221. War of Succession: The Battle That Shook...

Who were the Druids and what did they use Stonehenge for? Why did Romans massacre Druids in Anglesey, Wales? What is the Pagan Calendar and how is modern Halloween derived from it? What can we learn from the mysterious ‘bog bodies’? In Episode 1 of this new series, William Dalrym ...  عرض المزيد

Are modern AI companies the new empires? What is the hidden human cost behind chatbots like ChatGPT? How does Silicon Valley’s rhetoric echo the East India Company? In this episode, Anita is joined by award-winning tech journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, to explore the ...  عرض المزيد

In this episode, we uncover the brief and bizarre reign of Emperor Shah Jahan II, who ascended the Mughal throne in absentia after his father’s assassination. Overshadowed by court intrigue and swiftly dethroned, his story is a testament to the empire’s turbulent decline. Tune in ...  عرض المزيد

Haroon al Rashid divided his realm among his children, and the young men were quickly goaded into conflict with one another by their advisors. The unexperienced princes found the underlying tensions simply too powerful to overcome. But the predictability of war was upended by its ...  عرض المزيد

In March 1739, the Persian warlord Nader Shah laid siege to Delhi. He destroyed and plundered the city. Among his ‘Delhi loot’ was the famous Jeweled or Peacock Throne of the Mughal Empire. It took seven years to make, and seven elephants to cart it away forever - and it's been l ...  عرض المزيد

Succession once again warrants its own episode. Al Saffah relied on three commanders to oversee different parts of his caliphate, and while the setup kept the new dynasty safe and stable, the ambitions of these three leaders clashed soon after the caliph passed away.