4. Between Two Massacres: 1857-1919

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 manage a global terror network from a farm in Sudan? In Episode 4 of this series, William and Anita are joined by ...  Show more

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 puritanical PE teacher? What did a young Osama see on his television in 1982 that inspired his plan to down America’s ...  Show more

The greatest anti-imperial rebellion of the nineteenth century, The Indian Rebellion of 1857, witnessed mass violence against the British. Ninety years later, Indian freedom was founded on a deadly fratricide that singularly spared the outgoing masters. As a result, India’s fo ...

What happened at the crucial, bloody, Battle of Ypres in October 1914? How did the battle come about? Why did the Germans and the British fight each other so brutally and for so long to take Ypres? What made the fighting so particularly violent? How were the British able to repel ...  Show more

In part 2 of this centennial episode, Tom and Dominic cover the triggering of the Irish Civil War, the birth of the BBC, and Howard Carter's 'Tutmania'.  Plus, have you ever wondered how many stars Dominic's 1995 Edinburgh Fringe performance of Becket REALLY received from The Sc ...  Show more

An ambush at Soloheadbeg, Tipperary in January 1919 is often cited as the opening shots of the War of Independence. However as early as 1917 political tensions were leading to violence across Ireland. Several people were killed in 1917 and 1918. This podcast looks at this desc ...