Did the CIA really fund Osama bin Laden during the Soviet-Afghan War? And how did one bureaucratic office meeting help create al-Qaeda? @DalrympleWill and Jason Burke uncover the unlikely origins of the world’s most notorious terrorist network. 🧵
Empire: World History
@empirepoduk.bsky.social
Podcast on empires and world history 🌎 A Goalhanger production with Anita Anand and William Dalrymple
The road to 9/11 began decades before al-Qaeda. It was shaped by revolution, repression and the brutal treatment of Islamist prisoners in Egypt. But how did imprisonment turn radical ideas into a global ideology? 🧵
The Irish of the dark ages were renowned for their wisdom and learning... 🇨🇮
Is St Colomba the original source of the Loch Ness Monster..? 🤔
THE VIKINGS INVADE BRITAIN ⚔️ They arrived as raiders, but became settlers. Why did the Vikings cross the North Sea? What happened to the gold stolen from churches? And were they really the horned barbarians of legend?
The Picts. For centuries, they ruled large parts of Scotland, resisted Rome and covered the landscape with mysterious carved stones. But why do we know so little about them?
Every Saint Patrick’s Day, the world turns green for Ireland’s patron saint. But Patrick was not Irish, did not drive out snakes and may never have touched a shamrock. So who was the real Saint Patrick? 🧵
This is the ONLY mention of druids in Britain 👇
🚨 NEW EPISODE 🚨 What The Romano-Britons Really Believed In How did Rome transform Britain’s gods? And why did Middle Eastern deities end up on Hadrian’s Wall? A THREAD 🧵
Before Britain was Christian, its gods lived in forests, rivers and stone. From Druids and Roman conquest to Saint Patrick, Picts and Vikings, our new six-part series uncovers the beliefs that shaped the British Isles. A THREAD... 🧵
🚨 NEW EPISODE 🚨 Are tech giants the new East India Company? 💻 Silicon Valley’s dark origins 💰 Musk, Bezos and the new imperialists 🌍 How PayPal, X and Amazon followed an imperial blueprint @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social find out...
Today on Empire, @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social get into the legacy of the Algerian War and its surprising connection to far-right leader, Marine Le Pen... Listen/watch now wherever you get your podcasts, link in replies 👇
🚨NEW EARLY ACCESS EPISODE🚨 @anitaanand.bsky.social speaks with legendary documentarian Ken Burns on Native land, George Washington, the Civil War, Vietnam and America’s imperial past. SIGN UP TO WATCH VIA LINK IN REPLIES 👇
Mount Rushmore is one of America’s most famous monuments. But behind the four presidential faces is a much darker story. A story of sacred land seized by force, a mountain transformed into propaganda, and a sculptor with disturbing ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
🚨NEW EARLY ACCESS EPISODE 🚨 The Dark Truth Behind Mount Rushmore Join @anitaanand.bsky.social and Matthew Davis as they discuss the surprising history behind one of America's most famous landmarks... Sign up via link in replies to watch today 👇
Princesses Irene and Pauline Duleep Singh were born into royalty, exile and silence. They were daughters of the last Maharaja of the Punjab. Yet unlike their sisters, their lives were pushed almost entirely into the shadows.
The last Sikh princess of Lahore died alone in Pakistan. But Princess Bamba Duleep Singh was not supposed to be forgotten. She was the daughter of a stolen empire.
The British Empire wasn’t only built by kings, generals and soldiers...
During the rise of Hitler, an Indian princess was living in Germany. She would risk everything to save Jewish families from the Gestapo. She also loved another woman...
The princesses the British Empire tried to erase… One became a suffragette revolutionary. One helped Jewish families escape the Gestapo. One called herself the “Queen of Punjab”. And two vanished into the margins of history.
Why did the world go crazy for Tutankhamun? And, what was Tutmania?
🚨MEMBERS’ EXCLUSIVE🚨 The Real Story Behind Tutankhamun’s Curse Was the world’s greatest archaeological discovery really followed by an ancient Egyptian curse? Find out 👇
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Ancient Egypt: Tutankhamun The Boy King His death mask is one of the most famous faces in history, but who was the real Tutankhamun? Join @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social + Campbell Price as they discuss the life, death and legacy of King Tut…
The mystery of Ancient Egypt's most famous woman...
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Ancient Egypt: Who Was Nefertiti? 👑 Join @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social + Aidan Dodson as they explore the life, power and afterlife of one of Ancient Egypt’s most iconic figures. Link to full episode in replies👇
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Ancient Egypt: The Fall of Akhenaten Why did Akhenaten’s name get struck from history after his death? Why did he build a new city in the desert? And who ruled Egypt after he died?
💥 NEW EPISODE OUT TODAY💥 Next in our EPIC series on the 1857 Indian Mutiny: @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social are joined by author Ira Mukhoty to discuss the rebel leader known as India’s Joan of Arc!
