Empire

Often understood through Peter O’Toole’s iconic display, who really was Lawrence of Arabia? His role in the First World War and the Arab Revolt had a defining effect on the Middle-East. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Anthony Sattin to discuss his life. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 characters. 2 nations. 1 disastrous deal. The Sykes-Picot agreement is often blamed as the cause for much of the unrest in the Middle-East today, but what was it exactly? Listen as William and Anita are joined by James Barr to discuss this historic agreement to carve up the Middle-East. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The secret orders have been given. The Armenian community is to be destroyed. Ordered to march across the desert, to unsupplied camps in Deir ez-Zor. Listen as William and Anita are, for the final time, joined by Eugene Rogan to discuss the end of the Genocide and its aftermath.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Armenian community has ancient, deep roots in Anatolia. But from the late 19th century onwards, violence and forced deportations at the hands of the Ottoman Empire puts them in doubt. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Eugene Rogan as they discuss one of the most tragic events of world history. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Great War has begun. The British want to open supply lines through the Black Sea to support their Russian allies. Therefore they must take the Gallipoli peninsula. Cue one of the most famous events of the First World War. Listen as William and Anita are again joined by Eugene Rogan to discuss the attempts to take Gallipoli and the brutal fighting that ensued. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The winds of nationalism are blowing through Ottoman territory in the Balkans. Unrest is rife and the Empire is bankrupt. The young sultan Abdülhamid is at the helm. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Eugene Rogan to discuss whether the Ottoman Empire really was the sick man of Europe in the run-up to the First World War. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She was a pioneering scientist, proto-feminist, and letter writer extraordinaire. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu escaped a marriage to Clotworthy Skeffington to become one of history's most incredible women. Listen this week as William and Anita are joined by Katie Hickman to tell the tale of her life. IRC link: https://www.rescue.org/uk  DEC link: https://donation.dec.org.uk/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/empirepod. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evliya Çelebi travelled for 41 years. He documented his adventures, which included interactions with vampires, humans transforming into chickens, and dervishes riding rhinos. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Caroline Finkel to discuss this man and the vivid descriptions he provided of the Ottoman Empire. *This episode was recorded before the devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected.* LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coffee is everywhere today, but where does it come from? Was it originally a sex drug? What is the connection between Starbucks and a medieval goat herder? Why are coffee houses political? Listen as Anita and William are joined by Cemal Kafadar to discuss the history of the substance. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What was life like for women in the Ottoman Empire? Was the Sultanate of Women the golden era? What was the role of the Harem? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Bettany Hughes to discuss the role of women in the Ottoman Empire. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slave raids in Cornwall. Englishmen spying for the venetians. The East India Trading Companies’ older brother. Join William and Anita this week as they discuss the relationship between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, all of which centre around the Levant Company. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dawn breaks on the 7th October 1571 over the Gulf of Patras. On this day, the Holy League will face down the Ottomans in one of the most pivotal battles in Ottoman history. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Barnaby Rogerson to discuss the Battle of Lepanto, its significance, and whether it really was the last crusade. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Selim II leads the Ottomans. Marco Brigadin the Venetians. They will clash over the island of Cyprus. But who will be victorious, and who will be defeated (and flayed)? The two sides meet on this mediterranean island in the run-up to one of the greatest naval battles in history - the Battle of Lepanto. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Barnaby Rogerson to discuss the Ottoman siege of Cyprus, as they set the stage for Thursday's episode on the Battle of Lepanto. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murdered love interests, intellectual curiosity, incredible barbarity, and body doubles all make an appearance in this week’s episode. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Marc Baer to discuss the remainder of Suleiman the Magnificent’s rule.  To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who is Selim the Grim? How does a slave come to be one of the most powerful members of Suleiman’s court? How does Suleiman anger the Christian powers? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Marc Baer to discuss the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, in particular his love interests and the very Game of Thrones-style intrigue they create. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest gun in history. A giant underwater chain. A previously unconquerable fortress. Inspirational leaders. Join William and Anita as they discuss the extraordinary story of 1453 and the Fall of Constantinople. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did the Ottomans seize the Balkans? Who is their first leader? How did the fourth crusade pave the way for their rise to power? Join William and Anita as they, along with Peter Frankopan, detail the birth of the Ottoman Empire, discuss its founder, Osman I, and set the scene for 1453. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The lights are dimmed. A hush has fallen. The curtain is rising.    Season two of Empire is here. Our topic? The Ottoman Empire. In the opening episode, Anita and William are joined by Peter Frankopan to discuss Byzantium and the rise of the Seljuk Turks.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did an Empire that stretched over thousands of miles and over half a millennium impact the world we live in today? William and Anita explain the focus for the second series of the Empire, which will focus on the Ottoman Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join William and Anita for the second part of this week’s special question time bonanza where they answer all of your queries. In this episode they discuss the impact Jallianwala Bagh had upon Indian nationhood, the influence that Britain had upon the writing of the Indian constitution, and whether the railways did benefit India. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Anita and William are doing two episodes in which they answer all of your questions about Empire. Join William and Anita today as they discuss whether partition was inevitable, why the British never settled India, what the best books on Empire are, and much much more. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/xempire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the finale of our series on the British in India, William and Anita are joined by Sathnam Sanghera. With him they discuss the legacies of the Empire: how has it affected the politics, curriculum, and national institutions of modern Britain? To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Anita and William are joined by Mahmood Mamdani to discuss the East African Indian diaspora. How did Indians come to live in East Africa? Why did so many move to Britain? What was the role of Idi Amin in all of this? To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The line has been drawn. India and Pakistan have been divided. Mountbatten and Radcliffe have left. But how will ordinary people caught up in this geopolitical event fare? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Kavita Puri to discuss the impact partition had on real lives. http://www.projectdastaan.org/ To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Anita and William are joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to discuss Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. Listen in to hear all about his superstar marriage to Edwina Ashley, his relationships with key figures such as Nehru and Jinnah, and the role he played in the partition of India.   To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up.   LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire   Twitter: @Empirepoduk   Goalhangerpodcasts.com   Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen as William and Anita discuss the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. They will discuss the pivotal role he played in the creation of Pakistan, his rivalry with Gandhi, and the vision he had for his nation's future. Plus, we are very fortunate to be joined at the end by the wonderful Ayesha Jalal. To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join William and Anita as they discuss the life of Udham Singh, who is as much man as he is myth. Coming from nothing, he killed a leopard with a knife as a toddler, then joined the revolutionary Ghadar Party, smuggled himself across the US-Mexico border, and on 13th March 1940 committed his most infamous act… To get your free two week trial for Find my past, go to www.findmypast.co.uk and sign up. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @Empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join William and Anita as they discuss the extraordinary life of Princess Sophia. Her story includes a debut at Buckingham Palace, a meeting with Gandhi, fierce involvement in the suffragette movement, and the First World War. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join William and Anita for the final episode in their series on the Koh-i-Noor diamond. This remarkable story includes Prince Albert’s inadvertent creation of Britain’s first sauna, an elderly Duke of Wellington cutting the diamond, and the contemporary significance of the Koh-i-Noor. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @empirepoduk Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Divide and rule, a man described as Brian Blessed but ‘with a bigger, bushier, blacker beard’, and a whole lot of regicide. Join Anita and William as they continue to take us through the rip-roaring history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intense paranoia, palatial looting, and murder. Join Anita and William as they discuss the bloody origins of The Curse of the Koh-i-Noor. Twitter: @EmpirePodUk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A single stone has been fought over for at least 250 years by four different empires, and now sits in the Queen Consort's crown as part of the British royal family's Crown Jewels. William and Anita trace the murky history of one of the world's most famous diamonds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest episode of Empire, William and Anita are joined by Ram Guha to explore the incredible life and story of Mahatma Gandhi. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Instagram: @EmpirePodUK Twitter: @EmpirePodUK goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anita and Willie are joined by David Olusoga for a special episode of Empire, where they discuss the Queen, the Commonwealth, the future of the monarchy and the long shadow of Empire. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Instagram: @EmpirePodUK Twitter: @EmpirePodUK goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest episode of Empire, Willie and Anita dive into the story of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, alongside Professor Kim Wagner. Plus a discussion as to whether analysing the darker parts of a country’s history is the same as talking it down. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Instagram: @EmpirePodUK Twitter: @EmpirePodUK goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join William and Anita for the latest episode of Empire, which picks up in the aftermath of the 1857 Rebellion and the establishment of the British Raj. The episode covers the birth of Gandhi, the arrival of Michael O'Dwyer, Indian soldiers in the First World War, and the lead up to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1857 tensions in Company-controlled India came to a head in what the British called 'The Indian Mutiny', now referred to in India as the First War of Independence. The uprising and bloody reprisals sent shockwaves through the Empire, ended the rule of the East India Company, and led to the creation of the Raj. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emerging victorious from the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, The East India Company cements its grip on power in India. Join Anita and William as they discuss the nature, horrors, and key figures of 'Company Rule' in India at its height in the early 19th Century. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Empire, a brand new history podcast hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. The first series looks at the British in India: The East India Company, The Raj, Gandhi, Independence and Partition. In the opening episode, William and Anita discuss the rise of The East India Company, exploring how a small corporation founded in Tudor England - with only a handful of employees - came to rule India. LRB Empire offer: lrb.me/empire Twitter: @EmpirePodUk goalhangerpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do empires rise? Why do they fall? And how have they shaped the world around us today? William Dalrymple and Anita Anand explore the stories, personalities and events of empire over the course of history. The first series looks at the British in India, covering the East India Company, the Raj, Gandhi, Independence and Partition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices