Mussolini's Rise & Fall

We're bringing you an episode of a podcast we think you'll love: Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford. At the height of World War Two, British intelligence began receiving reports that the enemy was developing a rocket weapon. The idea seemed fantastical — resources in Nazi Germany ...  Show more

The Second World War officially ended on September 2nd 1945 - and it's estimated that around 3% of the Earth's population perished during the conflict. But what ultimately bought WW2 to an end - and how vital a role did the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki play in obtaining a J ...  Show more

Richard Bosworth answers listener questions on the authoritarian ideology that emerged in Italy a century ago How was Mussolini able to seize control in Italy a century ago? What differentiated Italian Fascism from Nazism? And is the term “fascist” bandied around too much today ...  Show more

We begin at the end… in 1945, with a pile of bodies dumped in Milan then strung up for all to see. Among them, the most powerful man in Italy. One of the most significant figures in modern history. How did it come to this? In this episode, we scroll back to follow the start of Be ...  Show more

The Italian "Il Duce" had one of the most dramatic transformations of any politician in history. An ardent socialist for the first three decades of his life, he abruptly left the party and developed his own brand of nationalist, totalitarian belief. This system would become known ...  Show more

Wounded at the Front, Mussolini’s war ends early. A playboy aristocrat forms his own private army, offering inspiration to Il Duce. As Italian workers go on strike, Mussolini’s goons crack skulls on the streets. And in a smoke-filled hall in Milan, he declares the birth of a new ...  Show more