81. The Graveyard of Empires

A revolutionary hero or a brutal despot? Mao Zedong has one of the most recognisable portraits on Earth. How did he rise to become the founder of the People’s Republic of China? ** Binge all six episodes of the series on Chairman Mao by joining the Empire Club today at empirepodu ...  Show more

How did the Phoenicians create the alphabet we still use today? Was the Bronze Age collapse comparable to the fall of Rome? What does DNA evidence tell us about the origins of the Philistines and Israelites? William is joined by Professor Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year ...  Show more

In August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city Kabul, was captured by the Taliban. With scenes of panic, anarchy, and chaos splashed across every major news outlet - it marked the final moments of the War in Afghanistan. With more than 123,000 individuals evacuated by the US Coalitio ...  Show more

Is it possible that the Taliban of today are more fanatical than before? American and Coalition troops recently fought a bitter, 20-year war against them following the seismic events of 9/11. On August the 15th we mark the end of that conflict, two years after the last Western ...

In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the rise of communism in the country, beginning a series of constant conflict that Afghanistan still faces today. It’s also had huge impacts on our geopolitical climate today - to fight Russian communism, the US backed and ...  Show more

“A war begun for no wise purpose.” This description of the First Anglo-Afghan War, fought in the early-mid 19th Century, could stand as an epitaph for most conflicts in the region since. William Dalrymple has written extensively about the history of Afghanistan and he joins Domin ...  Show more