Empires and the Benin Bronzes

In 2000, weeks before the Academy Awards ceremony, 55 Oscars vanished during shipment to Los Angeles. The disappearance triggered a frantic search. Then, in a twist worthy of a movie plot, a man digging through a grocery store dumpster stumbled on dozens of missing trophies. He w ...  Show more

When Heinrich VI, King of Germany, called a gathering of noblemen to deal with a property dispute, he couldn't have predicted how tragic—and disgusting—the meeting would turn out to be. Support Noble Blood:—PRE-ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS'— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Pat ...  Show more

At the end of the 17th century, a small clan - the Akan - in West Africa began growing into what would later become the powerful Ashanti Empire.  The state grew rapidly in both wealth and land until it spanned most of modern day Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Togo. 

The Ashanti were a kingdom that developed in what is now central Ghana around the 13th century. By the 17th century, they had become powerful and wealthy from both the slave trade and gold trade. After Britain colonized what they called the Gold Coast, the Ashanti were incorporat ...  Show more

From rainmaking queens to dogged isolationists, the lives and reigns of Africa’s female rulers have long been shrouded in mystery, misunderstanding and misogyny. Over the centuries and throughout the continent, these individuals navigated the rigid traditions of their own culture ...  Show more

How is the unique narrative of the Ark of the Covenant deeply rooted in Ethiopian culture and tradition?

Embark on a journey to the Kingdom of Aksum with host Tristan Hughes and archeologist Dil Singh Basanti, located in present-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. The ...