249. Victorian Narcos: Doomed Envoy to China ...

What’s the real story behind the creation of the Dutch East India Company, and how was espionage involved? What made the VOC the first ‘mega-corporation’ in history? And what was the horrific human cost of establishing a colonial stronghold in the East Indies? Get the entire Dutc ...  Show more

How should we view Simón Bolívar today – as a racist tyrant or as a revolutionary founding father? Who was his lover Manuela Sáenz, and how did she save his life during a midnight attack? And did his slide into tyranny inspire the 20th century dictators of Latin America? Get the ...  Show more

How did Oleg Gordievsky get recruited to work for MI6? What effect did living in Copenhagen have on his political views? And how did Britain nearly blow the recruitment of one of the most consequential spies in history? Listen as David and Gordon continue their series on Oleg Gor ...  Show more

After endeavouring to wreak their revenge on Serbia, what would be the greatest hammer blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the First World War? With Leviv having fallen apocalyptically to the Russian hordes, what had gone so wrong? How might the war have been brought to an ...  Show more

Just as Oleg Gordievsky was moments away from being the KGB’s most senior man in Britain, he is recalled to Moscow. Has his spying been revealed? What can MI6 do? And will he return to his homeland knowing he may never leave again? Listen as David and Gordon continue their series ...  Show more

"Like many other well-known organisations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis." This was the striking public statement from Google's chief legal officer in January 2010. What began as a major security incident - a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack ...  Show more