory considered one of Delhi’s greatest tragedies? In Episode 7 of the series, William and Anita discuss the bloody Siege of Delhi, the British assault which spelled the end of the Mughal Empire.  Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full E...

How did the tide turn towards the end of 1857 as British reinforcements gathered to strike the hearts of the rebellion: Delhi and Lucknow? Who was the British Commander, John Nicholson, and why was he feared by both friend and foe? Was the city of Delhi, under control of the last Mughal emperor, doomed from within? In Episode 6 of the series, Anita and William cover how Indian resistance during th...

The warrior queen who fought the British on the battlefield, Rani of Jhansi –or Rani Lakshmibai– is still a hero in India, with comic books and Bollywood movies about her. But what’s the true history behind her legend? How did she become a fierce leader of resistance who led her men to fight fearlessly against the East India Company? In Episode 5 of the series, William and Anita are joined by Ira...

An entire city turns on the British and revolts in unison. 3000 East India Company soldiers and civilians in Lucknow are under siege in one compound, hiding in tunnels and surrounded by snipers. But who will break first the besieger the besieged?  In Episode 4 of the series, William and Anita discuss how Lucknow became one of the centres of resistance standing up to East India Company power. Join...

In one of the darkest chapters of the 1857 uprising, brutal massacres are met with revenge brutal massacres as the rebellion reaches the East India Company garrison town of Kanpur or “Cawnpore”. Who was General Wheeler and why was the entrenchment he built so fragile? How were the atrocities at Kanpur used to justify gruesome violence against Indians?  In Episode 3 of the series, Anita and William...

How did the mutiny amongst sepoys –Indian soldiers– turn into a national crisis? What ultimatum did the rebels give the Mughal emperor when they reached the Red Fort in Delhi? Why did the British fail to see what was coming?  In Episode 2 of the series, William and Anita discuss how the rebel sepoys travelled along the Bridge of Boats to take the rebellion to Delhi. Join the Empire Club: Unlock th...

Secret messages are being passed from city to city inside chapattis, rebellion is in the air. When Indian soldiers in the East India Company army hear that bullet cartridges are greased with pig and cow fat, they take a stand against their British generals. A mutiny begins that will soon explode into an all-out revolution… This is the Indian Uprising of 1857. How did India’s Greatest Rebellion beg...

How did Julia Margaret Cameron - Virginia Woolf's great aunt - become one of the most influential photography artists of her time? Who were the Anglo-Indian Pattle Sisters who charmed Victorian society in India and London? How did the family create a warm artistic oasis where celebrities like Tennyson and Watts loved spending time? William is joined by art historian Emily Burns to discuss the life...

How did one woman take on the brutal colonial King Leopold II in Congo with her camera? Who was Alice Seely Harris and why should we remember her name? How did she smuggle her photographs of the horrors going on in the Congo out of the country? Anita and William discuss the life of Alice Seely Harris, the mouse who stood up to a lion using the power of her Kodak Camera… Join the Empire Club: Unloc...

Who were the Italian sailors who stole the bones of St Nicolas from his church in Turkey in 1087? How was the mythology of St Nicolas combined with Germanic pagan stories of Odin riding a white horse accompanied by ravens? How did polar-mania and Coca Cola advertising transform Dutch traditions around St Nicolas into the Santa Claus we know today? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dal...

The original Santa Claus, Saint Nicolas, was a real bishop from Myra in modern-day Turkey, whose tomb there was popular with pilgrims, but 700 years after his death, a group of sailors decided to steal his magic bones… What myth about St Nicolas first associated him with gift-giving? How did his story get merged with the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon? How were the tombs in his hometown connected...

Who was Karsh and how did he become one of the most famous portrait photographers of the 20th century? How did Karsh escape from the Armenian Genocide as a child? What was the story behind some of the most famous photographs of Churchill, Einstein, Castro, Queen Elizabeth II, and Martin Luther King? Anita and William explore the fascinating life of one of the photographers of Empire, Yousuf Karsh....

Who was Heinrich Hoffman and how did he use his photography to promote Adolf Hitler and Nazism? When did Hoffman introduce Hitler to Eva Braun? What lies did he tell a Jewish journalist who interviewed him in 1950? Anita and William discuss the life of Hitler’s photographer as part of a series on Eyes on Empire - exploring the influential people behind the lens who captured those in power. Make so...

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 they saw Trinidad? Why did he make an enemy of Salman Rushdie?  Anita and William are joined by Ben Moser to discuss the life of V.S. Naipaul. Make someone an Empire Club Member this Christmas – unlock the full Empire experience with bonus episodes,...

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 and after the First World War? William is reunited with Anita to discuss Rudyard Kipling’s later life and legacy and to debate whether we should revere or despise him... Make someone an Empire Club Member this Christmas – unlock the full Empire experi...

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 Kipling develop such astute observational writing about Anglo-Indians in his early twenties? William is joined once again by Andrew Lycett, author of Rudyard Kipling, to discuss his rise to fame and how although he left India, his writing became evermor...

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 with this conundrum, why was Kipling such a man of contradiction? In this episode we explore his early life. How did he go from a spoiled child in India who spoke Hindustani with his nanny, to living in an abusive foster home in Portsmouth which he call...

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 continue to affect matches in India and Pakistan today?  Anita and William are joined once again by Tim Wigmore, author of Test Cricket: A History, as they unpack how a colonial sport grew to define a nation, mapping onto India’s historic and political...

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 did it nearly kill a player? Who was Don Bradman and why is he believed to be the greatest sportsperson of all time? Anita and William are joined by Tim Wigmore, author of Test Cricket: A History, to discuss the history of the cricket rivalry between E...