Empires and the Benin Bronzes

When the future Queen Elizabeth I was just 13 years old, she was living with Catherine Parr, who remarried after the death of Henry VIII. Catherine's new husband was handsome and charming, but he was also someone who would threaten scandal. A scandal that could cost Elizabeth's f ...  Show more

This week's Very Special Episodes is a tour of New York’s secret history with a very special guest! Greg Young of the beloved Bowery Boys podcast joins Dana to prove the world is a very interesting place, if you just know where to look. There's hidden history in subway grates, So ...  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 ...